DG 500 Elan-Trainer collision with hangar during training flight at Montricher airfield

On August 20, 1997, a DG Flugzeugbau DG-500 Elan Trainer collided with a hangar during a training flight at Montricher airfield, Switzerland. The incident occurred shortly after takeoff when the tow cable was unintentionally released at a low altitude. The aircraft veered right and crashed into a hangar, resulting in the fatality of the student pilot and serious injury to the instructor. The glider was heavily damaged, and the hangar, along with another glider and a delta wing stored inside, sustained damage. Weather conditions were not a factor in the accident.

1. Aerotow takeoff: The DG-500 began a normal aerotow departure from runway 03 with instructor in the rear seat and student in the front seat.
2. Premature cable release: At about 30 m above ground, the tow cable was unintentionally released by the student, most likely due to confusing the release handle with the rudder pedal adjustment control.
3. Insufficient altitude: The glider was at only around 30 m AGL, well below the minimum safe height needed to turn back or maneuver with margin after an unexpected tow release.
4. Instructor takes control: Immediately after the release, the instructor announced he was taking control (“my control” / “ich flüge”) intending to continue straight ahead toward a suitable landing area.
5. Student initiates right turn: Within a few seconds of the release, the glider entered a steep, nose‑up right turn toward the wooded area and hangars, attributed to an abrupt control input by the student despite the instructor’s takeover.
6. Low, slow steep turn: The glider climbed slightly in the steep right turn over the trees, lost speed, and reached a nose‑up, highly banked attitude from which it could not be recovered at the remaining low height.
7. Crash - fatal: After completing a little more than half a turn back toward the airfield, the glider struck a hangar, fatally injuring the unrestrained student, seriously injuring the instructor, and heavily damaging the aircraft and the building.