Crash du Grunau Baby II lors d'un entraînement au remorquage à l'aérodrome de Bad Ragaz

Le 16 juillet 1963, un Grunau Baby II s'est écrasé lors d'un vol d'entraînement au remorquage à l'aérodrome de Bad Ragaz en Suisse. Le pilote, reprenant l'entraînement après une longue pause, a largué près d'une ligne à haute tension, craignant une collision. En tentant de passer sous la ligne, le planeur a percuté le sol à un angle raide. Le pilote a subi des blessures légères, tandis que le planeur a été complètement détruit. Le rapport officiel attribue l'accident à une mauvaise évaluation de la situation par le pilote.

1. Aerotow initial climb: During the second aerotow training flight after a break of more than a year, the glider was climbing behind the Chipmunk towplane from runway 29.
2. Low recent experience: The pilot had limited total gliding experience and was resuming flying after an interruption of more than one year, reducing his recency and judgment margins.
3. High-voltage line ahead: About 550 m beyond the runway end in the takeoff direction, a roughly 30 m high high-voltage power line crossed the departure path, making climb performance margins tight.
4. Perceived obstacle conflict: As the tow approached the power line, the glider pilot, having overflown the towplane, believed the combination would not clear the cables and feared a collision.
5. Premature tow release: Shortly before the power line, the pilot released from tow and immediately pushed into a steep dive in an attempt to pass under the cables.
6. Excessive nose-down dive: In diving to avoid the perceived obstacle, the pilot steepened the glider’s attitude so much that he could not recover to level flight in the remaining height above ground.
7. Crash - minor injury: The glider struck the ground at a steep angle short of the power line, was completely destroyed, and the pilot sustained only minor abrasions.