Glider Drifts Off Runway and Strikes Trees During Landing Approach (N1197S)

Incident Overview During a landing approach, a glider began drifting to the right of the runway centerline. The student pilot was operating the aircraft controls at the time, and the instructor pilot reported that the glider continued to drift farther from the centerline. ## Instructor Intervention As the drift increased, the instructor pilot took over the controls. He reported applying full deflection of the flight controls to counteract the drift, but the glider continued to move right. ## Impact and Rest Position The right wingtip of the glider struck trees, and the aircraft spun until it came to rest in the trees approximately ten feet off the ground. The instructor pilot reported that the trees were about 25 feet from the edge of the runway.