K 8 B collision with obstacle during outlanding near Sombeval, Switzerland
On August 10, 1972, an Alexander Schleicher K 8 B was involved in an incident near Sombeval, Switzerland. The pilot was attempting an outlanding on a sloped field when the aircraft's right wing struck a marking post, leading to a crash. Despite the heavy damage to the glider, the pilot was unharmed. The official report confirmed that the choice of landing site was unsuitable due to terrain features, contributing to the collision.
- Aerotow cross-country: The pilot aerotowed from Courtelary at 1310 local time in a K 8 B for a 50 km Silver-C cross-country flight toward L'Auberson.
- Low altitude after release: After releasing at about 500 m QFE north of Corgémont and circling briefly, the glider continued to lose height in weak conditions.
- Left start area low: The pilot left the vicinity of the start area with insufficient height, setting up the need for an unplanned outlanding.
- Unavoidable outlanding: At about 400 m above ground, the pilot recognized that an outlanding was unavoidable and selected a sloping field near Sombeval as the landing site.
- Unsuitable landing field: The chosen field had a 5° downslope toward the south and was bordered to the north by a road on a 2 m embankment with posts close to the intended approach path.
- Low, flapless final: Flying downwind north of Sombeval, the pilot turned right around the village and commenced final at about 90 km/h on heading 250° without deploying airbrakes, despite the nearby road embankment.
- Crash - no injury: On final approach the right wing struck a marking post at the south edge of the road embankment, causing the glider to crash heavily and be badly damaged while the pilot remained uninjured.