Flight History
On 29 June 2022, a pilot assembled his Rolladen-Schneider LS1-d glider, registration D-2057, at Terlet glider airfield. After performing an inspection, he completed three winch-launch flights before beginning a fourth launch at 14:57 local time from Runway 22L. The water tanks in both wings were empty, and a blue weak link with a breaking load of 6 kN was used. Witnesses observed that immediately after becoming airborne, the glider made a steep climb. At approximately 20 metres, the climb rate decreased, and the glider made a slight roll to the right, followed by a left-hand turn with a steep bank angle. The nose then dropped, and the glider began rotating counter-clockwise before crashing inverted. The pilot was fatally injured, and the glider was destroyed, with the nose and cockpit destroyed, the fuselage broken, and the tail separated. The winch operator reported that the winch functioned normally.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 69, began gliding in 2016. He held a valid European Union Flight Crew Licence (LAPL(S)) with winch launch privileges, issued on 3 October 2019, and a valid medical certificate. His total flying experience was 171 hours and 30 minutes across 715 flights. He had flown the LS1-d since 22 September 2021, accumulating 21 flights totaling nearly 3 hours, with 13 flights in 2022. All flights on this glider used the winch launch method. In 2022, he had made 69 flights as pilot in command, totaling approximately 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Technical Examination
A technical investigation of the wreckage did not reveal any defects in the flight controls that could have contributed to the accident, insofar as examination was possible given the damage. No other technical issues were identified.
Analysis
The investigation determined that the slight roll to the right was the first indication of a stall. The pilot's subsequent control inputs resulted in a left-hand, nose-down turn with a steep bank, indicating that the glider had entered a stall. The stall occurred because the critical angle of attack was exceeded, which was initiated by a high rotation rate at the beginning of the winch launch. At the low altitude, the pilot was unable to recover from the stall.
Conclusions
The glider stalled during the winch launch after the critical angle of attack was exceeded due to a high rotation rate at the start of the launch. The pilot could not recover at low height, leading to the crash.