Accident to the powered glider Schleicher ASW24 registered D-KLTS on 31/07/2017 at Curbans (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence)

This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Report on the Safety Investigation. As accurate as the translation may be, the original text in French is the work of reference.

Note: The following information is mainly taken from the pilot’s statement. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1 - History of the flight

The pilot, owner of the powered glider, took off from unpaved runway 20L[1] at Gap-Tallard aerodrome (Hautes-Alpes) for a local flight.

Shortly after take-off, at a height of around 60 m, the engine power decreased to stabilize at a speed close to idle. The pilot immediately decided to land in a field. He turned left roughly following the crosswind leg of the aerodrome circuit for aeroplanes. He selected a field, located in line with his path, as a landing area.

On short final, the pilot shut down the engine in accordance with the associated emergency procedure. He was unable to avoid a cable and a wooden telephone pole located between a road and the field.

When the left wing came into contact with the pole, the glider pivoted left around its yaw axis by slightly more than a quarter turn. It came to a standstill in crops around 50 m from the first impact. The emergency locator transmitter was activated. The pilot was uninjured.

2 - Additional information 

2.1 Site and wreckage information

The wreckage was located in a flat, rectangular field of crops bordered by two roads running along its north-east and south-east sides. The field is located at approximately two kilometres from the threshold of unpaved runway 02R. It was resting on its landing gear and the wings were level. The tail boom was broken aft of the housing of the powerplant, and bent. The right part of the horizontal stabilizer was also broken. The leading edge and the control surface of the left wing were damaged.

After the wreckage had been sold, the new owner found a fragment of plastic inside the carburettor air intake. The origin of this fragment and the consequences of its possible presence prior to the accident which might have led to the loss of power observed by the pilot were not determined.

2.2 Pilot information and statement

The pilot, who holds a Sailplane Pilot Licence (SPL) issued by the Austrian authorities, had logged around 850 flight hours of which 114 dual flight hours. He had flown 51 flight hours in the previous three months all on type and no flight hours in the previous month. The pilot said that he regularly carried out flights from Gap-Tallard aerodrome.

He said that on the day of the flight, the sky was clear and there was a light wind. He thought that the rate of descent increased after the commanded shut-down of the engine which made it impossible to avoid the telephone pole. He estimated the flight time as being three minutes.

The pilot carried out the routine maintenance of D-KLTS and entrusted the periodical maintenance to an Austrian maintenance organization.