Aterrizaje en campo del Grunau Baby II cerca del aeropuerto de Lausanne La Blécherette durante un vuelo de entrenamiento

El 27 de junio de 1964, un Grunau Baby II realizó un aterrizaje en campo cerca del aeropuerto de Lausanne La Blécherette, Suiza. El piloto estudiante, con aproximadamente 20 horas de vuelo, estaba ejecutando un vuelo de entrenamiento e intentó aterrizar después de casi una hora en el aire. Durante la aproximación, el piloto se dio cuenta de que estaba demasiado bajo para alcanzar la pista e intentó un aterrizaje de emergencia en un campo cercano. La punta del ala izquierda del planeador tocó el suelo, causando que la aeronave girara y sufriera daños significativos en el fuselaje. El piloto resultó ileso, pero la aeronave, construida en 1934, probablemente no podría ser reparada.

1. Aerotow local soaring: The student pilot launched by aerotow from Lausanne-La Blécherette, released at about 600 m, and flew locally for nearly an hour before returning to land.
2. Misjudged approach height: During the standard circuit to runway 01, the pilot flew too long on downwind with a 10-knot NE wind and only realized after the second 90° turn that he was already too low to reach the landing axis, with a row of trees blocking the path.
3. Low experience on type: The student had only about 20 flight hours total and 64 minutes on the Grunau Baby II, reducing his ability to judge height and circuit geometry accurately.
4. Deceptive terrain elevation: The aerodrome sits on an elevated plateau about 50 m above the surrounding terrain, so while flying downwind without seeing the airfield the pilot could easily misjudge his true height above the landing area.
5. Abandons field return: Recognizing he could not safely clear the trees to rejoin the runway axis, the pilot turned away and decided to perform an outlanding in a field below the plateau.
6. Low-altitude tight circuit: To land in the chosen field directly beneath him, the pilot again attempted three 90° turns from only about 25–30 m height, leaving insufficient altitude to complete the approach safely.
7. Outlanding - damage: During the third low-altitude turn into the improvised landing field, the glider’s left wingtip struck the ground, causing the aircraft to pivot and crash, destroying the forward fuselage but leaving the pilot uninjured.