What happened
On July 8, 2015, a BINDER motor glider, registration D-KHCQ, was returning from a navigation flight near Cahors to the Bordeaux-Léognan-Saucats airfield. While flying the downwind leg for runway 03, the pilot encountered significant wind conditions, with recorded gusts reaching 20 knots. As the aircraft transitioned into the base leg, the pilot realized the aircraft was at an insufficient altitude to reach the unpaved runway.
Unable to deploy the engine without further losing altitude, the pilot attempted an emergency landing in a nearby clearing. During the final approach, the aircraft's wings struck the treetops at the edge of the clearing, causing the glider to strike the ground approximately 300 meters short of the runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed in the impact.
The investigation
The BEA examined the wreckage, flight trajectory, and meteorological data. The investigation established that the aircraft's flight path deviated from the published airfield circuit during the downwind leg due to the influence of a northwesterly wind. Analysis of the flight path showed a continuous descent from an altitude of 310 meters.
Investigators also reviewed the pilot's experience and the aircraft's configuration. The pilot, an experienced flyer with over 3,400 total hours, had been flying for approximately five hours. The wreckage showed the flaps were retracted and the engine was not deployed. While investigators noted the possibility that the pilot might have confused the flap lever with the airbrake control, this could not be definitively confirmed.