What happened
On October 5, 2011, a Rolladen Schneider LS8-A glider, registration F-CGZM, was participating in a flight training program near Saint-Auban Château-Arnoux. The pilot, a trainee airline pilot, departed the airfield via aero-tow at 14:06. After an initial period of flight in the southwest sector, the pilot moved toward the "pylons" area to the east of the airfield.
As the flight progressed, the pilot headed north, flying at a low altitude along the western crest of the Vaumuse ridge. After performing several figure-eight maneuvers and gaining approximately 100 meters in altitude through light thermals, the pilot initiated a right-hand spiral maneuver at an altitude of roughly 50 meters above the ridge. During this maneuver, the glider's airspeed and altitude decreased. The aircraft subsequently stalled and struck the crest of the ridge in a steep nose-down attitude, resulting in the death of the pilot and the destruction of the aircraft.
The investigation
The investigation examined the pilot's recent flight history, the aircraft's technical configuration, and the training program's parameters. The pilot was a professional airline trainee with significant experience in powered aircraft but relatively limited glider experience, having completed only about 30 hours of solo glider flight and 15 hours of dual instruction during the training course. This specific flight was his first time operating the LS8-A.
Investigators analyzed data from the aircraft's Zander GP940 flight computer, which revealed that the average speeds during the accident flight were lower than those recorded in previous flights on the same aircraft. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's adherence to flight instructions, noting that he had previously been cautioned by instructors for flying outside the prescribed flight'cone (a 20-glide-ratio cone centered on the airfield).