Events and flight progress
The accident occurred during the "Euregio Cup" gliding competition. The pilot started his cross-country glider flight from the Aachen-Merzbrück airfield at 11:21 a.m. local time. The planned flight covered a distance of 358.4 kilometres, with three turning points. The last turning point, Wershofen, was approximately 302.2 kilometres from the starting point.
After more than six hours of flight time and a distance of around 358 kilometres, the glider entered an uncontrolled flight attitude during the outlanding and crashed. The accident occurred after a long period of flight during which the pilot made several attempts to gain altitude using thermal updrafts. However, these attempts were unsuccessful and the glider descended continuously.
At 17:46, shortly before the crash, the glider was only about 70 metres above the ground. A witness, who was on the eastern outskirts of Wershofen, reported that the glider flew in a low left turn before crashing into the ground. The last recorded flight movement was a right turn towards a meadow, which ultimately became the accident site.
Pilot and aircraft details
The pilot was an experienced glider pilot with a long flying career dating back to 1985. He held a national glider pilot's licence as well as several other ratings, including for aerobatics and towing banners with motor gliders. His class 2 medical certificate was valid until 24 March 2023. The pilot's exact total flight experience could not be determined, but it is known that he had completed around 26 hours of flight time on the glider type involved in the accident since June 2021.
The glider involved in the accident, an LS 1-f, was a single-seater shoulder-wing glider built in 1975 using a GRP foam sandwich construction. The aircraft was duly registered in Germany and was operated privately. It was equipped with the necessary instruments and a FLARM collision warning device. The aircraft was last serviced in July 2021 and had a valid certificate of airworthiness.
Weather conditions and accident site
At the time of the accident, visibility in the region was over 10 kilometres with westerly winds of 30 to 35 km/h. According to local glider pilots, the thermals were "torn apart" by the wind and began to fade towards evening. The accident site was located on a meadow in hilly terrain about 2.6 km east of the Wershofen special landing site, at an altitude of about 420 m above sea level.
The impact occurred at a steep angle of over 45°, which resulted in the glider being severely damaged. The cockpit area was broken several times, the fuselage tube was torn off and the landing gear was pressed into the fuselage.
Conclusions and additional information
The BFU's accident report does not analyse or draw any conclusions about the exact causes of the accident. The report states that the pilot may have underestimated the influence of the weather conditions and the remaining flight altitude when making his landing manoeuvre. The thermal conditions, which had already deteriorated significantly, could have played a role in the failed off-field landing.
According to the guidelines of the German Aero Club's Gliding Operating Regulations (SBO), the decision to land off the field should be made in good time. A three-stage decision-making model stipulates that pilots must take particular care when choosing the landing field and assessing the wind conditions in order to avoid accidents like this one.
The BFU emphasises that the aim of its investigations is to prevent future accidents, not to establish fault or liability. The accident report therefore primarily serves as a basis for safety-related improvements in gliding.
Source references:
Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation