ASW 24 loses control after wingtip strike on alpine ridge
The pilot of an Alexander Schleicher ASW 24 was fatally injured in a wingtip strike on the south face of Piz Mezzaun during alpine ridge soaring; aircraft destroyed. On the third winch start from Samedan that day, the glider headed east toward the sunlit SSE face. The wreck was later found on the SSW slope at ~2 870 m MSL. Ridge upwinds met the prevailing north-westerly, probably producing wind shear or convergence with rapid lift/sink near the terrain. The left wingtip likely touched first; the pilot lost control and impacted nose-first. The ELT did not activate; the transport safety may not have been removed.
- Winch launch ridge flight: The pilot departed Samedan on his third winch launch of the day for a local ridge-soaring flight after conditions had improved.
- Alpine ridge soaring: The pilot proceeded east of the airfield, likely following the Inn valley toward La Punt-Chamues-ch to use the sunlit south-southeast facing ridge of Piz Mezzaun for lift.
- Complex wind interaction: At ridge height, local upslope winds on the sunlit face likely interacted with the prevailing northwesterly flow, creating windshear and rapidly changing lift and sink near the terrain.
- Wing contacts terrain: While ridge soaring close to the slope, the glider’s left wingtip likely touched the terrain, as indicated by impact marks on the left wing.
- Loss of control: Following the wingtip strike, the pilot lost control of the glider, which entered a nose-down attitude with a right rotation toward the mountainside.
- Crash - fatal: The glider impacted the south-southwest slope of Piz Mezzaun nose-first in a right turn, was destroyed, and the pilot sustained fatal injuries.