What happened
On the morning of April 12, 2001, a Grob G102 Astir CS glider, registered F-CEXP, was performing a local flight near Graulhet, France. During the approach to the aerodrome, the pilot extended the landing gear while flying in a tailwind component. As the aircraft transitioned to the base leg of the landing pattern, the pilot partially deployed the airbrakes.
While on final approach, the pilot perceived the aircraft to be too high. In an attempt to correct the glide path, the pilot fully extended the airbrakes; however, the glider's airspeed began to increase. An instructor on the ground, observing the approach, noticed that the landing gear had retracted. The instructor contacted the pilot via radio to instruct them to deploy the airbrakes. Upon following this instruction, the pilot observed the landing gear extending. The aircraft subsequently made a hard impact with the runway, bounced, and came to a halt on the landing strip.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of control inputs during the final stages of the approach. Investigators examined the pilot's actions regarding the deployment of the airbrakes and the landing gear. The pilot, who was relatively inexperienced on this specific aircraft type with only 15 minutes of flight time on the model, had primarily operated fixed-gear gliders. The investigation established that the pilot had inadvertently retracted the landing gear during the approach sequence.