Student thermals low in LS 1f, loses 230 m in 24 s, hits trees

A student pilot on a first flight on an LS 1f was lightly injured when the glider fell into forest about 1 km south of Loechgau (Germany); the airframe was substantially damaged. After a winch launch from RWY 09 the student released at about 550 m AMSL, climbed to about 870 m, flew northwest, and returned to the same thermal. He resumed circling at 500-600 m AMSL for 13 turns. The flight recorder then logged a 230 m height loss in 24 seconds, about 9.6 m/s, and the glider entered a 60 degree nose-down attitude into trees that decelerated the impact. Trim was set nose-heavy; no control defect was identified.

1. Winch launch RWY 09, first on type: At about 12:00 LT on 29 May 2014 the student pilot began a winch launch in an LS 1f from RWY 09 of the Segelfluggelände Löchgau (266 m AMSL, grass 09/27) for a local training flight. This was his first launch on the LS 1f after a theoretical type briefing the previous weekend; he had previously flown ASK 21, ASK 23 and Ka 6.
2. 30 h total, first LS 1f flight: The pilot was in his third training phase and had logged 77 starts for a total flight time of 30 hours since the start of his training in July 2012. He had been theoretically briefed on the LS 1f the weekend before; the accident flight was his first launch on the type.
3. Thermals to 870, returns to same band: After release at ~550 m AMSL the pilot flew south and began left circles at 12:02 LT, climbing to about 870 m AMSL. He then headed west, made a left circle, continued north-west, turned back around 12:10 LT and at 12:12 LT — at about 550 m AMSL — resumed circling left in the same thermal. The recorder logged 13 turns in the 500-600 m AMSL band, about 234-334 m above the field.
4. 230 m loss in 24 s at low height: Starting at 12:16:30 LT the flight recorder logged a height loss of 230 m within 24 seconds — about 9.6 m/s — while circling near the downwind area south of the airfield.
5. ~60° nose-down toward forest: The glider departed the thermalling height band and descended toward the forested terrain south of the field with no recovery; the impact attitude was about 60° nose-down.
6. Falls into trees; lightly injured: About one kilometre south of the airfield the glider fell into trees in a forest. Thin trees decelerated the impact: the front fuselage and the left wingtip touched the ground while the right wing and the largely undamaged empennage hung in the trees. The right wing trailing edge burst open about 70 cm at the root, the canopy was destroyed and the instrument panel folded forward by about 90°. Gear and airbrakes were retracted; the trim lever was found set nose-heavy. The controls were intact and no defect was found. The pilot was lightly injured by canopy fragments, freed himself from the aircraft and radioed Löchgau INFO.