ASW 24 turns back after low weak-link break instead of landing ahead

An ASW 24 crashed during a winch launch from Brentor (Dartmoor) in strong easterly winds and rotor turbulence; the pilot was fatally injured and the glider destroyed. At ~30 m above the airfield the weak link parted. The pilot pitched nose-down then turned left to circuit back rather than land ahead — ~800 m of runway remained. Through ~90° of turn the bank reached 60°, airspeed dropped to ~94 km/h in turbulent air; the glider entered a rapid descending left turn and struck gorse-covered moorland near-vertically 14 s after the failure. AAIB cited the turnback in lieu of the available land-ahead option.

1. Winch launch climb at Brentor: Schleicher ASW 24 on a winch launch from Brentor Airfield (Dartmoor Gliding Society, ridge at ~250 m elevation). The pilot, ~1,500 glider hours including airline ATPL background, was the second to launch that day. Wind was easterly at 20 kt gusting 30 kt earlier; suspended after the first launch (Discus B reporting severe sink), resumed ~1 h later when wind appeared to be ~20 kt steady.
2. Severe ridge/mountain-wave turbulence: Brentor sits in the mountain-wave low-level turbulent zone downwind of Dartmoor. Helicopter crews operating in the valley reported the worst turbulence in 7 years; the earlier Discus pilot had encountered sink of ~9 m/s (~3.5× still-air sink at that airspeed) and stowed his aircraft for the day.
3. Weak link parts at ~30 m AAL: The winch weak link parted at ~30 m above airfield level and ~145 km/h indicated. Wreckage analysis showed normal weak-link necking — failure consistent with design at overload, not metal fatigue.
4. Land-ahead option available: AAIB performance calculation: with half airbrake, glide ratio 8.9, and a 20 kt headwind, landing distance from the apex of climb would have been ~660 m; with full airbrake ~478 m. Runway remaining ahead was ~800 m. The BGA-taught response after a low-altitude winch failure is the recovery attitude followed by landing ahead.
5. Pilot turns left to circuit back: After the pitch-down recovery (reaching ~85 m AAL and ~110 km/h) the pilot looked left repeatedly and never to the right, then made a half-to-two-thirds left roll input and entered a left turn — apparently to fly an abbreviated circuit back to the launch area rather than land ahead.
6. Bank tightens to 60° at ~94 km/h: Through ~90° of turn the bank reached 60°, indicated airspeed stabilised at ~94 km/h in turbulent air. The pilot continued commanding further left roll. The nose then dropped well below the horizon, descent rate increased, and the bank rolled rapidly through 80° as airspeed rose to ~130 km/h.
7. Crash - fatal: Impact 14 s after the weak-link failure on gorse-covered moorland 86 m north of the runway edge, in a near-vertical 90° left bank with the nose down. The aircraft was destroyed. The pilot was fatally injured; AAIB judged the accident not survivable given the impact attitude and limited cockpit energy absorption.