What happened
On May 18, 2024, at approximately 14:40 UTC, a DG-400 touring motor glider crashed into mountainous terrain near Feistritz im Rosental, Austria. The flight began earlier that day at Klagenfurt Airport (LOWK), where the pilot departed using the aircraft's auxiliary engine. After climbing to 3,000 feet MSL and performing a circuit over Stemeritsch, the pilot transitioned from powered flight to gliding mode at approximately 11:44 UTC.
The flight proceeded south along the border between Austria and Slovenia. While navigating the area near the Weinasch mountain, the pilot executed a right-hand turn that placed the aircraft into a northern shadow zone. This change in lighting and thermal conditions caused the aircraft's airspeed to decrease and the sink rate to increase. Consequently, the pilot lost control of the aircraft, which struck the rocky ground, resulting in one fatality and the total destruction of the aircraft.
The investigation
The Austrian Federal Safety Investigation Board (SUB) conducted an investigation involving eyewitness accounts and findings from the Carinthian State Criminal Police Office. The investigation examined the aircraft's maintenance history, noting that a periodic airworthiness review had been completed in March 2024. The investigation also reviewed the aircraft's weight and balance, confirming that the center of gravity and total mass were within permissible limits. Meteorological data, including GAFOR and wind forecasts, were analyzed alongside the flight path reconstruction to determine the environmental factors present at the time of the accident.