ASW 24 pull-up stall; right spiral dive impact at low altitude

The pilot of an ASW 24 was fatally injured in a steep nose-down impact near Dunstable after the glider stalled in a low-altitude pull-up and entered a right spiral dive; aircraft destroyed. On the second winch launch of the day to ~275 m AGL the pilot flew along the Dunstable Downs ridge, completed a continuous right turn and one orbit, then pulled up steeply and levelled off at ~90 m AGL. As airspeed decayed close to the 1g stall speed in a 10+ kt tailwind, the glider banked left and entered a right spiral dive. After ~270° of descent it struck a crop field. A red windsock indicated conditions for instructor or Silver-qualified pilots only.

1. 2nd winch launch, ridge soaring: At 13:42 UTC the pilot released from a winch launch at about 275 m AGL and flew along the Dunstable Downs ridge in a blustery south-easterly wind of 14 kt gusting 24 kt.
2. Red windsock flown at the site: A red windsock at the site indicated that only instructors and pilots holding a Silver qualification were recommended to fly; the pilot held neither rating.
3. Steep pull-up, level off ~90 m AGL: For undetermined reasons, possibly to exploit lift, the pilot pulled up steeply; groundspeed fell to 47 kt at the top before he levelled off at about 90 m AGL and banked left.
4. Tailwind component ~10+ kt: Wind at level-off gave a tailwind of about 10 kt, more in gusts; with the low groundspeed this put airspeed near or below the 37 kt stall speed.
5. Stall and right spiral dive: The glider stalled and entered a right spiral dive, confirmed by the wreckage; insufficient height remained to recover before impact.
6. Steep nose-down impact in crop field: After turning about 270°, the glider struck a crop field near Dunstable nose-down, destroying it and fatally injuring the pilot; no pre-impact failure was found.