Puchacz recovers a spin just above the ground on a training flight, then stalls in

Both occupants of an SZD-50-3 Puchacz were killed and the glider destroyed when it spun into the ground on a training flight. It recovered from an initial spin of seven or eight turns just above the ground, but clearing a railway embankment at ~10 m it dropped below flying speed again, rolled over the left wing and hit almost vertically. Why it first spun could not be established, and the recovery came very late; the left trim-tab control was probably loose or maladjusted, and both pilots were found with full right rudder applied against the left rotation. The immediate factor was too little airspeed near the ground.

1. Aerotow for a training flight: An SZD-50-3 Puchacz with an instructor and student aboard was aerotowed from Schaffhausen for a training flight and released at about 900 m over Siblingen.
2. Developed spin, 7-8 turns: The flight path after release is unknown; about 18 minutes later witnesses saw the glider in a spin, making seven or eight rotations. Why it entered the spin could not be established.
3. Left trim control probably loose: The only anomaly found on the wreck was the left trim-tab control, apparently loose or maladjusted before the accident; a wrong trim setting could not be ruled out.
4. Very late recovery near the ground: The spin stopped only after several turns, just above the ground — an unusually late recovery. Both pilots were found with right rudder pushed fully against the rotation.
5. Second stall over the embankment: Forced to clear a railway embankment at about 10 m AGL, the glider again dropped below the minimum flying speed and rolled off over the left wing.
6. Near-vertical impact, both killed: The glider struck the ground almost vertically at very low forward speed in a left bank. The student died at impact, the instructor the same day; the accident was not survivable.