What happened
On August 13, 2018, at approximately 13:57 LMT, an SZD-50-3 Puchacz glider departed from Lisie Kąty (EPGI) airfield. The crew, consisting of a student pilot and an instructor, was performing a thermal training flight. Around 15:30 LMT, due to declining thermal activity, the instructor decided to return to the airfield for landing. The crew requested and was granted the first approach position in a downwind pattern for runway 31.
During the fourth turn of the circuit, the glider was at an altitude of approximately 160–180 meters. The landing wind was a left crosswind at 1–2 m/s. At an altitude of roughly 2 meters, during the flare phase, the glider experienced a sudden loss of lift, resulting in a hard landing. The aircraft's speed during the flare was approximately 90–95 km/h, with the airbrake lever positioned at three-quarters open. Following the impact, the glider veered left and came to a stop at a 45-degree angle to the landing axis, positioned just ahead of two SZD-30 Pirat gliders awaiting takeoff.
While the student pilot remained uninjured, the instructor sustained a fractured L1 vertebra. The instructor was assisted from the cockpit by ground personnel and transported by ambulance to the Regional Specialist Hospital in Grudziądz.
The investigation
The investigation examined the flight parameters during the final approach and the configuration of the aircraft's airbrakes. The inspection of the aircraft revealed damage to the main landing gear fork.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the instructor's failure to react to an excessively high flare and the subsequent loss of airspeed while the airbrakes were deployed.
- The aircraft was operating with airbrakes significantly extended (three-quarters open) during the flare phase.