Hard landing followed by ground loop, Schempp-Hirth Discus bT, PH-1612, Midden Zeeland Airport
The pilot took off from Runway 27 by making use of an aerotow. The wind came from the west with a speed of 30 km/hour. The pilots’ intention for this flight was to gain experience with the new starting procedure for the supporting turbo engine of the glider. During the winter break, PH-1612 had been modified with a new flight computer as part of the instrumentation panel and the fuel tank for the turbo engine was fitted in another position in the fuselage. The different location of the fuel tank changed the starting procedure for the engine.
After the winter break, the pilot had made two check flights with an instructor a week earlier. On the same day, he also made his first flight with PH-1612 in the new configuration.
Once airborne, the pilot released the rope at a height of 500 metres and looked for thermals to increase height. However, he was not able to gain height and therefore decided to start the engine while using the checklist. His altitude was approximately 350 metres. The pilot did not succeed to start the engine; a second attempt was also unsuccessful. Then, he attempted, without using the checklist, to retract the engine to reduce the resistance, but this did not work out either. The glider was now approximately at a height of 150 metres and a distance of 3.5 km from the airport. After the pilot had orientated himself, he performed the downwind checks and flew in a straight line back to the airport and considered landing on Runway 09. This would take the least amount of height and time.
Approaching the airport, the pilot noticed that an aerotow took place from Runway 27. Therefore, he decided to land on Runway 27, instead on Runway 09. At a height of about 10 metres, he made a left turn to an improvised short final for Runway 27. During this turn, the left wingtip contacted the ground, causing the glider to make a traversed landing and a ground loop. The pilot remained unharmed. The glider sustained damage to, amongst others, the canopy and left wing tip wheel.
This accident is extensively described in the quarterly aviation report over the 4th quarter of 2020.
