Accident to the Schleicher ASW24 registered F-CGKH on 12/06/2021 at Pont-Saint-Vincent

On the return leg from a local flight lasting approximately one hour, the pilot decided to join the right-hand aerodrome circuit to runway 24. Approximately 250 m from the runway threshold, he was too low and 360 m to the left of the runway axis. Realising that he was not going to be able to join the right-hand aerodrome circuit, he initiated a left U-turn to join the end of the downwind leg or base leg of the left-hand circuit for runway 24. During this turn at low height (about 150 m) and with a speed that did not offer him a sufficient safety margin, the glider stalled and
collided with the ground.

The investigation was unable to determine with certainty what caused the stall. It is likely that the low-speed turn, combined with gusts of up to 18 kt and possible downdrafts over the quarry, caused the stall and the resulting spin.

The pilot’s inputs allowed him to quickly exit from the spin before the collision with the ground and thus mitigated the consequences of the accident.

The altimeter setting error, which led to an altitude indication approximately 35 m higher than the glider’s actual altitude, may have contributed to the pilot’s misperception of the glider's actual height on the way back to the aerodrome.