El piloto de un ASK 18 choca contra una ladera del Jura tras perder sus márgenes de seguridad
El piloto de un ASK 18 murió cuando el planeador chocó contra una ladera boscosa del Jura; planeador destruido. Los restos se hallaron dos días después. En su primer vuelo solo de la temporada, tras 7 meses sin volar, el piloto se soltó hacia los 1000 m y recorrió la cresta hacia el este. Ascendencias débiles y el paso del suroeste a la bise dificultaban mantener la altura. El piloto no mantuvo un margen suficiente de velocidad y/o distancia al relieve y golpeó los árboles; la actitud en el impacto quedó indeterminada. Causa: el incumplimiento de los márgenes de seguridad en el viento cambiante; una práctica reciente limitada contribuyó.
- Aerotow local flight: The pilot took off from Grenchen by aerotow for a local training flight and released over the Grenchenberg before ridge-flying along the Jura towards the east.
- Limited recent soaring: This was the pilot’s first solo glider flight of the season after a 7‑month break from soaring, with only a brief dual check flight 12 days earlier and modest experience on the ASK 18 type.
- Marginal ridge conditions: Along the Jura the wind was changing from weak southwesterly to bise with sparse and weak lift on the ridge, making height maintenance difficult.
- Insufficient safety margins: While flying near the Jura slope, the pilot did not maintain adequate safety margins in airspeed and/or distance from the terrain under the prevailing variable wind conditions.
- Loss of safe flight path: The inadequate margins led either to sink close to the slope or to an unrecognized low-speed, over-banked or stalled condition from which recovery was not possible at that height.
- Crash - fatal: The glider impacted a wooded slope on the Montagne de Romont at about 1130 m MSL, was destroyed, and the pilot sustained fatal injuries.