Grob Twin III loses its tail in a hard landing after an unstabilized approach
A pilot was seriously injured when a Grob Twin III lost its tail in a hard, bouncing landing at San Vittore; the two-seat glider was substantially damaged. On his first solo flight of the season, the pilot mishandled the airbrakes on final — feeling a gust, he over-sped and re-locked them, then, believing them jammed, arrived too fast and high. Trusting the wheel brake, he forced the glider down near the runway's end; it bounced and struck twice more, wrecking the main wheel. The airbrakes were later found fully serviceable; the undemanding check flight the day before had not tested such handling.
- Local flight, returning to land: After a two-hour local flight, the pilot returned to San Vittore to land, on his first solo flight of the season.
- Gust prompts speed-up on final: On final for the grass runway, a gust prompted the pilot to raise speed and retract the airbrakes, which he inadvertently re-locked.
- Airbrakes stay shut, approach too fast: Believing the airbrakes had failed, he could not re-extend them; the approach stayed too high and too fast.
- Forced onto the runway: Trusting the wheel brake, he pushed the glider down near the end of the runway at excess speed.
- Bounces, tail severed: It bounced back into the air and struck twice more, damaging the main wheel and severing the tail; the pilot suffered a back injury.