Aircraft and Pilot Information
The accident involved a L-13 "Blanik" glider, registration LY-GBT, manufactured on 10 October 1975 (serial number 026441). The glider belonged to Kauno aeroklubas and had accumulated 800 flight hours since new. The pilot, identified as Ia, had a total flight time of 20 hours 55 minutes, with 9 hours 48 minutes flown in 1993. A control check for cross-country flying was conducted on 19 July 1994, and the last flight day was 9 August 1994.
Accident Sequence
During the flight, the pilot lost altitude and was unable to reach the aerodrome. Consequently, the pilot was forced to land in a field selected from the air. The pilot, being unprepared for off-field selection, chose an unsuitable landing area. During the landing, the glider sustained damage.
Damage
The glider suffered the following damage:
- Deformation of the forward fuselage frame (repairable).
- Deformation of the left wing console 2 meters from the wing tip (not repairable; left wing replacement required).
Probable Cause
The accident was attributed to the pilot losing altitude, which resulted in an inability to reach the aerodrome and necessitated a forced landing. The pilot, unprepared for selecting landing fields from the air, chose an unsuitable field and damaged the glider during landing.
Other Observations
The investigation noted several contributing issues: the pilot's personal indiscipline and insufficient professional readiness to handle the specific flight situation; inadequate organization of flights; insufficient supervision of low-experience glider pilots by the flight director; and a psychological tendency among low-experience pilots to insist on landing at the aerodrome, combined with a lack of training for off-field landing during cross-country flights for pilots not authorized for route flying.