What happened
The pilot reported entering the traffic pattern for runway 30 at an altitude of approximately 900 feet. After completing a right turn to the base leg, he noted that the glider was positioned too high for the intended landing. In response, he deployed the spoilers halfway to increase descent rate.
As the aircraft transitioned from the base leg to final approach, the pilot realized he had become too low. At this point, airspeed began dropping rapidly toward the stall threshold. To avoid a full aerodynamic stall, he lowered the nose of the aircraft but quickly determined that the airport was no longer reachable.
Rather than attempting a forced landing in an uncontrolled area, the pilot made the decision to fly under overhead power lines and deliberately strike a power line pole with the right wing at approximately 30 feet above ground level. This maneuver was intended to dissipate kinetic energy before impact. Upon striking the pole, approximately 10 feet of the outboard section of the right wing was severed. The glider then rotated 90 degrees to the right and dropped about 15 feet before coming to rest in a swamp located roughly 200 yards from the airport.
A witness observed the incident and confirmed that the glider's spoilers were in a fully deployed position when the aircraft rolled out on final approach, contradicting the pilot's earlier statement regarding partial deployment.