Le Grob Twin II heurte un arbre à basse hauteur après un atterrissage en campagne interrompu
Au premier vol alpin du pilote, un Grob Twin II a heurté un arbre à ~25 m sol, s'est écrasé sur une route et a été détruit ; le pilote avant a été grièvement blessé, un piéton légèrement. Largué dans les rabattants d'un vent de SW, il n'a trouvé aucune ascendance et a perdu de la hauteur. Le demi-tour est venu tard, et les rabattants sur Losone l'ont abaissé à 400 m, hors de portée. Il a préparé une posée, y a renoncé à 80 m et a poursuivi au ras des maisons. Breveté trois semaines plus tôt, sans heures sur le type ni expérience alpine ou locale, on lui a reproché le demi-tour tardif, l'abandon de la posée et une préparation insuffisante.
- Local aerotow flight: The Grob was aerotowed from Ascona for a local soaring flight with two pilots aboard and released at 1100-1200 m at the entrance of the Centovalli.
- Green handling pilot: The front, handling pilot had been licensed three weeks earlier with 65 h total and no time on type, on his first flight in the region and on the type, and was restricted to local flights.
- No lift in SW-wind sink: Released into a south-westerly downdraught area, the glider found no lift over two figure-eights or across the Centovalli and steadily lost height.
- Dumped to 400 m over Losone: Turning back toward Ascona late, the glider met a downdraught zone over Losone that abruptly brought it to about 400 m, too low to reach the airfield.
- Abandons the outlanding: The pilot set up a precautionary landing in a field but at about 80 m above ground abandoned it and pressed on toward Ascona at low level over a built-up area.
- Low-level over houses: About 800 m short of runway 17 and only ~25 m above ground, the glider was skimming a densely populated area.
- Tree strike, crash - serious injury: The right wing struck tree branches, the glider rotated 180° and crashed onto a road; it was destroyed, the front pilot seriously injured, a pedestrian slightly hurt, and a car and building damaged.