Olympia-Meise winch launch with unconnected elevator, crashes into trees

After a winch launch at Gelnhausen during a vintage gliding week, the pilot of an Olympia-Meise was fatally injured and the aircraft destroyed. During morning rigging with multiple helpers and repeated interruptions, the elevator linkage was never connected; no checklist was used and no witness recalled the connection being made, and the preflight control check did not catch it. The glider lifted off RWY 25 in a flat climb with no pitch authority and drifted right in the SW wind. The winch driver, seeing no proper climb, reduced power and the cable released at 80-100 m AGL. The glider then turned constantly right into perimeter trees.

1. Morning rigging at vintage gliding week: Olympia-Meise (amateur-built 1956, SN 1, MTOM 290 kg, 1,739 h total) brought from Großenhausen to Gelnhausen by trailer at the start of the 'Oldtimer-Flugwoche' (03-10 Sep 2022). Pilot 81 yo, LAPL(S) (powered sailplane + sailplane + TMG + winch + aerotow + self-launch) and LAPL(A); class LAPL medical valid (VML). ~1,601 h / 4,459 starts total; ~11 h on this Olympia-Meise across 4 winch launches in 2019-2022. Glider was rigged west of the hangar at the RWY 25 start point by the pilot together with ≥5 other helpers — visiting + resident pilots and club helpers — with multiple interruptions and distractions. A Ka 2b was rigged in parallel.
2. Multiple helpers, several interruptions: Per BFU witness interviews, ≥5 helpers (including unfamiliar visitors) participated in the rigging with multiple interruptions/distractions. No witness recalled helping with or confirming the elevator linkage connection. The Olympia-Meise elevator connection requires reaching through an 85 mm hand-hole, releasing a spring bolt, and engaging it into the Seillasche to position 'Stellung 3' — fiddly, requires force, best done with two people (one lifting the elevator).
3. Elevator linkage left unconnected: Post-accident BFU examination: the Seillasche was found disconnected from the elevator horn, lying in the rear fuselage. The Federbolzen (spring bolt) was in pushed-in position (Stellung 2) without engagement to the Seillasche and without wire safety. BFU tests showed it is possible to push the bolt into the wrong 'Stellung 4', appearing engaged visually but tactilely detectable since the bolt cannot reach the control position (Stellung 3). Hand-hole cover at the elevator was closed but not adhesive-taped (as the club normally did).
4. Preflight control check not effective: The flight manual requires checking all rudder connections + control freedom + function before each flight. No witness saw a complete control check performed. The start director observed aileron movement at takeoff but a full check of all surfaces was not effectively done. No checklist was used. EU MA/ML regulations and SAO.GEN.130 place responsibility for preflight checks on the PIC.
5. Winch launch with no pitch authority: Launch at 13:03 local on RWY 25 (072°/252°, 840×25 m grass), wind from SW, max winch launch speed 80 km/h per type. After liftoff: normal-to-flat initial climb. Pilot did not crab for wind; SW wind drifted glider right (north). Pitch attitude remained flatter than usual.
6. Cable releases at ~80-100 m AGL: Winch driver (67 yo, certified 2016, experienced and 'very deliberate') reported the glider 'didn't take properly to the winch' — winch RPM kept rising. When the glider reached ~80-100 m AGL with no further pitch-up, he gradually reduced winch power to idle. The cable then released from the CG hook (back-release); the cable parachute deployed and the cable decelerated.
7. Right bank drift toward perimeter trees: Per expert witnesses: the glider kept the slight right bank already taken, lowered the nose, transitioned uniformly into a slight glide with mild acceleration. Flew on in constant right turn, with slight right bank, toward the perimeter trees north of the runway. No radio calls or visible control inputs noted by witnesses from the moment of liftoff to impact.
8. Tree strike then ground impact, fatal: Accident site ~950 m from launch point, ~170 m north of the RWY 25 extension. Wreckage spread 26 m on heading 280° through multiple tree crowns at the edge of a small wood parallel to RWY 25. Cockpit and tailplane separated; fuselage in flight direction on the forest floor. Pilot fatally injured (polytrauma per autopsy; no pre-existing health conditions; toxicology negative except caffeine). The 4-point harness was torn from its anchoring without restraining the pilot.