Accident to the Rolladen-Schneider LS6 registered OH-726 on 24/04/2024 at Seyne-les-Alpes
Manoeuvre to avoid vegetation, stall at low height, hard landing
The pilot carried out for the first time, a winch take-off from Seyne-les-Alpes aerodrome. He released the cable at a height of around 350 m and then moved away from the aerodrome to spiral in an area where he had seen a glider flying prior to his take-off.
He began his spirals at a height of around 175 m, i.e. below the minimum height recommended by the FFVP to join an aerodrome circuit.
This zone was not conducive to the presence of uplifts, given the aerological conditions at the time of the day. The glider lost altitude and the pilot turned around towards the downwind leg for runway 31 while he was at a height of around 100 m. Realising that he was too low, he finally changed his action plan by heading towards runway 13. On joining the runway circuit from the side of this runway, the pilot found himself facing trees and made a nose-up input to pass over them. The glider then stalled a few metres high and made hard contact with the runway.