BLAIRSTOWN, NJ, USA
N818AW
Swift S-1
THIS WAS THE PILOT'S FIRST FLIGHT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GLIDER. HE WAS FLYING ABOUT 300 FEET ABOVE THE EAST SIDE OF A RIDGE LINE THAT RUNS IN A GENERAL DIRECTION OF NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST. A GUST OF WIND WAS ENCOUNTERED, THE RIGHT WING DROPPED, AND THE GLIDER ENTERED A SPIN AND COLLIDED WITH TREES. THE PILOT HAD 1000 HOURS OF GLIDER EXPERIENCE. WINDS REPORTED IN THE AREA WERE FROM 300 DEGREES AT 15, GUSTING TO 25 MILES PER HOUR.
On Sunday, October 3, 1993, about 1630 eastern daylight time, a Swift S-1, N818AW, a glider, owned and piloted by Walter Parrasch, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees while maneuvering 5 miles north of the Blairstown Airport, Blairstown, New Jersey. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan had not been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91. This was the pilots first flight in the Polish built experimental glider. The flight was along the east side of a ridge line. In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2 the pilot stated: "...[I] was flying over the ridge at approximately 300 feet above the ridge. The wind was a quartering downwind. I...encountered a wind gust which dropped my right wing and...my airspeed dropped ...The glider started to spin and there was no control of the glider at this point. Seconds later it went straight down to the trees..." The winds on the day of the accident were reported to be from 300 degrees at 15, gusting to 25 miles per hour. The ridge line runs in an approximate direction of 060/240 degrees.
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor is wind gust and the pilot's inexperience in type aircraft.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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