Schweizer SGS1-26C accident near Mount Vernon, Washington, April 8, 1984
On April 8, 1984 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Schweizer SGS1-26C (glider), registered N4450N, was destroyed in an accident near Mount Vernon, Washington (Barker airport). It was a personal 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 8, 1984 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Vernon, Washington · Barker · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS1-26C · all SGS1-26Cs on the register
- Registration
- N4450N · registry record · serial 365
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE SAILPLANE ENCOUNTERED DETERIDRATING THERMALS & ELECTED TO MAKE AN OFF AIRPORT LANDING AS HE DID NOT THINK HE COULD REACH THE AIRPORT. HE OVERSHOT THE SELECTED FIELD IN HIS ATTEMPT TO MISS SOME WIRES AT THE APCH END OF THE FIELD DESPITETHE USE OF SPOILERS & SIDE SLIPPING. THE ACFT STRUCK A DITCH ON ROLLOUT.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 171 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 146 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 472 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 12, 1983; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 75S Burlington WA at 10:00 pm
- Destination: WA40 Mount Vernon WA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 2,050 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:55 pm from BLT, 30 miles away
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.