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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Landing config in low pass: In very low height after the finish-line overflight, the pilot apparently abandoned the planned shortened circuit and attempted to configure the glider for landing, including changing flap setting and operating the retractable gear.
4. Control-hand changeover: On the PIK-20D the landing gear must be operated with the right hand, requiring a hand change on the control stick that could adversely affect pitch control during configuration changes at low altitude.
5. 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.
6. High-speed ground impact: With insufficient height to recover from the steepened flight path, the glider struck the ground with the underside of the forward fuselage and wing leading edges and overturned, destroying the airframe.
7. Crash - fatal: The crash fatally injured the pilot and completely destroyed the glider.