Factual Information
Flight Sequence
On June 10, 1998, the Klaipėda Gliding Club conducted operations at Kartenos aerodrome. Four L-13 Blanik gliders were towed aloft by a Wilga-35A aircraft. The accident glider, LY-GIC, was piloted by an amateur pilot who was also the club's engineer. It was launched at 14:05 local time (12:05 UTC). During the flight, storm clouds with heavy rain and thunder developed, and pilots were informed via radio. The pilot of LY-GIC decided to cross the storm cloud, violating flight safety requirements, despite the availability of suitable landing fields in the area. While flying into heavy rain, the pilot realized he could not reach the aerodrome. He executed a 170-degree turn to land downwind in a field he had selected from the air. However, heavy rain covered the windshield externally, and temperature differences caused internal fogging, reducing visibility. The pilot could not see the field boundaries and lost visual contact with the ground. He reported a speed of 90 km/h, but the actual ground speed was higher due to the downwind landing. The glider contacted the ground nose-first at a glide angle, bounced, turned 180 degrees, and struck the ground tail-first, sliding backward to a stop. The accident occurred at 14:30 local time (12:30 UTC).
Injuries and Damage
The pilot sustained no injuries. The glider was severely damaged, including deformation of the nose, fuselage panels, wing center section, tail, and right elevator. The cockpit canopy was undamaged.
Pilot Information
The pilot was a Lithuanian citizen, amateur pilot, and club engineer. He had a total of 328 hours on gliders, including 112 hours on the L-13 Blanik type. His amateur pilot license was valid until February 20, 1999, and he was authorized for glider flight and landings in fields selected from the air. His last flight before the accident was 1.5 hours in the preceding 90 days.
Aircraft Information
The glider was an L-13 Blanik, manufactured by Let Kunovice, Czechoslovakia, serial number 172519, built February 20, 1963. National registration LY-GIC. Airworthiness certificate valid until May 21, 1999. Total flight hours since new: 1350 hours 18 minutes; total landings: 1786. It had undergone four repairs (1973, 1974, 1978, 1983). After the last repair, it had flown 268 hours 15 minutes with 597 landings. The last periodic maintenance (25/50/100-hour inspection) was performed on May 2, 1998, after which it flew 50 minutes with 2 landings. The aircraft weight and balance were not determined because the weight and balance report was not provided and the aircraft logbook lacked such data. The pilot reported no malfunctions before or during the flight.
Meteorological Conditions
Actual weather at the time of the accident included developing storm clouds with heavy rain and thunderstorms, as reported by Palanga aviation meteorological station.
Communication and Supervision
Radio communication between the glider and the flight director functioned normally. The flight director's actions were not considered to have directly influenced the accident.
Accident Site and Evacuation
The accident occurred in a field suitable for landing. The pilot, who was also the club engineer, did not report the accident for two days and independently evacuated the glider from the site, attempting to conceal the accident, as confirmed by the flight director's statement.
Conclusion
The investigation concluded that the pilot violated flight safety requirements.