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. Investigators cited the low-altitude thermalling attempt and the late runway change.

1. Winch launch, return to Fayence: After landing the previous evening following an attempted wave flight to Italy and back, the pilot prepared to return; the winch launch began, with cable release at about 350 m height.
2. First winch at Seyne, low currency: This was the pilot's first winch launch at this airfield after limited recent currency; the chief pilot gave only a ground briefing on cable-break scenarios and runway specifics.
3. Chief pilot suggested waiting: Conditions at this time of year and day are usually not favorable for soaring there, with the afternoon valley breeze preferred; the chief pilot suggested waiting before launching.
4. Search off ridges, low circling: After release the pilot flew toward the town northwest of the airfield rather than toward the ridges where lift is typically found, encountering only sink.
5. Continued descent, late return: In persistent sink the glider kept losing height; at low altitude the pilot turned back toward the airfield joining early downwind, and the chief pilot suggested a direct final instead.
6. Switched to RWY 13 from side: Realizing the circuit could not be completed, the pilot switched to the upslope runway preferred there even in light tailwind, converging on it from the side rather than 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 a few meters above the runway and dropped hard onto it; damage was limited to the landing gear, and the pilot was seriously injured.