Schweizer SGS 2-33A accident near North Plains, Oregon, June 11, 1998
On June 11, 1998 at about 1:00 am local time, a Schweizer SGS 2-33A (glider), registered N65918, was substantially damaged in an accident near North Plains, Oregon (North Plains Gliderport airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control and his failure to maintain clearance from a pole. Contributing factors were rain and an overcast which resulted in less than optimal conditions to detect the pole.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 11, 1998 · about 1:00 am local time
- Place
- North Plains, Oregon · North Plains Gliderport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 2-33A · all SGS 2-33As on the register
- Registration
- N65918 · registry record · serial 358
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot-in-command (PIC) reported that he 'failed to maintain proper control of the aircraft, deviated from an acceptable track down a grass runway (270) and contacted a pole with the left wing' while he 'was in the process of turning out to avoid another object.' Conditions at the time were calm winds, with heavily overcast gray skies with light precipitation. After a comment from his passenger the PIC saw the bright white golf cart and began to maneuver away from it. The PIC's 'first reaction on feeling the contact with the pole was disbelief, because I knew I could not have struck the cart, and the pole simply hadn't registered in my mind at all.' Neither the PIC nor passenger ever saw the pole which was ordinarily marked with bright yellow parachute extending out and centered around the pole. With the parachute having been removed, the PIC's expectation of the pole's usual vivid (yellow) image was different from reality and he had no incentive to execute any corrective action. Additionally, the gliderport grass runway had no markings delineating its boundary nor did it have any centerline marking to guide the PIC in maintaining directional control.
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: rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 75 hours in all; 6 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 48 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,320 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 1, 1997; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,040 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1OR4
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 2,000 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,500 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.