Ka 8 mid-air collision with parachutist at Hinton-in-the-Hedges Airfield

On June 1, 2002, a Schleicher Ka-8B collided mid-air with a parachutist at Hinton-in-the-Hedges Airfield, resulting in the fatalities of both the glider pilot and the parachutist. The incident occurred during a free-fall parachuting exercise from 12,000 feet. The glider was destroyed upon impact with the ground. The airfield had an established procedure for coordinating gliding and parachuting activities, but communication issues were noted during the investigation.

1. Aerotow to local soaring: The Ka-8B launched by aerotow from Hinton-in-the-Hedges, released at about 2,000 feet, and was later seen soaring east of the airfield at roughly 2,000–2,500 feet.
2. No parachute worn: The glider pilot chose to fly without wearing a parachute, despite club practice and BGA recommended procedures that occupants should wear serviceable parachutes when operating from BGA sites.
3. DZ cone misunderstanding: There was a discrepancy between the skydiving centre’s defined cone of operation and the gliding club DI’s understanding of its limits, creating potential for the glider to be within the active parachute drop area.
4. Unheeded DZ warnings: As the Turbolet ran in for a live drop, the DZ controller twice broadcast warnings on 119.45 MHz for a glider in the overhead to leave the area and then attempted to cancel the drop, but no response was received from the glider and the Turbolet crew did not hear the cancellation.
5. Glider under parachute stream: While three parachutists were separating from formation around 4,000 feet during a free-fall descent from 12,000 feet, the Ka-8B was flying below within the parachute descent area.
6. Mid-air collision: One parachutist, who had not yet deployed his main canopy, collided with the Ka-8B’s left wing, causing the outboard section of the wing to separate in flight.
7. Crash - fatal: With its left wing structurally failed, the Ka-8B dived into the ground and was destroyed, fatally injuring the pilot, while the parachutist’s reserve parachute deployed automatically too low to prevent fatal injuries.