LAK-19 steep winch climb, left bank, wing drop at 40 m

On 3 August 2007 the pilot of a LAK-19 died on a winch launch from Metzingen (Germany); the aircraft was destroyed. The glider had launched at 16:15 LT from RWY 21 for a thermalling flight; the same winch and cable had been used without problem two hours earlier. After liftoff witnesses saw a steep climb attitude with an increasing left bank. At about 40 m height the glider abruptly tipped over the left wing and impacted the ground almost vertically with high nose-down pitch about 300 m from the launch point and 90 m left of the runway centerline. The pilot had over 100 flight hours but only about 13 on the LAK-19.

1. Winch launch RWY 21 for thermalling: At 16:15 LT the LAK-19 launches on the winch from RWY 21 of Metzingen glider airfield for a thermalling flight. The same Tost winch and 4.6 mm steel cable had been used without problem about two hours earlier.
2. Steep climb after liftoff: Immediately after liftoff witnesses observe the glider in an unusually steep climb attitude on the winch cable.
3. Left bank increasing: While in the steep climb the bank angle increases to the left as the glider continues to gain only little height.
4. Wing drop over left at ~40 m: At about 40 m above the ground the glider abruptly rolls off over the left wing — the classic low-energy departure from a steep winch climb.
5. Near-vertical impact 300 m from start: The glider impacts the ground almost vertically with a high nose-down pitch about 300 m from the launch point and 90 m left of the runway centerline. First contact is with the fuselage nose; the cockpit is destroyed, the tail is twisted off, and the wing structure is broken in several places and partly torn from the fuselage. The aircraft is destroyed and the pilot is fatally injured.