What happened
On May 14, 2021, a student pilot was conducting his third solo flight in a Grob G103 Twin Astir glider. The flight began with a winch launch from Wolfsberg Airfield (LOKW). Following successful initial solo circuits, the pilot was assigned a flight task involving ridge soaring near the Koralpe mountains and the Schoberkogel peak.
After releasing from the winch at approximately 1,200 m AMSL, the pilot maneuvered near the Schoberkogel area. While attempting to maintain altitude, the aircraft began a continuous descent toward the southeast. During this descent, the aircraft entered a wooded area southwest of the "Sonnenhütte" at an altitude below the required minimums. The flight instructor, monitoring the flight via radio, even cautioned the pilot via radio to avoid flying too far. Shortly thereafter, the glider struck several trees and crashed in the municipality of Rieding. The pilot sustained serious injuries but managed to extricate himself from the wreckage independently.
The investigation
The Austrian Federal Safety Investigation Board (SUB) reconstructed the flight sequence through interviews with the pilot and investigations by the Carinthia State Criminal Police Office. The investigation examined the aircraft's maintenance records, which confirmed that all required inspections and airworthiness checks had been properly performed. The investigators also analyzed meteorological data, including wind and temperature charts for the Alps, to determine if environmental factors played a role in the descent.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT).
- The pilot misjudged the aircraft's altitude and the intended flight path.
- The aircraft descended below the minimum safe altitude while flying over forested terrain.
- Local meteorological conditions, specifically the possibility of a localized downdraft, may have contributed to the loss of altitude.
- The aircraft sustained a total economic loss.