Pilot ‘lost control after seat slid backwards’

A PILOT who had a miracle escape after his glider crashed in Gloucestershire had dived suddenly after his seat slid backwards, an investigation has revealed.

The 70-year-old pilot, who was not named in the report, climbed into a JS-MD 3 glider for a flight from Nympsfield Airfield in Gloucestershire at 12.21pm on June 15 last year

An investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found the glider was launched via a winch, which caused the aircraft to pitch up into a steep climb. But the left wing dropped, the aircraft lost control and descended nosedown and struck the ground.

The pilot sustained significant injuries and was transferred to hospital by air ambulance. The AAIB’s findings concluded the glider’s seat was not secured before take-off. It was the experienced glider pilot’s sixth winch launch on this type of aircraft. The pilot had more than 2,000 hours of flying experience.

The weather conditions were described as “fine” with a light wind and the pilot recalled he secured his harness, got the cable for a winch launch and carried out his checks before take-off.

The pilot recalled as the glider accelerated, he believed he may have slid backwards in the seat during the launch, which may have caused him to be unable to control the aircraft. The glider aircraft yawed left and the pilot would have been unable to recover the loss of control before he struck the ground.

The AAIB sought to see if there were any issues with the seat or if there could be further checks or guidance for pilots to carry out before they took to the air. The report stated: “As part of their investigation, the BGA [British Gliding Association] engaged with the aircraft manufacturer to investigate the pilot’s report of sliding back in his seat.

“The seating position in this glider is more reclined than others and the manufacturer’s chief test pilot performed some winch launch tests under launch similar conditions. He reported that it is possible to slide back in the seat during the launch and, in his test, it was “only possible to control the aircraft with his fingertips”.

“Of note was that this did not occur if the pilot restraints were tightly secured. The BGA’s assessment of the accident was that the rapid pitch up at start of the flight led to a stall and subsequent loss of control at a height that was not recoverable.”

The BGA has now written to all gliding clubs to remind pilots of the “hazard of being forced rearwards during acceleration on a winch launch and highlighting the need for the pilot to be adequately restrained during this phase of flight.”