Aircraft and Crew
The accident involved a Schempp-Hirth (built by Grob) Standard Cirrus glider, registration D-0786. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 2,700 flight hours and 1,700 takeoffs. It held a valid airworthiness certificate and had flown 15 hours since its last inspection. The pilot, a 32-year-old male, held a valid glider pilot license and military pilot certificate. He had about 1,400 total flight hours, including 60 hours on the type, with 10 hours in the last 7 days and 20 hours on type in the last 90 days.
Accident Description
On 22 May 2004 at 14:13 UTC (16:13 local time), the glider made an off-field landing near Rio Saliceto (RE), Italy, after a flight lasting over two hours. The final touchdown was followed by an impact with a concrete post at an estimated speed of 20–35 km/h. The pilot sustained facial trauma and face injuries. The glider suffered severe nose damage, including a tear from the right rudder pedal to the canopy frame, destruction of the plexiglass canopy and its frame, damage to the instrument panel (variometer and airspeed indicator destroyed), a burst main wheel tire, and structural damage to the landing gear mechanism and fuselage attachments. The right wing leading edge had an 80 cm tear about 6 m from the root; the left wing leading edge showed impact marks near the root. The tail boom had cracks near the rudder attachment. No third-party damage occurred. The flight was a tourism flight, specifically participation in the Italian Glider Championship Club Class.
Meteorological Conditions
Meteorological conditions at the time were reported as CAVOK, with wind from 290° at 12 knots and an outside air temperature of 25 °C.
Analysis
According to the investigation report, the pilot was competing in the third leg of the Italian Glider Club Class Championship. The assigned task was Ferrara Piazza Ariostea, Novellara, Mirandola, Coronella, and Ferrara airport. Takeoff occurred at 13:50, with the start gate open from 14:20 to 15:20 approximately; the pilot started at about 14:40 local from Ferrara airport. Weather forecasts indicated a cold front moving over the Po Valley in the evening, with prefrontal instability and possible cloud cover and showers, including thunderstorms. After departure, the pilot progressed toward the first turnpoint, deviating south to follow areas of maximum available energy. Over Carpi at an estimated 500 m AGL, cloud cover had cooled the ground, virtually suspending thermal activity. The pilot and another competing glider spiraled in search of lift, using each other as thermal markers, losing altitude slowly for about 20 minutes. At approximately 300 m AGL, they separated. The D-0786 pilot headed upwind, trying to catch thermal bubbles above Rio Saliceto. Arriving at about 200 m AGL, with a field for forced landing in sight, he encountered very turbulent air with strong updrafts (1.5–1.7 m/s) surrounded by large areas of weak downdrafts (0.5–0.7 m/s). After nearly 5 minutes, at about 100 m AGL, the pilot extended the landing gear and decided to perform a forced landing in the previously observed field. Due to turbulence, he maintained a wide margin from stall, flying at about 120 km/h during the landing circuit. The circuit was flown too close to the field, resulting in a very steep final approach, causing the pilot to land at an excessive speed (100 km/h) for the field length. Intending to quickly lower the tail skid for faster braking, the pilot pulled the stick back, sharply increasing the angle of attack and causing the glider to become airborne again (a bounce of about 30–40 m). After firmly on the ground, he braked with the main wheel and used the tail skid, keeping wings level. At the far end of the field, the glider jumped a ditch about 2.5 m wide and landed on the opposite side, bursting the main wheel. The rollout was slowed by impacts with trees (causing leading edge damage) and finally stopped by a reinforced concrete post (square section, about 10 cm side, 1.80 m high). The report concluded that proper execution would have required a final approach of at least 500–700 m to adjust speed and altitude using spoilers and controls; failure to do so caused excess altitude, and the attempt to reduce altitude led to excess speed. The pilot arrived on final at least 10 m above the optimal glide path at about 120 km/h. Excess altitude extended the landing by at least 100 m (assuming a glide ratio of 10 with gear and spoilers extended). The circuit too close to the field caused a steep final, resulting in excessive speed of about 25–30 km/h above the optimal 90–95 km/h for the turbulent and crosswind conditions, adding approximately 100 m of needed stopping distance.