Fatal Glider Accident at Samedan Airfield (HB-2123)

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On 28 June 2008, a single-seat, self-launching high-performance glider, a DG-400 with registration HB-2123, was destroyed in a crash at Samedan airfield (LSZS). The aircraft, manufactured by DG Flugzeugbau GmbH in 1983, was equipped with a Rotax 505 engine and retractable landing gear. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had logged 1,593:23 total operating hours and 403 starts. The pilot, a Swiss national born in 1950, was fatally injured in the impact. ## Operational Context and Flight Sequence The pilot had been conducting winch launches at Samedan regularly since 1983, with his last such launch occurring on 26 July 2007. On the day of the accident, glider operations began at 11:00 local time. Initially, launches were conducted from runway 03 to avoid tailwinds, but the runway was switched to 21 after five launches due to shifting wind conditions. The pilot arrived at the runway 21 start area around 10:30, performed maintenance, and assembled the wings with the assistance of another pilot. The winch launch for HB-2123 was delayed by five minutes because a preceding glider, an LS-4, landed too close to the launch axis and had to be towed back. The pilot reported ready for launch at 13:16:46. Witnesses noted a light tailwind as the pilot closed the cockpit canopy. The winch operator, an Italian national born in 1972, initiated the launch after receiving clearance and hearing the pilot's call that the cable was taut. ## Accident Sequence and Contributing Factors The glifter lifted off normally but quickly entered a steep climb. Witnesses reported a tight transition radius and a wave-like motion around the lateral axis at approximately 10 meters altitude. At around 30 to 50 meters, the aircraft rolled over its left wing and inverted. The winch operator cut the engine and braked the winch as the aircraft approached the ground. The glider struck the paved runway in a full inverted position at an angle of approximately 45 degrees and slid about 35 meters onto the grass south of the runway. The investigation identified the primary cause as a stall during the winch launch resulting from inadequate flight tactics near the ground, which led to an uncontrolled flight state. Contributing factors included an inadequate position of the camber flaps, a tailwind component at the launch point, and the pilot's lack of recent winch launch training, with his last formal training in 1982. The pilot's current training level, particularly for winch launches, was also noted as low.