Astir CS bounces on landing; second impact jams elevator pitch-up

The pilot of a Grob G 102 Astir CS was fatally injured on landing at Hamm; aircraft destroyed. On the third solo circuit of the day, the student (~30 h total, 4 h on type) flew final slightly fast. The glider touched down nose-low on the first third of RWY 24 and ballooned; airspeed bled off in the climb. The second touchdown drove the gear up into the fuselage, bending the elevator pushrod and jamming the elevator in a pulled position. The steep pitch-up could not be corrected; the glider stalled over the right wing and hit the runway nose-first. The probable causes were an elevated approach speed and an unsuitable response to the bounce.

1. Third solo circuit of the day: The student took off in a Grob G 102 Astir CS Jeans for a solo pattern from RWY 24 at the Hamm-Lippewiesen gliding site; two further solo circuits had already been flown earlier in the day.
2. Student early in training: The student had passed the DAeC C-test the previous month with about 30 h experience over 135 launches, 4 h on the Astir; the instructor did not observe the circuit after the briefing.
3. Elevated approach speed on final: Witnesses on the airfield described the final approach as somewhat fast. The Astir CS Jeans crossed the threshold of the 900 m grass RWY 24 with an unusual energy margin for the type.
4. Nose-low touchdown and balloon: The glider touched down briefly on the first third of the runway nose-down by about 20°, rotated about the lateral axis and ballooned as angle of attack rose and airspeed fell.
5. Second touchdown jams elevator: At the second ground contact, about 256 m beyond the threshold, the landing gear was driven up into the fuselage and the elevator pushrod was bent, jamming the elevator fully pulled.
6. Uncorrectable steep pitch-up: The glider rose again at a pitch attitude of nearly 40°, lost airspeed, stalled over the right wing and dropped almost vertically nose-first onto the runway.
7. Pilot fatally injured; Astir destroyed: The glider struck the runway nearly vertically nose-first about 379 m from the threshold and came to rest inverted; the forward fuselage was destroyed and the pilot fatally injured.