ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 305396
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| Date: | Saturday 15 October 2022 |
| Time: | 12:17 UTC |
| Type: | Grob G-103 Twin Astir |
| Owner/operator: | Staffordshire Gliding Club |
| Registration: | G-CKRH |
| MSN: | 3596 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Seighford Airfield, Seighford, Stafford, Staffordshire. -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Seighford Airfield, Seighford, Stafford, Staffordshire. |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Grob G-103 Twin Astir, Staffordshire Gliding Club: Substantially damaged 15 October 2022 in a take off accident at Seighford Airfield, Seighford, STAFFORD, Staffordshire. Shortly after winch launch, the aircraft hit the ground.
The incident was the subject of an AAIB Investigation, published on 9 March 2023, and the following is an excerpt from the report...
"AAIB investigation to Grob G103 Twin Astir II, G-CKRH: Struck the ground following an abandoned winch launch, Seighford Airfield, Staffordshire, 15 October 2022.
The pilot was flying the glider solo from the front seat. The winch launch began normally with the glider pitching into a nose-up attitude, however at approximately 200 ft agl the pilot heard a “loud bang” and assumed that the winch cable’s weak link had broken. He lowered the nose and, observing dust from the cockpit floor rising into his vision due to the negative ‘g’, considered that his pitch-down was excessive. The winch cable released from the belly hook.
The pilot recalled then becoming impaired, although he remained conscious throughout the remainder of the flight. The glider was observed to oscillate in pitch, with the airbrakes retracted, before it then struck the ground in a level attitude. The glider’s speed was such that it then bounced into the air, followed by two further ground impacts during which the fin and tailplane broke away from the fuselage at the base of the fin. The pilot was seriously injured, sustaining compression fractures to two vertebrae in his spine.
=AAIB Analysis=
The accident occurred because the pilot became briefly impaired following his decision to abandon the winch launch. The impairment prevented the pilot from successfully controlling the glider’s pitch attitude and speed, or from opening the airbrakes, leading to a series of heavy ground impacts which caused a serious back injury. The reason for the pilot’s brief impairment was not established.
The noise from the winch cable may have been caused by the cable’s ring moving under load within the jaw of the hook as the glider climbed through the wind gradient during the launch, as no abnormality was identified in the cable assembly.
=AAIB Conclusion=
The accident occurred after the pilot became briefly impaired following abandonment of a winch launch. The impairment prevented him from controlling the glider’s flight path, leading to a series of heavy ground impacts. The reason for the impairment was not established
=Damage to airframe=
Per the above AAIB Report "Fin detached from fuselage, damage to nose and forward cockpit"
Note: The Staffordshire Gliding Club has two Grob G-103 Twin Astirs - G-DEGN and G-CKRH. G-DEGN is ex-BGA 2676, being re-registered as G-DEGN on 2 September 2008. G-CKRH is ex-F-CFYJ (French registry) which became G-CKRH on 22 November 2007.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63eb6609d3bf7f62ebd0bd71/Grob_G103_Twin_Astir_II_G-CKRH_03-23.pdf
2. BFU Germany October 2022 File BFU22-1066-DX: https://www.bfu-web.de/DE/Publikationen/Bulletins/2022/Bulletin2022-10.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2
2. https://www.staffordshiregliding.co.uk/about-us/
3. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-ckrh
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Seighford#Current_use
Media:
Grob G-103 Twin Astir G-CKRH at Seighford Airfield, Staffordshire 16.08.15
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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