What happened
On August 6, 2020, at 13:55 LMT, a mid-air collision occurred involving two gliders during the fourth competition of the National Gliding Championships (Class Club A). The incident took place at an altitude of 1,235 m AMSL over the Lisie Kąty aerodrome (EPGI).
The aircraft involved were a SZD-55-1 (registration SP-3985, competition mark FF1) and a Jantar Standard 2 (registration SP-3174, competition mark B1). While circling in a thermal, the pilot of the SZD-55-1 entered the same thermal as the Jantar Standard 2. During this maneuver, the upper right wingtip of the SZD-55-1 made contact with the lower surface of the left wing of the Jantar Standard 2, approximately 2 meters from the wingtip.
Following the contact, both pilots elected to continue the flight and proceed to the competition route. No further issues were reported during the remainder of the flight. Upon landing, inspections revealed minor damage, specifically paint scratches on the right wingtip of the SZD-55-1 and an orange scratch on the wing of the Jantar Standard 2.
The investigation
The PKBWL examined the sequence of events leading to the contact within the thermal and reviewed the flight paths of both aircraft. The investigation focused on the maneuvers performed by the pilot of the aircraft entering the thermal and the level of situational awareness maintained during the competition maneuvers.