What happened
On April 13, 2014, at approximately 15:42 EDT, an Aircraft Industries A.S. L33 SOLO glider, registration N318BA, collided with terrain about 400 feet north-northeast of Crooked Creek Airport (7NC5) in Bunn, North Carolina. The flight, operated by the North Carolina Soaring Association, began at 15:25 EDT when the pilot was towed aloft from runway 22 and released at approximately 2,000 feet mean sea level.
After the initial flight, the tow plane pilot offered a second tow due to the short duration of the first flight, which the glider pilot accepted. Witnesses on the ground reported seeing the glider on a right downwind leg for runway 22, noting that the aircraft appeared low. As the glider turned onto the base leg, a witness observed the aircraft in a nose-low attitude of greater than 50 degrees, followed by a wing rotation similar to a ground loop. The aircraft then impacted the ground.
Following the impact, the pilot sustained one serious injury. The glider sustained substantial damage, including the separation of a wing from the fuselage.
The investigation
An inspection by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the glider owner's chief tow pilot found no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction regarding the flight controls for pitch, roll, yaw, or air brakes. The air brakes were found in the retracted position.
Data retrieved from a portable GPS receiver showed that between 15:41:20 and 15:41:35, the glider was flying east on a base leg, slowing from 5KIAS to 32 knots. The aircraft then turned south toward the airport. Between 15:41:53 and 15:41:57, the glider turned slightly right, and groundspeed decreased from 34 knots to 25 knots. The final GPS target was recorded approximately 450 feet from the accident site.
At the time of the accident, the weather was characterized by visual meteorological conditions with a wind of 160 degrees at 11 knots, visibility of 10 statute miles, and scattered clouds at 5,500 and 7,000 feet.