What happened
On August 7, 1969, a Rhönlerche-II glider, registered as HB-623, was performing an approach for landing at the Fricktal-Schupfart airfield. During the final stages of the descent, the aircraft flew too low, resulting in a collision with a tree. The impact caused heavy damage to the glider, though the pilot escaped the incident without any injuries.
The investigation
Following the accident, the Swiss Federal Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission conducted an inquiry into the circumstances of the flight. The investigation focused on the flight path and the maneuvers performed during the landing sequence to determine why the aircraft's altitude was insufficient to clear obstacles near the airfield.
Findings
Technical analysis of the flight path revealed that the primary cause of the accident was unsuitable flight tactics employed during the approach. The pilot's decision-making or execution regarding the descent profile led to an approach height that was too low, making the collision with the tree unavoidable.