LAX89LA291 · Schweizer SGS 2-33A
Schweizer SGS 2-33A and Cessna 182E · Accident during takeoff
Event
- NTSB case
- LAX89LA291
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 0
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Aircraft 1 · Schweizer SGS 2-33A
- Aircraft type
- Schweizer SGS-2
- Category
- Glider
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N65843
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From not recordedTo not recorded
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Takeoff · roll/run
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Miscellaneous/other
- Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
- Stall
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Destroyed
Aircraft 2 · Cessna 182E
- Aircraft type
- Cessna 182
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N9340X
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From not recordedTo not recorded
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Takeoff · roll/run
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Miscellaneous/other
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Minor
Cause areas
- Pilot in command › Communications, misread
- Pilot in command › Crew/group coordination, inadequate
- Pilot in command › Proper assistance, not used
- Pilot of other aircraft › Communications, misread
- Pilot of other aircraft › Crew/group coordination, inadequate
- Pilot of other aircraft › Proper assistance, not used
Approximate · Estimated position: the centre of Hemet, CA, the place the record names. Not the accident site.
NTSB narrative
WHEN THE GLIDER PLT & TOW PLT WERE READY TO LAUNCH, THE RWY ASSISTANT WAS HELPING WITH THE LAUNCH OF ANOTHER GLIDER. THE GLIDER PLT OF N65843 ELECTED TO CONNECT THE TOW LINE TO HIS OWN GLIDER. THE TOW PLANE WAS TAXIED INTO PSN & THE GLIDER PLT CONNECTED THE LINE. THE TOW PLT WATCHED AS THE GLIDER PLT GOT INTO THE COCKPIT (AFT SEAT) WITH A PSGR IN THE FRONT SEAT. THE GLIDER PLT THEN DECIDED TO GET OUT AGAIN TO ADJUST HIS SEAT CUSHION. HOWEVER, AS HE WAS GETTING OUT, THE TOW PLT SAW MOVEMENT OF THE RUDDER WHICH HE ASSUMED WAS THE SIGNAL FOR LAUNCH. THE TOW PLT LOOKED AWAY & BGN A TAKEOFF WITH ONLY THE PSGR IN THE GLIDER. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE GLIDER WAS RELEASED AS IT WENT OUT OF CONTROL, STALLED & CRASHED.
Probable cause
INADEQUATE CREW COORDINATION BETWEEN THE TOW PILOT AND GLIDER PILOT, FAILURE OF THE GLIDER PILOT TO OBTAIN PROPER ASSISTANCE, AND THE TOW PILOT'S MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE GLIDER PILOT'S INTENTIONS.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record LAX89LA291
- Event ID
- 20001213X29170
- Case number
- LAX89LA291
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 066aafcf00b20a615f5f39ab19c252b19ec03b7b3d013cf7c8c737421db9f086; retrieved 2026-09-22T00:03:22.653Z.