Incident Overview
A glider pilot was landing the aircraft at the conclusion of her third solo flight. According to the pilot's statement, while on the base leg of the airport traffic pattern, the glider was "lower and further away" from the runway than she intended. She then deployed the airbrakes and turned onto the final leg of the traffic pattern. Subsequently, the glider began to sink and impacted terrain short of the runway.
Damage and Examination
The impact resulted in substantial damage to the left wing spar and rear cockpit bulkhead. A postaccident examination of the glider revealed no evidence of preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Investigators found that the airbrakes were fully deployed after the accident.