Aterrizaje en campo de un Standard Libelle cerca de Schwarzenburg resulta en daños significativos
El 7 de mayo de 1972, un planeador Glasflügel Standard Libelle realizó un aterrizaje en campo cerca de Schwarzenburg, Suiza. El piloto, que participaba en una competición regional, encontró corrientes descendentes inesperadas durante el tramo de regreso de un vuelo de Berna a Romont y de vuelta. Obligado a aterrizar en una zona montañosa, el planeador tocó tierra en un campo de hierba, sobrepasó un camino de campo y chocó contra un terraplén, resultando en daños significativos al fuselaje. A pesar de los graves daños al avión, el piloto salió ileso. La investigación concluyó que el accidente se debió a un aterrizaje en campo en un terreno inadecuado.
- Cross-country return leg: During the return leg of a Bern–Romont–Bern cross-country task, the pilot was flying the Standard Libelle back toward Bern in hilly terrain.
- Encounter strong sink: About 10 km from the destination, the glider encountered unexpectedly strong downdrafts that prevented continued glide to Bern.
- Unsuitable landing terrain: The surrounding hilly area offered few suitable landing options, and a field path forming a 60 cm deep ditch across the chosen field was hardly visible from the air.
- Forced outlanding attempt: The pilot elected to perform an outlanding on an uphill grassy field and chose to land with the landing gear retracted to shorten the landing roll.
- Impact with field edge: After touchdown the glider overflew the sunken field path and then struck the slightly raised opposite edge, breaking the fuselage behind the wing trailing edge and rendering the aircraft uncontrollable.
- Uncontrolled jump and second impact: The now uncontrollable glider made an approximately 15 m jump and then impacted nose-first in a beet field before sliding to a stop in normal attitude.
- Outlanding - damage: The pilot was uninjured but the glider sustained severe structural damage in the off-field landing.