DG-100 pilot is seriously hurt in a gear-up outlanding that leaves the glider intact
Final glide home to Benešov that ran out in sink: the pilot of a DG-100 put down in a sloping meadow 720 m south of the airfield with the gear deliberately retracted, and was seriously injured in the hard impact while the glider came through undamaged. He had given up the thermal at about 450 m AGL as the convection decayed and set off from 6 km out at about 400 m AGL, then met 3 m/s sink into wind over the last 2 km. He kept the wheel up so that the gear breaking away could not injure him, and landed up the slope at about 60 km/h in long grass.
- Convection breaks up near Votice: The pilot released about 700 m above Benešov and worked the area near Votice. The convection then decayed, and at about 450 m AGL he gave up the thermal flight and turned back for the airfield.
- Glide home begun from 6 km: He set off straight for Benešov from about 6 km out with roughly 400 m AGL in hand. The leg ran into wind, and over about 2 km of it the glider met sink of 3 m/s.
- Airfield out of reach: The height would not stretch to the airfield. The pilot turned to a meadow on a slope to the south of it, some 720 m from the reference point, with long grass on the ground.
- Wheel kept up on purpose: Weighing the landing, he chose not to extend the landing gear, so that the gear breaking away could not injure him. The fuselage underside would therefore take the contact instead of the wheel.
- Landing up the slope at 60 km/h: He flew the approach at a minimum speed of about 60 km/h and landed up the rising ground. The arrival was hard.
- Pilot hurt, glider unmarked: He was taken to hospital with a serious injury. A maintenance engineer inspected the glider for hard-landing damage afterwards and found nothing that needed repair before it flew again.