What happened
On June 5, 2021, at approximately 12:15 PM, a SZD-50-3 „Puchacz" glider was performing a winch launch at the Friedersdorf landing field. The aircraft was occupied by a flight instructor and a 15-year-old student, marking the student's first instructional takeoff.
Immediately after liftoff, the aircraft entered a steep climb with an excessively high angle of attack. During the initial ground roll, the nose wheel had struck a small mound of grass. Following this impact, the student pilot pulled the control column fully backward and held it in the blocked position. At an altitude of approximately 45 meters, the tow rope released from the glider's coupling. The aircraft failed to recover its flight attitude, tilted to the right, and entered a flat spin-like rotation before impacting the ground at a shallow angle. The impact destroyed the cockpit area and the fuselage, resulting in two serious injuries to the occupants.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft, the winch operations, and the flight sequence using GPS data from a collision warning device. The investigation established that the aircraft's flight path included a brief touchdown shortly after takeoff, followed by a climb that lasted only about three seconds before the aircraft began to tilt. The investigation also reviewed the maintenance history of the SZD-50-3 „Puchacz," noting that while the elevator controls had previously been noted as heavy following maintenance, all control surfaces were found to be functional and no technical malfunctions were identified in the winch or the aircraft's mechanical systems.