WPR14CA350 · Schweizer SGS 1 34 UNDESIGNAT
Schweizer SGS 1 34 UNDESIGNAT · Accident during initial climb
From El Tiro Gliderport (AZ67) to El Tiro Gliderport (AZ67)
Event
- NTSB case
- WPR14CA350
- 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
- Unknown
- 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
Schweizer SGS 1 34 UNDESIGNAT
- Aircraft type
- Schweizer SGS-1
- 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
- N7628
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From El Tiro Gliderport (AZ67), Marana, AZTo El Tiro Gliderport (AZ67), Marana, AZ
- Aircraft age
- About 45 years (built 1969)
- 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
- Initial climb
- Defining eventThe 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
- Tree(s)
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability
- Aircraft › Aircraft structures
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
- Personnel issues › Task performance
Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that during initial climb out, while under tow, the glider's canopy became loose. Despite his attempts he was unable to lock the canopy. As a result of trying to lock the canopy, he lost sight of the tow airplane so he elected to disconnect the tow rope about 300 feet above ground level. The pilot stated that he had to use his left hand to hold the canopy closed during flight and was unable to deploy the spoilers. Without use of the spoilers and a tailwind, the pilot aborted the approach due to the glider traveling too fast for landing so he turned right in an attempt to land on a perpendicular runway. During the landing, the glider encountered additional lift and bounced upon touchdown. The pilot elected to land off-field to the right of the runway. During the landing sequence, the right wing struck a tree and the glider landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that he failed to ensure the canopy was locked during the pre-takeoff inspection.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to ensure the canopy was locked during the pre-takeoff inspection which led to the canopy opening in flight and the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the subsequent landing.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record WPR14CA350
- Event ID
- 20140820X35015
- Case number
- WPR14CA350
- Dataset
- full-current
- Source SHA-256
- 5cf380f0061817c0331a6b2d8cc7e0ee3a79bea469a1001dc5c10e56f35f5ab3
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: bf44fbf5bdfc54db9b1ac1b8ca59e054b745aa98760c9f729e929b3b884daf15; retrieved 2026-09-16T01:39:41.843Z.