Discus CS strikes wall in late forced landing on unprepared field

The pilot of a Schempp-Hirth Discus CS was seriously injured in an obstacle strike on a forced landing at a rifle range near Porza; aircraft destroyed. Returning from the Veltlin, the glider sank steadily along the north shore of Lake Lugano, bypassing known outlanding fields at Caiolo, Somaggia and Porlezza. At Monte Brè it was at ~580 m MSL with Lugano airport still reachable in still air, but the pilot turned north. After a low full circle over inhabited terrain, the right wingtip hit a 5.4 m wall on approach to an unfamiliar rifle range. The probable cause was no timely decision on a safe routing or landing option.

1. Aerotow from San Vittore: The pilot took an aerotow from RWY 26 at San Vittore for a cross-country task in the southern Alps. He had ~520 h on gliders with ~360 h on type and 21 h in the last 90 days. After release at ~1 870 m MSL near Parusciana he climbed to ~3 800 m MSL on the southwest flank of Pizzo Sasso Canale and headed east along the southern slopes of the Veltlin.
2. Eastbound to NE of Tirano, then return: About 5.6 km northeast of Tirano the glider turned back westbound at ~1 880 m MSL. The return required intermittent low flying, with a minimum of ~1 610 m MSL before reaching ~2 935 m MSL near Sasso Manduino. At Pizzo Sasso Canale the return altitude was ~2 150 m MSL — well below the ~3 800 m MSL reached outbound.
3. Bypassed outlanding fields: Several known outlanding options lay along the route: Caiolo airfield in the Veltlin, the Somaggia UL strip north of Lago di Mezzola, the so-called Bermuda triangle outlanding fields between the Adda and Lago di Mezzola, and two suitable fields in the Porlezza plain (~300–350 m long, hindrance-free). The pilot had discussed the Bermuda triangle option in advance but did not commit to any of these fields.
4. Four full circles N of Porlezza: North of Porlezza the glider made four full circles without significant climb, finishing at less than 1 100 m MSL (~800 m above the Porlezza plain). From there the Lugano plain was still reachable in still air, so the pilot continued westbound.
5. Right turn N at Monte Brè, ~580 m MSL: Approaching Monte Brè the glider was below 600 m MSL — about 330 m above Lake Lugano and roughly 490 m lower than on a comparable flight the previous year. From this height a direct or kinked glide to Lugano airport, or a water landing on Lake Lugano, were both available. The pilot instead turned right and headed north, away from those options and over inhabited terrain.
6. Low circle over built-up area: Over the south slope of Monte Brè the pilot completed a left full circle at low altitude over residential terrain, then rolled into a right turn toward the open ground of the Ressiga rifle range — an unfamiliar site that was not on any glider outlanding catalogue.
7. Unsuitable forced-landing field: The intended field was a rectangular meadow about 30 m wide and 150 m long, bounded on all four sides by obstacles: 2 m wood stacks and a 5.4 m concrete wall on the short approach side, a water pool at the far end, trees to the left and an overgrown fence to the right. Four cranes 30–50 m tall sat in the final, requiring a heading correction of at least 30° just before touchdown and ruling out a minimum-speed touchdown.
8. Wingtip strikes 5.4 m concrete wall: On the approach the right wingtip struck the 5.4 m concrete wall and a ~1.5 m wing section broke off. The fuselage nose hit the ground and the glider came to rest inverted against one of the wood stacks. The cockpit was destroyed and the fuselage broke in two; harnesses and the emergency locator beacon held. The pilot suffered serious head injuries. No technical defects were found on the wreck. The probable cause was the obstacle strike on approach to a forced-landing field; the absence of a timely decision on a safe routing or landing option contributed.