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ERA21LA248

2021-06-13 · Nellysford, Virginia, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport VG22

Current FAA registration · N33929

Make / Model
SCHWEIZER SGS 2-33A
Year of manufacture
1975 · 46 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3B9FE

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate glide path to the runway.

Factual narrative

During an instructional flight in a glider, the student was high on the final approach, deployed the spoilers and entered a forward slip. The flight instructor stated that shortly after, the student “suddenly and unexpectedly” pulled back on the control stick while the rudder and ailerons were cross controlled. The flight instructor immediately took control, pushed the control stick forward and closed the spoilers; however, insufficient altitude remained for a full recovery, which resulted in a hard landing and serious injuries to the instructor. The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal 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-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_ERA21LA248.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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