Flight Details
On 17 August 2019, a training flight was conducted at Kruszyn Airfield (EPWK) using a SZD-50-3 Puchacz glider registered as SP-3411. The crew consisted of a student pilot, aged 46 with a total flight time of 12 hours and 52 minutes, and an instructor pilot, aged 61 with approximately 1,180 hours of flight experience. Weather conditions were good with no intense thermal activity.
Accident Sequence
At approximately 13:20 local time, during the landing approach, the glider was at an altitude of about 3 meters above a road running in front of the airfield. The student pilot pulled the control stick too abruptly, causing a loss of airspeed and a stall. The instructor pilot did not react in time, and the glider touched down from the stall about 30 meters before the runway threshold on an unused part of the airfield.
Injuries and Damage
The student pilot sustained no injuries. The instructor pilot complained of pain in the middle part of the spine and was transported to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with a vertebral endplate fracture and later released. Post-accident inspection of the glider revealed minor damage to the front wheel cover and the right wing aileron drive.
Cause
The accident investigation determined that the cause was the instructor's failure to maintain proper supervision and divided attention during the training flight.