PIK-20D high-speed low pass — landing config attempt at 10 m
A PIK-20D was destroyed on return from a competition to Klix (Germany) and the pilot was fatally injured. The pilot crossed the finish line at about 10 m AGL, gear up, at about 180 km/h. Instead of flying the shortened circuit the pilot attempted to configure for landing at low altitude. Operating the PIK-20D gear lever requires the right hand to leave the stick, and during the hand change the glider pitched sharply nose-down. With no height to recover, the glider struck the ground at high speed. The low-altitude landing-configuration attempt during the high-speed pass was identified as the cause.
- Aerotow — final glide: After an aerotow launch from Klix and completing the competition task, the pilot began the final 20 km glide back to the airfield from about 1,300 m GND at high cruising speeds.
- High-speed low pass: The pilot approached and crossed the competition finish line (Zielband) at about 10 m height with the landing gear retracted and a groundspeed of roughly 180 km/h.
- Landing config in low pass: At very low height after the finish-line overflight, the pilot abandoned the planned shortened circuit and tried to configure the glider for landing, changing flap and lowering the gear.
- Control-hand changeover: On the PIK-20D the gear must be operated with the right hand, requiring a hand change on the stick that could affect pitch control during low-altitude configuration changes.
- Unintended nose-down pitch: While configuring the glider for landing at high speed and low altitude, the elevator was inadvertently commanded so that the aircraft entered a steeper nose-down flight path.
- High-speed ground impact: With insufficient height to recover, the glider struck the ground with the forward fuselage underside and wing leading edges, then overturned, destroying the airframe.
- Crash - fatal: The crash fatally injured the pilot and completely destroyed the glider.