What happened
The pilot was conducting a ferry flight to transport a glider to Buena Vista, Colorado. Prior to the arrival, he had secured permission to land on a closed runway at the destination airport. After being towed to the vicinity of Buena Vista, the pilot released the glider from the tow plane and operated the aircraft in the local area for approximately 40 minutes.
Subsequently, the pilot descended and landed on a sod strip situated beside the paved runway. During the landing roll, he steered the glider toward the west to avoid other aircraft that had been assembled and parked on an apron. Reports indicate that the pilot allowed the glider to get too close to the edge of the sod strip. As a result, the tail of the glider struck an old tire lying on the ground. This impact damaged the elevators and the rear-most bulkhead of the tail section.
The investigation
Inspection of the aircraft revealed damage to the tail section. Specifically, the elevators and the rear-most bulkhead were found to be damaged following contact with an old tire located near the edge of the sod strip.