Skip to content

CEN24LA133

2024-03-12 · Falcon, Colorado, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FLY

Current FAA registration · N2905H

Make / Model
SCHWEIZER SGS 2-33A
Year of manufacture
1979 · 45 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19630719
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A2F889

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain control during takeoff which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and an impact with terrain.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor stated that during the ground launch he rotated the glider and then accelerated in ground effect before he pulled aft stick to accelerate on the launch arc. He then applied right stick correction for runway alignment after which a gust of wind lifted the right wing. The flight instructor was unable to counter the left roll with flight control inputs and the glider stalled. The tow rope, once side loaded, automatically disconnected as designed. The left wing impacted the ground which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and empennage. The flight instructor stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal glider operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Instructor/check pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Ability to respond/compensate
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Ability to respond/compensate

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN24LA133.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers