SZ2-33 Glider
20 Sep 2003
Alexandria Ontario
This was the final flight of the day, commonly referred to as the "hangar flight". The two Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC) instructors planned to have the Quinte Flying Centre's Belanca Scout tow plane launch from runway 25 and tow their SZ2-33 glider up to 2000' AGL to the north of the field, where the pilot would then practice steep and medium turns prior to returning to the airfield.
Prior to launch, the pilot and his passenger had a discussion about which runway they would land on. It was decided that the auxiliary field would be used, as landing on it would mean that the glider would not have to be pushed very far to its overnight parking spot. A regular pattern for runway 25 would be flown, with a 90 ° turn to the left prior to the button of runway 25 in order to align the glider with the auxiliary field.
The pilot sat in the rear seat, with his passenger in the front seat. The launch and practice manoeuvres went ahead as planned, after which the pilot returned to the airfield.
The pilot flew a standard profile up until he was established on final for runway 25. At this point, at an altitude of between 500' AGL and 400'AGL, he opened the spoilers to 100% and lowered the nose to begin a rapid descent. The aircraft was then levelled at approximately 50' AGL at an approximate airspeed of 85 MPH. The pilot then executed a 30 ° angle of climb pull-up until he reached approximately 100' AGL and 50 MPH. The pilot then executed a 45 ° to 60 ° angle of bank turn to the left in an attempt to line up on the auxiliary field. The spoilers remained open throughout this manoeuvre.
The left wingtip contacted the ground, which spun the glider around 180 ° from its original heading. Then, in rapid succession and with the aircraft travelling backwards, the nose hit the ground and bounced up, the tail dug into the soft earth of the auxiliary field, and the glider's fuselage was bent 80 ° from true.
The aircraft was destroyed. The passenger suffered minor injuries to his lower back.
The DFS investigation is continuing, but so far mechanical and environmental cause factors have been ruled out.
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