What happened
On 1 June 2002, a Schleible Ka-8B glider, registration FKJ, was involved in a fatal mid-air collision with a parachutist at Hinton-in-the-Hedges Airfield. The accident occurred during a period when both gliding and skydiving activities were being conducted concurrently at the airfield.
Three parachutists had exited a Turbolet 410 aircraft at 12,000 feet to practice formation descents. At approximately 4,000 feet, the formation began to separate in preparation for parachute deployment at 2,200 feet. During this descent, one parachutist observed the glider approximately 800 feet below him. The parachutist fell very close to the aircraft before deploying his main canopy. Upon looking up to check the deployment, he observed wreckage falling around him, indicating that a colleague had struck the glider.
The collision resulted in two fatalities: the pilot of the glider and the parachutist. The glider pilot was not wearing a parachute at the time of the accident. The impact caused the glider's left wing to fail structurally, and the aircraft struck the ground at high speed.
The investigation
The investigation established that while the gliding club and the skydiving centre had an agreed operating procedure, there were conflicting interpretations of the active airspace. The skydiving centre's "cone of operation" was defined as an arc between 140° and 230°, whereas the gliding club instructor understood the boundary to be between 160° and 220°.
The collision occurred at a location that was within the skydiving centre's defined area but outside the area understood by the gliding club. Furthermore, the investigation found that the Turbolet 410 was tracking slightly east of the apex of the cone of operation.
While the DZ controller attempted to broadcast warnings to the glider and a cancellation of the drop to the Turbolet crew, these messages were not heard by the crew of the aircraft performing the jump. The investigation also noted that the glider pilot was not wearing a parachute, a decision permitted under BGA guidelines for private gliding, though the loss of the wing made survival unlikely.
Findings
- The collision occurred because the two organisations had different interpretations of the boundaries for the parachute drop zone.
- The location of the impact was at the edge of the skydiving centre's operational cone but outside the area the glider pilot believed was restricted.
- The Turbolet 410 crew did not receive or acknowledge the DZ controller's warning to cancel the drop.
- The glider's left wing suffered structural failure due to the impact, leading to the destruction of the aircraft.