ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 237605
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| Date: | Saturday 20 June 2020 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Glasflügel H-205 Club Libelle |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | PH-407 |
| MSN: | 143 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Volkel AFB, Noord-Brabant -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Volkel Air Base (UDE/EHVK) |
| Volkel Air Base (UDE/EHVK) | |
| Investigating agency: | Dutch Safety Board |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot took off from 24L (a grass runway) in PH-407, a single-seater glider, using a winch launch. He had a total of 819 flying hours experience (1,565 starts) in gliders, 50 hours (31 starts) of which were in the type in question. Some time later, the pilot entered the left-hand circuit to land. On the downwind leg he made a downwind call and saw that both landing sites were occupied. The pilot extended the downwind leg, to postpone the moment of landing until a landing site was clear. After turning to the base leg, he saw that the target landing field was now clear. The alternate landing field was still occupied. The pilot then turned to final approach and opened the airbrakes at an altitude of approximately 80 metres.
Just before landing, while flaring, the pilot looked to his left and saw a small vehicle emerge from behind the take-off dolly. It was travelling from left to right, and was approaching rapidly. It looked as if the vehicle was going to hit the left wing tip of PH-407. Acting on reflex, the pilot partially closed the airbrakes and pulled the glider’s nose slightly upward, to avoid the vehicle. At the same time, the vehicle’s driver performed an evasive manoeuvre, turning right to avoid PH-407. A collision was avoided. One characteristic of this type of glider is that, when the airbrakes are retracted, the aircraft drops almost immediately. That was what happened in this case. PH-407 stalled and made a hard landing, stopping without rolling out. The pilot involved in this occurrence sustained minor injuries. PH-407 sustained damage to its canopy and landing gear, and elsewhere.
The Safety Management Team (SMT) of the gliding club involved carried out an investigation into the occurrence, and shared the results with the Dutch Safety Board. This investigation showed that the following factors were involved. The vehicle’s driver and the field supervisor indicated that they had not expected any gliders to land during that brief period of time. They were focused on measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as disinfecting gliders and vehicles, and staying 1.5 metres away from other people. This distracted them from their actual tasks. Furthermore, from his position near the take-off dolly, the field supervisor did not have an unrestricted view of the downwind leg for runway 24. The field supervisor missed the downwind call, because he was placing a tail wheel in a vehicle at the time. Due to the measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, no-one was near the take-off dolly. This might explain why no-one heard the downwind call. The SMT’s response included recommendations to make members aware of the fact that not flying for extended periods of time results in reduced currency, not only in the air, but also on the ground.
Sources:
https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/page/17197/uitwijkmanoeuvre-tijdens-landing-glassflugel-club-libelle-205
https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/document/18525?slug=quarterly-aviation-report-4th-quarter-2020
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jul-2020 18:50 | harro | Added |
| 02-Jul-2020 18:51 | harro | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
| 05-Oct-2020 09:29 | harro | Updated [[Total occupants, Narrative]] |
| 29-Mar-2021 18:16 | harro | Updated [Registration, Cn, Departure airport, Source] |
| 29-Mar-2021 18:18 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 16-Jun-2022 08:21 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 29-Sep-2023 07:07 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Location]] |
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