Accident to the Schleicher - ASK13 registered F-CLBG on 28/10/2019 at Havre Saint-Romain (Seine Maritime)
Ouverture intempestive de la verrière lors du décollage, passage en position haute du planeur, largage du câble par le pilote du remorqueur, perte de contrôle du planeur lors du demi-tour, en instruction solo
Cat. 2 investigation report: simplified-format report, adapted to the circumstances of the occurrence and the investigation stakes.
During the towed take-off from runway 05 at Havre Saint-Romain aerodrome and at a height of around 10 metres, the canopy of the glider registered F-CLBG suddenly opened, probably due to it not being correctly locked before take-off.
While the student-pilot attempted to close the canopy, letting go of the stick several times, the glider rose above the tug plane and its speed dropped to approximately 70 km/h. Noticing the glider rise above him during the manoeuvre, the tug pilot decided to release the cable and return to land at the aerodrome via an adapted right-hand circuit. At that time, the glider was at a height of approximately 40 m and continued to climb.
The glider turned left at a height of around 80 m, the student-pilot lost control of the glider which collided with the ground with the cable still attached.
The investigation was unable to determine whether the student-pilot had attempted to make a turn-around to land on the reciprocal QFU or on the intersecting runway.