What happened
On April 7, 2014, at approximately 15:30, a training flight involving a winch launch ended in a fatal accident near Targowiska, Poland. The flight was being conducted under Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) with a light headwind of approximately 2-3 m/s.
During the initial climb phase, at an altitude of roughly 30 meters, the tow line snapped. Following an instruction from an instructor via radio to brake, the pilot heavily applied the brakes to stall the wing. However, after the wing was fully stalled, the pilot released the brakes too abruptly. This caused the paraglider to surge forward and gain significant speed. Due to the low altitude, the pilot struck the ground approximately 100 meters from the launch site. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts by witnesses and emergency medical services, the pilot died at the scene.
The investigation
The PKBWL investigation examined the sequence of events and the mechanical failure of the equipment. The investigation established that the tow line, a 1.9 mm steel cable, failed at a connection point secured by two brass sleeves. The investigation also noted that the pilot was experienced in winch launches, having completed approximately 50 such flights. The analysis focused on the aerodynamic behavior of the wing immediately following the line break and the pilot's manual inputs during the emergency.
Findings
- The tow line failure occurred at an altitude of about 30 meters during the first phase of the climb.
- The primary cause of the accident was the pilot's incorrect response to the emergency situation following the line break.
- The investigation found that the increased angle of attack of the wing just before the break caused an increase in both lift and drag, which placed excessive tension on the tow line, leading to its failure.
- The pilot's decision to release the brakes too quickly after stalling the wing caused the paraglider to surge forward at a low altitude, making a collision with the ground unavoidable.