History of Flight
On April 16, 2022, about 1315 eastern daylight time, a Schleicher ASW-19B glider, registration N19KW, was substantially damaged during an accident near Jacksonville, Florida. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
According to the tow pilot, shortly after becoming airborne, he observed the glider in his rearview mirror. The glider climbed above the tow airplane, then descended, then climbed again. As the tow pilot reached for his tow release handle, he heard the glider pilot say “release” over the radio. The tow pilot immediately entered a right turn at an altitude of about 250 ft above ground level (agl). He could not immediately see the glider; however, a few seconds later, he saw the glider in the trees adjacent to the runway.
Another witness, a pilot who had just released parachute jumpers, was descending through 9,000 ft agl directly over the airport. He saw the tow plane and glider taking off. When the glider became airborne, it pitched up about 30 to 40°, and the witness could see the entire nose of the glider. The glider stalled and nosed over before it entered a secondary stall and pitched up again. He heard the glider pilot on the common traffic advisory frequency yelling at the tow pilot to “take it easy…something is not right,” followed by the sound of the tow release mechanism. The glider then made a left “knife-edge” turn about 200 ft agl. The glider continued in a descending left turn. The left wing impacted the ground first and the tail section separated. Right before impact, the glider pilot said he was “going down.”
Several witnesses on the ground observed the accident. They reported abnormal pitch oscillations before the pilot released from the tow airplane from about 100 to 150 ft agl. One witness described the glider’s takeoff as “erratic” as it climbed and descended behind the tow airplane. After release, the glider entered a 30° left turn back to the airport, during which it descended and impacted the ground. One witness stated the glider appeared to have no elevator authority.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and glider. A review of his glider logbook showed a total of 324.6 flight hours in gliders, with about 320.3 hours in the accident glider as of his last entry on January 15, 2022.
Aircraft Information
The Schleicher ASW-19B is a single-seat glider. The most recent annual inspection was completed on April 28, 2021, at an aircraft total time of 1,501.2 hours.
Wreckage Information
All major components of the glider were accounted for at the accident site. The glider came to rest upright in 3-to-4-ft-high brush in a wetlands area several hundred yards from the runway. The cockpit area was crushed and displaced to the right. The canopy had separated and was found forward and to the right of the main wreckage.
An impact scar was observed about 6 ft behind the left wing. The outboard section of the left wing sustained impact damage and was folded over the top of the left wing but remained attached to the inboard section via control tubing. The right wing was intact and the tip came to rest against a small tree. The air brakes were extended on both wings.
The glider’s tail section was partially separated at the empennage and was resting on the right horizontal stabilizer, which was bent down about 90° mid-span. The vertical and left horizontal stabilizer, rudder, and elevator were undamaged.
Flight control continuity was established for all flight control surfaces to the cockpit area except for the elevator. The elevator control, which included a fixed ball joint on the base of the elevator and the elevator control tube that extended the length of the vertical stabilizer, was not connected as required by preflight flight assembly procedures. The proper function of the elevator connection was manually tested several times, and no anomalies were noted. The base of the connection clasp contained a small hole for the purpose of using a spring clip to secure the connection. No evidence of a spring clip or other securing device was found.
The tow pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that the pilot had trailered his glider to the airport the day of the accident and assembled the glider himself, as he had done many times before.
Medical and Pathological Information
Toxicology testing performed by the FAA’s Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified cetirizine, trazodone, pantoprazole, carvedilol, amlodipine, tamsulosin, and losartan in the pilot’s cavity blood and urine.
Cetirizine is a sedating antihistamine available over the counter, often with the name Zyrtec. Trazodone is an antidepressant that is often used off-label as a treatment for insomnia. It carries a warning about performance: “Trazodone hydrochloride may cause somnolence or sedation and may impair the mental and/or physical ability required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks. Patients should be cautioned about operating hazardous machinery, including automobiles, until they are reasonably certain that the drug treatment does not affect them adversely.” Pantoprazole is used to treat heartburn and is not considered impairing. Carvedilol, amlodipine, tamsulosin, and losartan are blood pressure medications that are not generally considered impairing.
Additional Information
The FAA Glider Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-13A), Chapter 8, Abnormal and Emergency Procedures, states: “Failure of any primary flight control system presents a serious threat to safety. The most frequent cause of control system failure is incomplete assembly of the glider in preparation for flight….Perform a positive control check with the help of a knowledgeable assistant. Do not assume that any flight surface and flight control is properly installed and connected during the post-assembly inspection. Instead, assume that every connection is suspect. Inspect and test until certain that every component is ready for flight.”