Accident to the Jonkers JS3 registered D-KPWZ on 22/06/2024 at La Motte du Caire

On returning from a local flight, the pilot estimated that there was a north-north-westerly wind
of 30 km/h. He carried out the approach so that he would pass above any possible curl overs on the first half of the runway, generally present when there is a strong Mistral. In reality, there were no curl overs and the surface wind was a northerly valley breeze, of light to medium strength with quite
strong gusts.

At the beginning of the base leg, the indicated airspeed and then the altitude of the glider increased. The pilot realised that he was too fast and too high and fully extended the airbrakes and flaps. The speed remained stable at around 120 km/h during the descent, slightly above the speed desired by
the pilot.

The pilot, thinking that his actions had been sufficient to intercept the descent slope, was surprised to fly over the beginning of the runway at a height above that recommended.

During the final overhead the runway, he started a U-turn in order to land on the reciprocal QFU; the glider only descended a little during the manoeuvre. The pilot changed his mind and returned to the runway axis. The remaining distance to land on the runway was limited even taking into account the parking which could be used as a clearway.

As the pilot was finally attempting to land in a field beyond the parking, the glider struck the vegetation at the edge of the field and then collided with the ground.