What happened
During a flight involving a glider, the pilot released from the tow airplane at 3,000 feet above ground level. After failing to encounter any thermal lift, the pilot decided to return to the grass airstrip for landing.
While on the downwind leg of the landing pattern, the pilot experienced what was described as a very excessive sink rate. In response, the pilot cut the pattern short and turned onto the base leg, which left the aircraft high on that leg of the approach.
The pilot deployed the spoilers but encountered difficulty retracting them because of the heavy force required to push the handle forward. As the aircraft lost altitude, the left wing caught the grass at approximately the same time the glider touched down. The aircraft's nose was approximately 20 degrees off the runway heading at touchdown, resulting in a ground loop and skid that caused substantial damage to the aircraft. The pilot was not injured.