What happened
On Saturday, April 14, 2001, at approximately 15:00, a Rolladen Schneider LS 4 B glider, registered F-CGYI, was performing a circuit flight between Moret-Episy and Troyes-Barberey. While flying over Troyes at an altitude of roughly 800 meters, the pilot began searching for rising air. After circling the local cathedral, the pilot determined that returning to the Troyes airfield was not feasible due to a height of 600 meters and unfavorable wind conditions.
Deciding to divert, the pilot headed east to exit the urban area. As the glider descended to approximately 400 meters with a sink rate of 2 meters per second, the pilot evaluated two potential landing fields. The pilot selected a north-south oriented field located near a village, bordered by a road to the east and houses to the south.
During the approach to the chosen field at an altitude of 200 meters, the pilot extended the landing gear. While scanning the ground for obstacles and executing a turn to enter a downwind leg, the glider entered a sink. In an attempt to manage the descent, the pilot pushed the control column forward and deployed the airbrakes, causing the aircraft to adopt a steep nose-down attitude. As the aircraft neared the ground, the pilot retracted the airbrakes and turned left to avoid a nearby house. During this maneuver, the tail of the glider struck the ground, and the aircraft eventually came to rest against a garden shed. The pilot sustained slight injuries, but the aircraft was heavily damaged.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's decision-making process and the flight maneuvers performed during the final approach to the field. Investigators examined the meteorological conditions at the time, which included winds from 350° at 14 knots and visibility characterized by scattered clouds at 4,000 feet. The analysis centered on the sequence of actions taken when the glider began to sink during the turn toward the landing site.