Incidente S-19-II en Holderbank: Piloto se salva con paracaídas tras falla de control
El 15 de enero de 1961, un Spalinger S 19 II experimentó una falla de control durante un vuelo cerca de Holderbank, Suiza. El piloto, que había despegado del aeródromo de Birrfeld, enfrentó una pérdida repentina de control cuando la palanca de control se desprendió. Afortunadamente, el piloto logró desplegar su paracaídas y aterrizar sin problemas, sin reportarse lesiones. Sin embargo, el planeador fue destruido al impactar con el suelo. El incidente se atribuyó a una falla estructural en el sistema de control debido a una soldadura incorrecta, según confirmó la investigación oficial.
- Aerotow to ridge: The pilot aerotowed from Birrfeld airfield in HB-544 to the Chestenberg ridge to fly a five‑hour soaring task.
- Ridge soaring cruise: For about one and a half hours the pilot flew regular figure‑eight patterns in ridge lift along the Chestenberg, trimmed slightly tail‑heavy.
- Control stick failure: At about 13:05, while initiating another right turn at 250 m above the west end of the Chestenberg, the control stick broke loose at its lower attachment and hung only on the control cables.
- Loss of control: With the control stick disconnected, the glider pitched up, lost speed, passed through a mush/sackflug phase, and then entered an increasingly steep dive.
- Pilot bailout: The pilot jettisoned the canopy, released his harness, exited the glider head‑first, and deployed his parachute, which opened normally.
- Uncontrolled maneuvers: After the pilot left, the unmanned glider performed two uncontrolled loopings before descending toward the ground.
- Crash - no injury: The pilot landed uninjured by parachute in a limestone quarry near Holderbank, while the glider crashed nearby and was destroyed on impact.