Cobra 15 winch-launch loss of control on owner-pilot's barely-flown type

A 1974 SZD-36 Cobra 15 (wooden T-tail, pendulum elevator) lifted off normally on its third winch launch at Schmoldow. The owner-pilot, licensed only weeks earlier, had bought the aircraft three months earlier with no type checkout from the previous owner — 1:55 h and 10 winch starts on type. At about 20–30 m AGL the climb reached ≤45° pitch; the glider briefly yawed right then left, rolled off over the left wing, and pitched into a near-vertical dive into the runway beside a parked Puchacz. Aircraft destroyed; pilot fatal. Puchacz seriously damaged.

1. Third winch launch, normal start: Third winch launch of the day; cable in the CG hook; full throttle. Ground witnesses and the winch supervisor saw no irregularities through liftoff. Conditions: light 7-kt 150° headwind, 24 °C, 5000 ft Cu base, 3–5 cm grass at the start area, 900 m grass winch strip rwy 15.
2. Recently licensed pilot: SPL issued 6 May 2019 — less than a month before the accident. Total flying experience including training 134:14 h and 604 starts (mostly winch). Began gliding training in 1996, paused, resumed at the club in 2016.
3. Limited type time, no checkout: Pilot bought the Cobra 15 in March 2019. Pre-accident time on type: 1:55 h and 10 winch starts. The previous owner provided no type-familiarization briefing. The club's training leader had flown the type once on 20 April 2019 (also with no prior time on type himself) and compared its in-flight handling to a DG-100, which the pilot had previously flown.
4. Vintage high-performance type: 1974 wooden single-seat 15 m competition glider. T-tail with strongly-swept fin and a pendulum (all-flying) elevator — sensitive in pitch and yaw.
5. Low-altitude directional upset: At about 20–30 m AGL during the climb at ≤45° pitch, the glider briefly yawed right then left around the vertical axis.
6. Wing drop, near-vertical dive: Following the yaws, the glider rolled off over the left wing and pitched into a near-vertical nose-down attitude. The winch cable broke at the winch end at some point in this sequence; both weak links (blue 600 daN and brown, in series at the glider end) were found intact, indicating the break was not a load-induced failure at the glider end. Whether the cable break preceded or followed the upset cannot be determined from the available evidence.
7. Runway impact - fatal: Near-vertical impact on the runway (~26 cm crater) immediately beside the parked two-seat Puchacz that was being prepared for retrieval. Cobra 15 destroyed; pilot sustained fatal injuries. Puchacz seriously damaged (right wing + canopy struck by Cobra debris). Trimmer found set nose-heavy on post-crash inspection; cause/timing of the setting not determined.