What happened
On July 11, 2013, at 18:30, a Rolladen-Schneider LS8 glider, registration D-8881, was participating in the Women's World Gliding Championship. The pilot was performing a navigation flight departing from the Issoudun Le Fay aerodrome, following a prescribed course involving several mandatory waypoints.
During the third and final leg of the navigation toward Issoudun, the pilot encountered an area with minimal rising air. After several unsuccessful attempts to regain altitude, the pilot decided to perform a forced landing in a field located at the edge of a forest. As the pilot began the landing pattern, the aircraft flew over the wooded area. During the final turn, the glider struck the treetops and became suspended approximately 18 meters above the ground. The pilot remained in the aircraft until emergency services arrived to facilitate a safe evacuation.
The investigation
Investigators analyzed flight data from the onboard flight recorder, which was installed for competition purposes. The data confirmed a steady loss of altitude during the final leg of the flight. The flight path indicated that the pilot attempted to regain altitude until the final moments of the flight.
During the investigation, the pilot reported being caught by surprise by the loss of lift and the presence of turbulence directly above the forest. This environmental factor resulted in a higher rate of descent than anticipated during the landing maneuver.