What happened
On August 13, 2016, at approximately 14:25, a Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2C glider, registration F-CIJJ, collided with a Schemli-Hirth Ventus 2CM, registration D-KITT, at an altitude of 3,400 meters approximately 15 km north of Briançon.
At the time of the incident, both aircraft were operating in an area with high glider traffic, with roughly twenty other gliders circling under cumulus clouds. The pilot of F-CIJJ was flying northeast when a FLARM acoustic alarm triggered, indicating a conflict at the 11 o'clock position. The pilot attempted an avoidance maneuver to the right, but as the alarm continued, they identified the other aircraft in their rear-quarter sector, positioned about two meters above them. Despite an attempt to reduce bank angle, the left wingtip of F-CIJJ struck the leading edge of the left wingtip of D-KITT.
The pilot of D-KITT was flying a straight course toward the southeast and reported that they neither saw the F-CIJJ nor heard any FLARM warning prior to the impact. Both aircraft sustained slight damage during the collision.