Colisión en el aire entre ASK 21 y DG-600 cerca de Schupfart resulta en dos fallecimientos

El 4 de junio de 2001, ocurrió una colisión en el aire entre un Alexander Schleicher ASK 21 y un DG Flugzeugbau DG 600-18 cerca del aeródromo de Fricktal Schupfart, Suiza. El ASK 21, que llevaba dos pilotos, colisionó con el DG 600-18 durante el vuelo, resultando en la destrucción de ambos planeadores. La colisión provocó las trágicas muertes de ambos pilotos en el ASK 21, mientras que el piloto del DG 600-18 sobrevivió con heridas tras desplegar su paracaídas. El accidente se atribuyó a que los pilotos no se vieron a tiempo para evitar la colisión.

1. Aerotow — local soaring: The DG-600 launched by aerotow from Schupfart at 11:48 and, after release southeast of the field, turned left and flew straight toward an area with several circling gliders near cloudbase.
2. Congested thermal area: Around the time of the DG-600’s release there were already several gliders operating near a low cloudbase of about 1100–1200 m MSL south of the airfield, concentrating traffic in a relatively small area.
3. Limited visual acquisition: Weak, broken thermals, possible cloud fragments, and the difficulty of seeing white gliders against a bright background reduced the likelihood of early visual detection between the DG-600 and the ASK 21.
4. Gliders converge unseen: Approximately 40 seconds after release, the ASK 21 approached from the DG-600’s right rear and slightly below, and neither crew detected the conflict in time to initiate an avoiding maneuver.
5. Mid-air collision: The DG-600, flying essentially straight, struck the left side of the ASK 21’s tail with its right wing, the ASK 21’s tailplane then impacting the forward fuselage of the DG-600 and severely damaging both aircraft at about 1150 m MSL.
6. DG-600 pilot bailout: After feeling the collision and loss of canopy, the DG-600 pilot released his harness, exited the aircraft, deployed his parachute, and steered to land in a field instead of the nearby forest.
7. Crash - fatal: The unmanned DG-600 descended into trees and the ASK 21, likely in a steep, possibly inverted attitude without elevator control, crashed into the forest with both pilots fatally injured while the DG-600 pilot survived with serious leg injuries.