Snagged winch cable parachute leaves an ASW 19B barely controllable

An ASW 19B was substantially damaged in a hard crash after a parallel winch cable snagged its tail on launch; the pilot was uninjured. As the glider lifted off, the second launch cable — laid only about 2.5 m away with its parachute still attached — caught the tail skid and was dragged aloft. Its open parachute so reduced control that, though the pilot spotted the problem and correctly released at about 140 m, the glider was barely steerable and hit the ground hard beside runway 03. Insufficient cable spacing and poor ground organisation contributed. Once the parachute was trailing, the hard impact was unavoidable.

1. Winch launch takeoff: The pilot began a winch launch in an ASW 19B from runway 03 at Samedan for a local flight.
2. Second cable snags tail: As the glider lifted off, the parallel second winch cable — its parachute still attached — caught on the tail skid and was dragged up in the climb.
3. Insufficient cable spacing: The second cable had been laid only about 2.5 m from the launch cable, with no extra spacing made when the first cable was hooked on; in the launch direction the clearance was insufficient.
4. Poor ground organisation: The second cable's parachute was left attached and a group of people stood near it — signs that the winch-launch hazards were underappreciated on the ground.
5. Pilot releases launch cable: Noticing the poor climb, the pilot correctly released the launch cable at about 140 m AGL.
6. Control severely limited: With the second cable's open parachute trailing, its stabilising drag left the glider only barely controllable.
7. Hard impact; uninjured: The glider struck the ground hard right of runway 03 and was substantially damaged; the pilot was uninjured. Once the parachute was trailing, the impact was unavoidable.