What happened
On May 23, 2012, an instructional flight involving an instructor and a student took off from Santa Cilia Aerodrome in Spain. The aircraft, a DG 50 and ELAN ORION with registration G-CKAW, was conducting a dual-control training mission in a mountainous environment. After being released from an aerotow, the crew managed to reach an altitude of approximately 50 meters above the surrounding summits, which average 1,300 meters.
While attempting to navigate the terrain to access south-west facing slopes, the crew encountered a sudden surge of lift under the port wing. Due to insufficient roll control to immediately turn into the lift, the instructor executed an accelerated steep turn to the starboard to avoid the approaching crest line. During this maneuver, the aircraft encountered severe sink. Despite the turn, the rate of descent was too great to avoid the terrain, and the glider struck a wooded hillside at an elevation of 1,353 meters. The impact destroyed the aircraft, though the cockpit remained relatively intact. The instructor sustained minor injuries, while the student suffered serious injuries and required rescue.
The investigation
The CIAIAC investigation focused on the flight path, meteorological conditions, and the pilot's decision-making process. Investigators utilized data from a portable GPS unit carried by the instructor to reconstruct the flight path, as the aircraft was not equipped with a flight data recorder.
Meteorological analysis from nearby stations in Canfranc and Aragües del Puerto revealed that while the pilot believed the wind was from the west, the actual wind was from the northeast. The investigation also examined the pilot's experience levels, noting that while the instructor was experienced in general flight, he had limited experience in high-mountain environments and very little experience on this specific aircraft type.