ASW 20L crash during approach at Birrhard following low-speed stall
On March 30, 1985, an Alexander Schleicher ASW 20L crashed during its approach to Birrhard, Switzerland. The pilot, on his first flight with the aircraft, initiated a turn at low altitude. During the turn, the glider stalled and entered a steep dive, resulting in a fatal crash. The pilot was killed, and the aircraft was destroyed. Strong turbulence and inadequate preparation for the flight were noted as contributing factors.
- Aerotow to local soaring: The pilot aerotowed from Birrfeld in the ASW 20L for his first flight on this type and flew locally for about 20 minutes before returning to land.
- Rushed first-flight prep: On the day of the flight the pilot had a hectic schedule retrieving equipment and the glider, received no formal type checkout, and had limited time to become familiar with the ASW 20L cockpit and systems.
- Strong turbulence present: Weather and eyewitness reports indicated strong turbulence in the Birrfeld circuit area during the approach.
- Slow turn on final: On final approach, offset about 80 m south of the runway axis at 80–100 m height and 400–500 m before the threshold, the pilot initiated a left turn at a low airspeed.
- Stall and spin entry: About halfway through the turn the radius tightened, the nose dropped steeply, and the glider entered a steep, tight descending spin-like rotation.
- No effective recovery: The glider continued through roughly 1¼ further steep, tight turns with landing flaps still largely extended, indicating that any recovery attempt did not stop the rotation before ground impact.
- Crash - fatal: The ASW 20L impacted the ground in a steep nose-down attitude about 350 m before the runway 26 threshold near the N1 motorway, fatally injuring the pilot and destroying the glider.