Schweizer SGS 1-26B accident near Rock Island, Washington, August 7, 2001
On August 7, 2001 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26B (glider), registered N5768S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rock Island, Washington (Pangborn Memorial airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's improper inflight planning and decision (delay in establishing an approach to a suitable landing area) and his subsequent failure to attain the proper glidepath for the selected landing area, resulting in an overshoot of the selected landing area and collison with trees during landing. Factors included the pilot's lack of experience, and trees in the vicinity of the landing site.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 2001 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Rock Island, Washington · Pangborn Memorial · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 1-26B · all SGS 1-26Bs on the register
- Registration
- N5768S · registry record · serial 394
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident flight was intended to be a solo cross-country instructional glider flight over a distance of about 29 nautical miles. The flight instructor stated that he instructed the student to climb to at least 6,000 feet above sea level (4,751 feet above the departure airport and 4,724 feet above the destination airport) prior to leaving the local area. The glider had a maximum lift-to-drag ratio of 23. The instructor reported that when the student failed to find lift, and after waiting until too low to return to the departure airport, he delayed selecting a safe landing site until only one option remained. The student's approach was high and was made with a tail wind. The glider overshot its intended landing area, a 400-foot-long open field, and landed between trees near a cherry orchard approximately 2 miles from the departure airport, sustaining substantial damage in the landing. The flight instructor reported that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved in the accident. The student pilot's certificate was issued about 1 1/2 months before the accident, and the student pilot's flight instructor reported that the student had 30 hours total pilot time including 8 hours in the accident make and model.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 30 hours in all; 8 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,557.9 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 19, 2001; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 575 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine:; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EAT Wenatchee WA at 8:00 pm
- Destination: EPH Ephrata WA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 7 knots, gusting 8
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.