NONE · Schweizer SGS233 · 2018-08-05 · Churchville, MD, USA
Event
NTSB number
ERA18LA211
Event ID
20180806X75058
Type
Accident
Date
2018-08-05
Location
Churchville, MD, USA
Coordinates
39.568054, -76.208053
Injuries
Highest injury
NONE
Fatal
0
Serious
0
Minor
0
Uninjured
2
Total aboard
2
Aircraft
Make
Schweizer
Model
SGS233
Registration
N2832H
FAR Part
091
Engines
0
Damage
SUBS
Conditions
Light
DAYL
Weather
VMC
Probable cause
The pilots' decision to take off from a wet, upsloping turf runway with a quartering tailwind and elevated density altitude conditions, which degraded takeoff and climb performance and resulted in the glider flight instructor's decision to discontinue the takeoff and the glider's subsequent impact with trees. Also causal was the pilots' failure to adhere to the operator's standard operating procedures, which prohibited takeoff with a tailwind.