Collision du Ka 8 B avec une grange lors d'un atterrissage en campagne à Schüpfheim, Suisse

Le 22 juillet 1971, un Alexander Schleicher K 8 B a effectué un atterrissage difficile sur un terrain inadapté près de Schüpfheim, en Suisse. Le pilote, tentant un atterrissage en campagne, a heurté une grange après avoir touché le sol sur un champ vallonné. Malgré les conditions d'atterrissage difficiles, le pilote est resté indemne. Cependant, le planeur a subi des dommages importants, notamment des ailes cassées et une verrière de cockpit brisée. L'incident a été attribué au choix d'un site d'atterrissage inapproprié.

1. Cross-country flight: The pilot aerotowed from Saanen and flew a cross-country task toward Schüpfheim to complete the FAI silver distance.
2. Unsuitable field chosen: Arriving over Schüpfheim, the pilot selected a small grass field west of the Kleine Emme for an outlanding, not recognizing that it lay at the foot of a slope with uneven surface.
3. Better fields overlooked: The pilot disregarded or did not recognize the clearly more suitable landing options in the flat valley floor east of the river, instead committing early to the hilly, obstacle-rich terrain to the west.
4. Steep fast approach: Because of the descending terrain toward the chosen field, the pilot flew a steep final approach and touched down with high speed on the short, uneven grass strip.
5. Bounce on uneven ground: During the rollout the glider bounced over two ground undulations, dynamically overloading the left wing spar and degrading directional control.
6. Outlanding - damage: About 127 meters after first touchdown the glider collided with a barn with its right wing, heavily damaging both wings and the canopy while the pilot remained uninjured.