Pégase pilot confuses gear and airbrakes on approach
The pilot was seriously injured and the glider destroyed after it struck a tree in a low final turn, its airbrakes partly deployed by mistake. Returning to land after finding no lift, the pilot configured for landing but — probably reaching for the gear — moved the adjacent airbrake lever and locked it partly out. He did not know the airbrake lever had been modified with locking detents and, working the checklist by feel, did not see the airbrakes open. As it sank heavily he blamed the mountain air; too low on the downwind, he turned tightly toward the runway and the left wing caught a treetop. It was his first flight in about nine months.
- Returning to land, no lift: After an aerotow over the ridge in turbulent air with no lift, the pilot decided to return to the mountain airfield and configured for landing.
- Airbrake moved instead of gear: Most probably reaching for the gear lever, he moved the adjacent airbrake control instead and locked it on its first 'airbrakes out' detent.
- Modified control, worked by feel: He did not know the glider's airbrake lever had been modified with locking detents; running the checklist by feel, he did not see the airbrakes were out.
- Heavy sink blamed on the air: The glider sank heavily; he put the degrading performance down to the turbulent mountain air, not the airbrakes, and never checked the lever.
- Too low, tight turn to runway: Too low on the downwind, he cut it short and turned tightly toward the runway to reach it, banking hard not to overshoot the axis.
- Wing hits tree, inverted: The left wing caught a treetop and the glider hit the ground inverted short of the threshold; the pilot was seriously injured, the glider destroyed.