Glider pilot 'slid backwards' before crash near Stroud - report

The crash happened on a fine day with light winds

A glider pilot "slid backwards in his seat" before crashing in an airfield, an accident investigation report said.

The pilot, who was seriously hurt last June, recalled "little" after the aircraft was launched via winch.

After a "normal" ground run and take-off, the glider made contact with the ground in a "steep nose-down attitude" at Nympsfield Airfield, near Stroud.

The "experienced" pilot, 70, sustained "significant injuries", added the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

The JS-MD 3 glider was destroyed in the crash on 15 June, and the pilot was airlifted to hospital.

Nose-down contact

Witnesses described the aircraft's ground run and take-off as "normal", but the glider, manufactured in 2020, then began to rotate "more vigorously", according to the AAIB report.

It then made a steep climb, during which the left wing appeared to drop.

The aircraft then descended as it continued to "roll and yaw" before making contact with the ground, nose-down.

The pilot, who has not been named, had more than 2,000 hours of flying experience, and the flight was his sixth winch launch on this type of aircraft.

'Fingertip control'

The British Gliding Association (BGA) investigated the crash, engaging with the manufacturer of the glider to investigate the pilot's report of sliding back in his seat.

Following some winch launch tests under similar conditions, the manufacturer's chief test pilot reported that it is possible to slide back in the seat, which is more reclined than seats in other gliders, during launch.

The test pilot also said it was "only possible to control the aircraft with his fingertips" during his tests, although this did not happen if the "pilot restraints were tightly secured".

The BGA concluded that the "rapid pitch up at the start of the flight led to a stall and subsequent loss of control at a height that was not recoverable".