Fallo estructural del Rhönadler 32 cerca de Madulain resulta en la muerte del piloto

El 31 de mayo de 1959, un planeador Rhönadler 32 experimentó un fallo estructural catastrófico cerca de Madulain, Suiza. El planeador se desintegró en el aire a aproximadamente 2700 metros de altitud, separándose las alas y el fuselaje y estrellándose contra el suelo. El piloto, que realizaba un vuelo de entrenamiento en solitario, falleció en el incidente. La investigación sugirió que el fallo estructural probablemente se debió a la superación de los límites de carga de la aeronave a alta velocidad. No hubo testigos presenciales para observar los momentos críticos que llevaron a la desintegración.

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.