Accident Sequence
A student glider pilot, on his eighth solo flight, had flown in the morning and returned for a flight to gain experience in afternoon wind conditions. His launch limitations were surface winds less than 10 mph and crosswinds no greater than 60 degrees to the runway. Takeoff conditions met those parameters, and he departed.
On return for landing, the student was maintaining 60 mph at 700-800 feet above ground level (agl). He felt this was high towards the end of the downwind leg for runway 19, so he performed a slip maneuver to lose altitude to 500-600 feet. When he turned to the base leg, the glider suddenly lost altitude to about 300 feet agl, prompting him to initiate an early turn to final.
CFI Observations
The student's certified flight instructor (CFI) reported that when the student turned from downwind to base, the glider was lower than expected, and he observed the spoilers open. As the CFI was about to radio the student, the spoilers closed. The CFI stated that the glider was low, slow, and nose high as it approached the runway threshold. It appeared to stall and dropped onto the runway from an altitude of 5-6 feet. It hit hard, bounced, and dragged both wing tips. After the glider came to a rest, the CFI reported that the spoilers were not out.
Wind Conditions
A witness stated that the winds had been from the south-southwest at 10 knots most of the day with occasional gusts greater than 10 knots. Twenty minutes prior to the accident, the wind was reported from 270 degrees at 16 knots.