ASW 19 stuck on winch cable; cutter fails, glider yanked into bushes

After a winch launch failure at Kirn, the pilot of an ASW 19 was uninjured but the glider substantially damaged. The climb was normal, but at release height the cable would not detach from the hook; the double ring pair had been mis-hooked into a gap beside the hook — detectable by a visual check. The winch driver's rope cutter was itself defective (deficiencies recorded at a check months earlier) and did not sever the cable. The pilot tried to stay near the winch to keep the cable slack. On low approach the cable snagged in bushes and pulled the ASW 19 from ~5 m AGL to the ground; the fuselage tube broke ahead of the empennage.

1. Winch launch from RWY 14: At 12:45 LT a single-seat ASW 19 began a winch launch from RWY 14 of Segelflugplatz Kirn (Germany). The launch was witnessed as normal up to release altitude. Wind was light (≈300° at 6 kt), VFR conditions, no other aircraft involved. The pilot held a glider licence with winch, aerotow and self-launch endorsements and about 800 h total experience (300 h on the ASW 19).
2. Ring pair mis-hooked beside hook: BFU's reconstruction of the hook-up showed that the double ring pair could be hooked into a gap beside the actual hook opening, producing a faulty connection that would have been detectable by a proper visual check before launch. The fault would have prevented the normal release mechanism from working.
3. Cable will not release at top: On reaching release altitude the winch driver ended the launch and waited for the cable to drop. Pilot, ground crew and winch driver all observed that the cable did not detach from the glider's tow hook. The pilot called the flight leader by radio and asked for the cable to be cut.
4. Winch cutter defective, cut fails: The winch driver activated the rope cutter, but it did not sever the cable. The most recent periodic inspection of winch RP-8135 on 25 March 2012 had recorded deficiencies in the cutting system. The pilot was told by radio that cutting the cable was not possible.
5. Cable snags bushes; yanked from 5 m: Unable to release, the pilot tried to stay close to the winch so the trailing cable would not tighten and pull the glider. During the low approach back to the runway, the still-attached cable snagged in a group of bushes near the runway end and the ASW 19 was abruptly pulled from about 5 m AGL to the ground.
6. Fuselage broken ahead of fin; no injury: On impact the fuselage tube broke just ahead of the empennage. The pilot was uninjured. After the landing, while the glider rolled out, the cable released from the hook on its own.