L-Spatz 55 drops wing on winch roll, rolls to knife-edge and impacts

The pilot of an L-Spatz 55 was fatally injured during a winch launch at Sonderlandeplatz Oschatz and the glider was destroyed. Two earlier winch launches that day had been uneventful; the pilot's 12 minutes on type sat behind 954 hours of broader experience. Early in the ground roll the right wing dropped and the wingtip touched the ground. The glider veered right, pitched up to about 10 m, the bank steepened to a knife-edge, and the right wingtip struck the ground again 38 m beside the launch line. The nose then impacted in a strong right roll. No technical defects were found, leaving low experience on type as the load-bearing factor.

1. Winch launch r245° 14:21 LT: On 12 April 2015 the L-Spatz 55's owner completed two uneventful winch launches at Oschatz. A second pilot then launched heading 245°, in light wind with short grass in the launch area.
2. 12 min on type, 954 h total: The pilot had flown the L-Spatz 55 only briefly before the accident flight, with limited recent glider flying overall.
3. Right wing drops, ground contact: Shortly after the ground roll began, witnesses saw the right wing tilt and the wingtip touch the ground; in takeoff attitude the wingtip normally sits about 1.2 m above the surface.
4. Veers right, pitches up to ~10 m: Following the wingtip contact the glider veered slightly to the right and simultaneously pitched up. It lifted off and climbed to about 10 m above the ground while still on the winch cable.
5. Knife-edge, 2nd wingtip strike: Witnesses described the bank angle increasing markedly to a knife-edge attitude. About 38 m beside the launch baseline, the right wingtip touched the ground a second time.
6. Strong right roll, nose impact: With a strong right rotation the nose struck the ground and the L-Spatz 55 came to rest inverted; the cabin and right wing were destroyed. The pilot died of his injuries in hospital.