LS6-b stall over runway — thermalling below 250 m circuit minimum

A Rolladen-Schneider LS6-b made a hard landing on the runway at Seyne-les-Alpes (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence); the pilot was seriously injured. After a winch release at 350 m the pilot went toward Seyne town searching for thermals and began thermalling at ~175 m — below the 250 m minimum recommended for circuit integration. In sink, height continued to drop. At ~100 m on early downwind for RWY 31 he judged too low and switched to RWY 13. Encountering trees at the runway edge he pulled up to clear them; the glider stalled at ~5 m and landed hard. BEA cited the low-altitude thermalling attempt and the late runway change.

1. Winch launch, return to Fayence: After landing at Seyne-les-Alpes the previous evening following a 9-hour attempted wave flight from Fayence to Italy and back, the pilot prepared for the return to Fayence. At 12:28 local the winch launch began; cable release was at ~350 m height (nominal for the 1,100 m winch line and Seyne's 3,937 ft elevation, per FFVP).
2. First winch at Seyne, low currency: The pilot held an SPL since 2015 with winch endorsement, ~1,150 h glider total (848 h on LS6), but had completed only 45 winch launches in the previous 12 months — the last one in September 2023, ~7 months before this flight. This was the pilot's first winch launch at Seyne-les-Alpes; the chief pilot had given only a ground briefing on cable-break scenarios, outlanding fields, and runway specifics.
3. Chief pilot suggested waiting: Per the chief pilot, conditions at this time of year and time of day are usually not favorable for soaring at Seyne; it is preferable to wait for the afternoon valley breeze to set in. The chief pilot proposed waiting before launching.
4. Search off ridges, low circling: After release the pilot flew toward Seyne town (1.2 km NW of the airfield) where another glider had been seen circling in lift before takeoff — rather than toward the northern ridges where post-winch lift is typically sought at Seyne. Only sink was encountered. By 12:30:18 the glider had descended to ~175 m and the pilot began thermalling — below the FFVP-recommended minimum of 250 m for circuit integration.
5. Continued descent, late return: In persistent sink the glider continued losing height. At ~100 m the pilot turned back toward the airfield, joining early downwind for RWY 31. The chief pilot radioed a suggestion to report direct final 13 instead, given the low height.
6. Switched to RWY 13 from side: Realizing the RWY 31 circuit could not be completed, the pilot switched plan to RWY 13 — the preferred landing direction at Seyne due to the 3% upslope, used even with light tailwind up to 15 km/h. The pilot converged on RWY 13 from the side rather than from the published axis.
7. Pull-up to clear trees: Trees at the runway edge were in the converging path. The pilot pulled the nose up to overfly them at 12:32:50 (~23 m height). At very low energy this pitch-up exceeded the critical AoA.
8. Flat stall at ~5 m, hard landing: The glider stalled flat at ~5 m above the runway (per the chief pilot witness) and dropped onto the runway. Damage was limited to the landing gear; the flaps were found in the landing position. The pilot was seriously injured. BEA-cited contributing factor (hedged): the pilot's strong desire to return to Fayence may have contributed to the late interruption of the flight.