ASK 21 Kollision mit Fußgänger auf Vega Strip beim Midland Gliding Club
Am 3. Juli 1998 war eine Alexander Schleicher ASK 21 in eine tödliche Kollision beim Midland Gliding Club in Shropshire, Großbritannien, verwickelt. Während eines privaten Erlebnisfluges traf der linke Flügel des Segelflugzeugs einen Fußgänger am Boden, was zu einem Todesfall führte. Der Vorfall ereignete sich, als das Segelflugzeug auf dem Vega Strip landete, der parallel zu einem von der Öffentlichkeit genutzten Weg verläuft. Trotz Sicherheitsmaßnahmen und Einweisungen war der Fußgänger sich des herannahenden Segelflugzeugs nicht bewusst. Das Segelflugzeug erlitt leichte Schäden am linken Flügel.
- Aerotow — landing: After a routine aerotow and 17-minute flight, the ASK 21 joined a right-hand circuit to land on the Vega Strip near the clubhouse.
- Pedestrians on approach path: On final approach at about 500 feet, the pilot and front-seat passenger saw two women walking on the adjacent gravel track under the area overhung by the glider’s left wingtip.
- Track not briefed as hazard: The gravel track alongside the Vega Strip was not a signed right-of-way and the visiting group, including the victim, had not been briefed that it lay within a glider landing hazard area.
- Pilot misjudged clearance: The pilot assessed the two pedestrians as stationary and not in a dangerous position relative to the Vega Strip and continued the approach without altering his landing plan.
- Landing continued normally: The pilot landed centrally on the Vega Strip at an estimated 35 kt, unaware that the left wing would overhang the track and pass at head height above it.
- Wing strikes pedestrian: As the glider rolled out, the left wingtip passed over the shorter woman and struck the taller woman on the back of the head, producing a loud thump felt by the occupants.
- Crash - fatal: The taller pedestrian sustained an instantaneous fatal head injury from the wing impact while the glider incurred minor damage to the left wing leading edge and stopped safely on the strip.