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LAX87LA035

1986-11-09 · SUN CITY, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N7558

Make / Model
SCHWEIZER SGS 2-33A
Year of manufacture
1970 · 16 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19700629
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AA300C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

WHILE ON A SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT, THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO FIND SUFFICIENT LIFT & DECIDED TO TURN BACK TOWARD THE AIRPORT FOR LANDING. DUE TO HIS LOW ALTITUDE, HE WAS NOT ABLE TO FLY A NORMAL PATTERN ENTRY. A DOWNWIND LANDING WAS ATTEMPTED; HOWEVER, BEFORE REACHING THE RUNWAY, OTHER AIRCRAFT WERE DEPARTING. THE PILOT PARALLELED THE RUNWAY STILL ANTICIPATING A NORMAL LANDING. WHILE TURNING TOWARD THE RUNWAY, THE GLIDER ENCOUNTERED AN ADDITIONAL LOSS OF ALTITUDE. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY. HE ATTEMPTED TO GLIDE TO ANOTHER LANDING SPOT, BUT THE GLIDER'S LEFT WING TIP COLLIDED WITH A SAGUARO CACTUS ABOUT 250 TO 300 YARDS SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT HAD 1053 HRS OF FLIGHT TIME IN SINGLE ENGINE AIRCRAFT, BUT ONLY 11.9 HRS IN GLIDERS. ACCORDING TO FAA RECORDS, HE HELD ONLY A STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_LAX87LA035.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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