Le Blanik décroche dans un demi-tour bas après un largage forcé par des aérofreins sortis

Le passager avant d'un Blanik L-13 a été grièvement blessé et l'instructeur indemne lorsque le planeur a décroché dans un virage bas ; planeur détruit. En vol d'initiation, les aérofreins, non verrouillés avant le remorquage, se sont ouverts après le décollage. Le planeur ne montait pas ; les appels radio du remorqueur et du sol sont restés inaperçus sur une fréquence saturée. Près d'obstacles, le remorqueur a largué le planeur. Au lieu de se poser tout droit dans les champs à gauche, le pilote a viré à droite à faible hauteur ; la vitesse a chuté et le planeur a décroché. Une charge avant ~8 kg sous le minimum a aggravé la perte de vitesse.

1. Aerotow takeoff: During an aerotow departure from Courtelary, the Blanik began its initial climb behind the Robin towplane.
2. Airbrakes not locked: Because the pre-takeoff check of the airbrake locking was incomplete, the glider launched with the airbrakes not properly locked, leading to their inadvertent deployment shortly after liftoff.
3. Low front seat weight: The load on the front seat, including passenger and parachute, was about 8 kg below the prescribed minimum, adversely affecting handling at low speed.
4. Radio warnings missed: Multiple urgent radio calls from the tow pilot and ground personnel about the extended airbrakes were not recognized by the glider pilot due to a congested frequency and his focus on the poor climb.
5. Towplane releases glider: Approaching Cortebert with obstacles ahead and unable to climb adequately with the glider’s airbrakes extended, the tow pilot performed an emergency release of the glider.
6. Low-altitude turn stall: After release, the glider pilot initiated a right 180-degree turn at low height, during which airspeed decayed rapidly and the glider stalled instead of landing straight ahead in available fields.
7. Crash - serious injury: The stalled glider descended into a field near Cortebert, seriously injuring the front-seat passenger, leaving the pilot uninjured, and destroying the aircraft.