Pilatus B4 stalls dodging power lines on a low outlanding short of the field

A pilot on a Silver-C attempt stalled a Pilatus B4 while dodging a power line on an outlanding beside Les Eplatures and was seriously hurt; the glider was destroyed. Towed back after aborting the cross-country, the pilot released too low, found no lift, and hesitated over weak bubbles instead of tracking straight for the field. Too low to reach it, he set up to land about 300 m short. On short final a power line was spotted too late, and an abrupt avoiding turn at too low a speed stalled the glider, which dropped its left wing and hit the ground. Cause: stall on an outlanding while avoiding an obstacle seen too late.

1. Aerotow back for a retry: After aborting a Silver-C 50 km flight for lack of thermals and landing at Les Eplatures, the glider was aerotowed toward Courtelary, releasing ~400 m above the airfield.
2. No lift after a low release: The release height was too low to search safely for thermals; no usable lift was found near La Vue-des-Alpes.
3. Hesitation over weak lift: Weak rising bubbles tempted detours to try to press on to Courtelary instead of tracking directly back to Les Eplatures, using up height.
4. Too low for the airfield: The glider ended up too low to reach Les Eplatures, forcing a precautionary outlanding in a field about 300 m south of the aerodrome.
5. Power line seen late: On short final to the field a high-voltage line was recognised too late, requiring an abrupt sideways avoiding turn.
6. Stall in a slow avoiding turn: The avoiding turn was flown at too low an airspeed; the glider stalled a few metres up and dropped its left wing.
7. Crash - serious injury: The glider hit the ground on the left wing, slid a short distance and stopped upright; it was destroyed and the pilot, though seriously injured, got clear unaided.