Struktureller Ausfall der Rhönadler 32 in der Nähe von Madulain führt zum Tod des Piloten

Am 31. Mai 1959 erlitt eine Rhönadler 32 in der Nähe von Madulain, Schweiz, einen katastrophalen strukturellen Ausfall. Das Segelflugzeug brach in der Luft in etwa 2700 Metern Höhe auseinander, wobei sich die Flügel und der Rumpf trennten und zu Boden stürzten. Der Pilot, der sich auf einem Solo-Trainingsflug befand, kam bei dem Vorfall ums Leben. Die Untersuchung ergab, dass der strukturelle Ausfall wahrscheinlich auf eine Überschreitung der Belastungsgrenzen des Flugzeugs bei hoher Geschwindigkeit zurückzuführen war. Es gab keine Augenzeugen, die die kritischen Momente vor dem Auseinanderbrechen beobachteten.

1. Winch launch to cruise: The pilot winch-launched from Samedan at 15:36 in the Rhönadler 32 for a solo training flight after a brief familiarization circuit.
2. Limited type familiarity: The pilot had no prior experience with pendulum elevators and only minimal time on single-seat gliders, making him unfamiliar with the aircraft’s very pitch-sensitive handling.
3. Structural and info limits: The glider belonged to a low-strength certification group and had a poorly welded wing attachment point, and the pilot had not been briefed on its lower load limits nor consulted the onboard documentation.
4. High-speed overloading: While maneuvering near Piz Mezzaun at about 2700 m, the aircraft was subjected to a high-speed maneuver that likely exceeded its permissible load factor.
5. In-flight structural breakup: The right lower wing-join fitting failed in tension, leading within fractions of a second to failure of the wing-to-fuselage attachments and torsional breakup of both wing rear spars, separating wings and fuselage.
6. No parachute escape: During the subsequent 10–12 second fall from roughly 450–500 m above terrain, the pilot did not attempt or was unable to attempt a parachute jump.
7. Crash - fatal: The separated fuselage and wings impacted terrain near Madulain, completely destroying the glider and killing the pilot on impact.