ASW 19 breaks up in a dive from 6,700 m after the pilot loses control in wave
Wave flight behind the Jeseníky that reached 6,759 m: after about nine minutes above 6,600 m the pilot lost the ability to control the ASW 19, which went into a descending right turn, gained speed and shed both wings; he was fatally injured and the glider destroyed. The reason for the loss of control was not established, but incapacity from hypoxia or fatigue could not be ruled out. He had spent 52 minutes above 4,000 m, where continuous oxygen is required, and how he used the oxygen he carried could not be determined. Nobody noticed the glider had not returned, and the wreck was found the next day.
- Long drive, then a wave climb: The pilot collected the glider at his home field at about 04:15 and drove some five hours with the trailer to Mikulovice. He rigged there, took an aerotow at 11:27 and connected with the wave.
- 52 minutes above 4,000 m: He climbed in stages to 6,759 m, spending 52 minutes above 4,000 m, where the rules require oxygen to be used continuously, and 19 minutes above 6,000 m. He had a 2 l bottle aboard.
- Oxygen use not established: The bottle and its valve were too damaged to test, and no evidence of a mask or cannula in use was found. The report notes that lack of sleep and cold would have lowered his resistance to hypoxia.
- Control lost above 6,600 m: Manoeuvring between cloud layers, the glider went into a descending right turn at about 6,671 m. The recorded track then becomes erratic, with a derived groundspeed of 402 km/h at one point.
- Wings fail in the dive: The last 57 seconds were a steepening dive with rising speed. The wing was overloaded, probably beyond the permitted speed or load factor, and both wings separated from the fuselage in flight.
- Found the next day: The fuselage struck a wooded slope almost vertically at 826 m MSL, and wing pieces lay up to 6 km away. Nobody realised the glider had not landed; it was found at 12:09 the next day.