Cessna 152 / DG 300 mid-air on converging finals — flight ops alerted too late

On 10 August 2010 a Cessna F152 and a DG 300 collided mid-air on final to runway 33 at Winzeln-Schramberg; both substantially damaged, no injuries. The glider, ahead and above, crossed the runway 33 centerline twice while positioning for a long landing on the parallel glider strip. Flight ops noticed the conflict too late and issued a go-around to the Cessna near the threshold. From below and behind, the Cessna closed on the DG 300 with neither pilot in visual contact, striking it at about 40 m AGL past the threshold.

1. Approach to land: The DG 300 was in the landing circuit intending a long landing near the hangars on the glider landing area parallel to runway 33.
2. Converging final approaches: Both the DG 300 and an arriving Cessna 152 turned onto final for runway 33 at similar times and aligned on closely converging flight paths without coordinated sequencing.
3. Incomplete traffic information: The glider pilot received no acknowledgement to his long-landing call and no explicit traffic information about the Cessna from flight operations, while the Cessna pilot was not informed of active glider traffic.
4. Glider crosses runway centerline: From a higher position ahead of the Cessna, the DG 300 twice crossed the extended centerline of asphalt runway 33 while adjusting its intended touchdown area on the glider strip.
5. Late go-around instruction: After recognizing the developing conflict on final, the flight operations officer issued a go‑around instruction to the Cessna when both aircraft were already close to the threshold.
6. Undetected close convergence: The Cessna maintained low height during the go‑around attempt and, due to cockpit visibility limits and geometry, closed from behind and below the DG 300 without either pilot maintaining visual contact.
7. Mid-air collision: At about 40 m AGL just past the threshold of runway 33, the Cessna struck the DG 300 from below and behind, heavily damaging both aircraft, after which both pilots were able to land without injury.