Accident Overview
On 19 May 2012, a glider accident occurred at the Piotrków Trybunalski airfield (EPPT) during a winch launch. The aircraft involved was an SZD-30 Pirat glider, registration SP-2836, operated by a student pilot. The pilot had logged a total of 148 flights (27 hours 7 minutes), including 48 solo flights (10 hours 48 minutes), and had 8 flights (1 hour 8 minutes) on the Pirat type since qualifying on 24 October 2011.
Sequence of Events
On the day of the accident, glider flights were conducted from grass runway 21L. The student pilot completed two flights on that runway, totaling 27 minutes, on a thermal flying task. Due to a wind shift, starting at 14:05 LMT, launches were moved to grass runway 03R. The wind was from 045° at 2–3 m/s, producing a crosswind component.
At 17:18 LMT, the student pilot again entered the glider for a third launch. During the takeoff roll, the glider began its ground run with the front skid dragging on the ground. Shortly thereafter, the left wing struck the grass, causing the glider to yaw approximately 35° left of the runway centerline. The supervising instructor repeatedly radioed the command “release.” The student pilot did not react in time and failed to release the winch cable. The glider, with its left wing still near the ground, became airborne to a height of several meters and transitioned to an inverted attitude. At that moment, the winch operator cut power and stopped the engine. The glider, still inverted, struck the ground, impacting first with the forward fuselage. The left wing left a gouge approximately 0.35 m deep in the runway surface. The glider sustained serious damage.
Findings
The student pilot was not injured and left the cockpit with assistance from other pilots. An ambulance transported him to a hospital in Piotrków Trybunalski, where examinations found no injuries.
Causes
The accident was attributed to:
- Piloting errors during winch launch with a crosswind.
- Delayed reaction of the student pilot to the emergency situation – failure to release the winch cable.
Contributing factors included high grass at the launch point.