SZD-22A outlanding incident near Lyss results in severe pilot injury

On June 21, 1969, an SZD-22A experienced an outlanding incident near Lyss, Switzerland. The pilot attempted an outlanding in a field he had previously surveyed but had never used for landing. During the approach, the aircraft stalled while the pilot was executing a corrective turn to lose altitude, resulting in a crash. The pilot sustained severe injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed. The investigation confirmed that the accident was due to unsuitable terrain selection and failure to maintain minimum speed during the turn.

1. Aerotow cross-country: The pilot aerotowed from Courtelary for a cross-country flight with the personal intention of performing his first off-airfield outlanding in a pre-selected field near his home.
2. Inadequate preparation: The pilot did not obtain specific meteorological or route information, did not brief club staff about the planned outlanding, and chose a marginal field with a downslope approach and trees at the far end for his first off-field landing.
3. High approach to field: After a normal cross-country and descent over Lyss, the pilot entered the intended landing area still relatively high and continued to lose height with turns, joining the final approach too high for the lower-lying field.
4. High on short final: On short final at about 20 m above ground, the pilot realized he was still too high and feared overshooting into the trees at the end of the chosen field.
5. 360° turn at low height: To lose excess height, the pilot retracted the airbrakes and initiated a relatively flat 360° left turn at approximately 20 m above ground instead of using safer height-loss techniques.
6. Low-speed stall in turn: During the low-altitude left turn, the glider stalled and pitched forward despite the pilot’s control inputs, leading to an unrecoverable loss of control close to the ground.
7. Crash - serious injury: The glider impacted the ground about 20 m short and 150 m left of the intended touchdown point, destroying the aircraft and seriously injuring the pilot.