Ka 8 B rate l'approche d'atterrissage à l'aéroport de Grenchen, décroche avant le toucher

Le 13 mai 1972, un pilote volant sur un Alexander Schleicher K 8 B a tenté d'atterrir à l'aéroport de Grenchen après un vol de 5 heures. Le pilote a mal jugé la hauteur lors de l'approche et n'a pas suffisamment pris en compte le vent de face fort. En conséquence, le planeur est arrivé trop bas et a décroché en essayant de franchir une route avant la piste. Le planeur a subi des dommages importants à l'impact, mais le pilote n'a pas été blessé. L'enquête a confirmé que l'approche du pilote était trop basse, conduisant au décrochage.

1. Aerotow cross-country: After an aerotow departure from Grenchen, the pilot flew a K 8 B for over five hours to meet the silver badge duration requirement.
2. Limited experience: The pilot had a total of 37 flight hours, 29 of them on type, which limited his overall experience in managing demanding approach conditions.
3. Headwind on approach: A relatively strong northeasterly headwind was present during the approach, increasing the required approach height and energy.
4. Approach flown too low: On returning to Grenchen after the five-hour flight, the pilot misjudged his height and flew the final approach too low relative to the runway threshold.
5. Attempt to stretch glide: At about 80–85 km/h the pilot attempted to stretch the glide to clear a road crossing in front of the landing area instead of accepting the low approach path.
6. Stall and sink near ground: By pitching up at relatively low speed the pilot exceeded the critical angle of attack, the glider sank through in ground proximity, and impacted the ground hard before the intended landing flare.
7. Hard landing - damage: The glider came to a stop after a short ground run with severe structural damage, while the pilot remained uninjured.