DG-400 stalls in a lee rotor while rounding a ridge at low height
The pilot was killed when the glider stalled and struck rocky ground on a mountain flight. He had self-launched from Klagenfurt, shut the engine down at 2,300 metres MSL and soared the border ridges for about three hours. As the thermals faded he rounded a mountain at low height, and he turned right into the shaded lee side. The airspeed fell away, the sink rate rose and he lost control. A 15-knot south-westerly was being amplified by the ridge into strong lee turbulence, and the glider very probably entered a rotor. He appears to have tried to leave the aircraft: the harness was released, the canopy not jettisoned.
- Self-launch from Klagenfurt: The pilot launched on the retractable engine from the grass runway at Klagenfurt, climbed to about 2,300 metres MSL and shut the engine down at about 11:44 UTC.
- Ridge soaring on the border: For roughly three hours he soared south along the ridges on the Austrian-Slovenian border. By mid-afternoon the thermals were fading and the sun angle had moved.
- Rounds the mountain on the lee side: At about 14:39 UTC he rounded the Weinasch at low height. He then turned right, into the shaded north-easterly lee of the ridge.
- Speed decays, sink rate rises: A south-westerly of 15 knots was being amplified over the crest into strong lee turbulence. The airspeed fell away and the rate of descent increased.
- Tries to leave the aircraft: The glider very probably entered a lee rotor and stalled, and the pilot lost control. He released his harness, but the canopy was never fully jettisoned.
- Impact with rocky terrain: The glider struck rocky ground on the mountainside and was destroyed. The pilot was killed.