SZD-48-3 crash at Ludesch after long flight in alpine region
On June 22, 1986, an SZD-48-3 glider crashed near Ludesch, Austria, after an approximately eight-hour flight. The aircraft entered a left-wing spin at low altitude and impacted a steep 45-degree slope. The pilot, a Swiss national, was fatally injured, and the glider was destroyed. The official report identified flying below the minimum safe speed as the cause. Pilot fatigue from the long flight duration and stress from an imminent outlanding were contributing factors.
- Aerotow cross-country: After an aerotow departure from Hohenems, the pilot conducted an approximately eight-hour alpine cross-country flight with multiple turnpoints.
- Low altitude over ridge: In the final phase, the glider was flying only about 15 m above a wooded ridge and descending steadily after losing usable lift near the Arlberg area.
- Pilot fatigue and stress: The pilot was likely fatigued from more than eight hours of flight in hot summer conditions and under stress from the now-unavoidable outlanding, reducing performance.
- Speed below stall: While flying slowly just above the treetops over the wooded saddle, the glider’s airspeed dropped below the minimum safe speed, leading to a stall.
- Low-altitude spin: The glider abruptly pitched down and entered a left-wing spin from which recovery was impossible given the very low height above the slope.
- Crash - fatal: Still in a steep attitude, the glider impacted a 45-degree forested slope almost vertically, was destroyed, and the pilot was fatally injured.