Accident to the Glaser Dirks - DG-500M registered F-CHJN on 05/05/2022 at Brioude-Beaumont

History of the flight

The pilot, accompanied by a passenger carried out a self-launch take-off at about 14:30 from unpaved runway 33L of Brioude-Beaumont aerodrome, for a local flight. During the take-off run, when the glider was at a speed of about  60  km/h, the right wing chafed against the grass and the glider performed a ground loop. The tail boom broke and the glider came to rest on the runway.

The pilot stated that the grass was about 40 cm high and that there were holes in the section of the runway where the accident occurred.

Additional information

The pilot held a Sailplane Pilot Licence issued in 1985. He had owned F-CHJN for two years. On the day of the accident, he had logged approximately 1,400 glider flight hours, including 160 hours on F-CHJN. He indicated that he had not flown F-CHJN or any other glider or powered glider since September 2021. On the morning of the accident, he had flown a microlight, and carried out four landings. He stated that F-CHJN was based at Brioude-Beaumont aerodrome.

Brioude-Beaumont aerodrome has two parallel unpaved runways oriented 15/33. Runway 15R/33L is 970m long and is reserved for gliders.

This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Final Report on the Safety Investigation published in June 2022. As accurate as the translation may be, the original text in French is the work of reference. (September 2022)