El Ka 8 se hunde en los árboles en un viraje de ladera lento y bajo
Un Ka 8 B, pilotado demasiado despacio en vuelo de ladera cerca de Veysonnaz durante el último solo de un alumno antes del examen, se hundió en los árboles; piloto ileso, planeador gravemente dañado. Con unas 12 horas de vuelo, había volado la misma ladera en biplaza poco antes. Se alejó de unos parapentes hacia una ascendencia más débil junto al bosque. En un pase recto, una ráfaga levantó el ala derecha; ya demasiado lento, el planeador se volvió difícil de controlar, y un viraje bajo le quitó más velocidad. Esquivar los parapentes no fue una causa directa; el planeador iba demasiado lento en recto y luego viró demasiado bajo y despacio.
- Ridge soaring flight: After an earlier dual instructional ridge-soaring flight, the student pilot launched by aerotow from Sion for a solo ridge-soaring gain-of-height flight in the Ka-8b.
- Avoiding paragliders: While soaring near Veysonnaz, the pilot observed several paragliders and moved away from their area toward the forested slope where the lift was weaker.
- Low airspeed near slope: During straight flight on about the fifth pass parallel to the slope, the glider was already flying at too low an airspeed, reducing control margin close to terrain.
- Gust upsets glider: A strong gust suddenly lifted the right wing during straight flight along the slope, abruptly upsetting the glider's attitude.
- Ineffective control inputs: The pilot applied full right aileron, full forward stick, and full right rudder but the glider continued to sink and remained difficult to control.
- Low, slow turn into slope: The pilot then reversed to left stick and turned toward the slope to execute a 180° turn, during which the airspeed decreased further before he attempted to pitch up to clear the treetops.
- Crash - no injury: The very slow glider struck the tops of the trees, was abruptly stopped and then tipped forward to hang vertically between trees, heavily damaging the aircraft while the pilot remained uninjured.