What happened
On June 5, 2011, at 12:01, a glider tow operation commenced at the EPRP aerodrome. A PZL-101 Gawron aircraft was towing a SZD-42-2 Jantar 2B glider on runway 17. During the initial climb, the tow team encountered significant turbulence and periods of heavy sink, which prevented the aircraft from gaining altitude and caused the assembly to descend momentarily.
At an altitude of approximately 100 meters, the tow pilot executed two left-hand turns. Due to the difficulty in maintaining altitude, the glider pilot decided to release from the tow cable approximately 1 km from the aerodrome edge to perform a landing on the runway with a headwind. Prior to the release, the pilot had extended the airbrakes to tension the towline.
Following the release, the pilot attempted to glide toward the aerodrome. However, due to stress, the pilot failed to notice that the airbrakes remained deployed. This significantly degraded the glider's glide ratio, making it impossible to reach the runway. Consequently, the pilot attempted an emergency landing in an adjacent meadow. During the approach, the right wingtip struck a fruit tree, causing the glider to spin approximately 110 degrees. The impact resulted in the collapse of the main landing gear and various structural damages to the right wing and horizontal stabilizer.
The investigation
The PKBWL examined the flight sequence, the aircraft's configuration, and the environmental conditions at the time of the accident. The investigation focused on the pilot's actions following the release from the tow plane and the aerodynamic impact of the airbrake configuration. The investigation also assessed the impact of the atmospheric turbulence and the performance of the towing aircraft on the pilot's decision-making process.