G103 C front canopy unlatched on launch — opens on final

On approach at Stauffenbuehl near Eschwege, the pilot and passenger of a Grob G103 C Twin III Acro were fatally injured. Passenger video showed the front canopy lock lever in the unlocked position before and during the winch launch; the canopy was never latched. The glider returned to land on RWY 20, opposite the launch. At about 30 m AGL on final the canopy opened; the pilot tried to hold or close it, the glider went into a steep nose-down attitude and impacted about 40 m past the threshold. It was the fourth flight of the day with the same passenger; the three previous had been 5-minute circuits.

1. Winch launch and local flight: The G103 C launched from RWY 02 at Stauffenbühl at 16:52 with pilot and passenger; thermalled west of the airfield then returned for landing on RWY 20 (opposite the launch direction).
2. Front canopy unlatched at launch: Passenger mobile-phone video, uploaded online during the flight, showed the front canopy locking lever in the vertical (unlocked) position immediately before and during the winch launch. The canopy was not latched for this flight.
3. 4th flight of day, same passenger: BFU documented that this was the 4th flight of the day with the same passenger; the three previous flights had been 5-minute circuits. Pre-flight check discipline on a repeated short-pattern day is a context BFU recorded without causal attribution.
4. Canopy opens at ~30 m on final: At about 30 m above ground on final approach to RWY 20, the front canopy opened in flight; the winch operator observed this as the glider passed.
5. Pilot tries to hold or close canopy: The pilot attempted to hold or re-close the opened front canopy while still on short final, rather than maintain normal flight attitude and control.
6. Steep nose-down attitude: While the pilot was occupied with the canopy, the glider transitioned to a steep nose-down attitude and descended rapidly toward the runway.
7. Runway impact — both fatal: The glider impacted the runway about 40 m past the threshold of RWY 20 and was destroyed; both occupants died of polytrauma.