What happened
On June 15, 2022, an ASG-29E glider, registration SP-3818, was participating in a spring gliding camp at Lubin (EPLU) airport. After being towed to an altitude of approximately 600 m AGL, the pilot began thermal soaring. At approximately 12:30, while flying at an altitude of about 200 m AGL, the pilot attempted to engage the retractable engine. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the engine failed to reach full power.
As the pilot attempted to execute a 180-degree turn for landing, the aircraft entered a stall at a very low altitude of approximately 30 m AGL. The glider's right wing struck the ground, causing the aircraft to impact the terrain with the fuselage and tail section. The impact caused the glider to slide 50 m across the ground, rotating 180 degrees from its original flight path. The pilot sustained serious injuries.
The investigation
The PKBWL investigation established that the engine deployment mast had not been fully extended, which prevented the engine from operating correctly. The investigation also found that the pilot had not configured the aircraft for landing; the landing gear remained retracted, and the flaps were set to position '2' (optimized for high-speed flight) rather than position '5' (optimized for low-speed approach). Furthermore, the pilot did not use the radio to communicate the intended landing to the flight controller.
Findings
- The pilot initiated the engine start sequence at an altitude that was too low, leaving insufficient time to manage the situation when the start failed.
- The pilot failed to make the decision to abort the flight and land immediately after the unsuccessful attempt to gain altitude in the thermal.
- The pilot attempted a 180-degree turn at an extremely low altitude while the partially deployed engine assembly acted as an aerodynamic brake.
- The aircraft was not properly configured for landing, specifically regarding flap settings and landing gear deployment.