ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228073
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Friday 2 August 2019 |
| Time: | c. 14:45 |
| Type: | Schempp-Hirth Janus B |
| Owner/operator: | Aéroclub de Saint-Rémy Les Alpilles |
| Registration: | F-CFAJ |
| MSN: | 153 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | La Vachette, Val-des-Pres, Hautes-Alpes -
 France
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Mont-Dauphin-Saint-Crepin Airfield (SCP/LFNC) |
| Mont-Dauphin-Saint-Crepin Airfield (SCP/LFNC) | |
| Investigating agency: | BEA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Two experienced pilots began a flight in a two-seater glider. The front-seat pilot considered the other pilot to be the pilot-in-command because he held an instructor's rating and knew the area better than himself. The pilot in the rear seat placed the flight in a context of "mutual flight", taking on the role of captain but leaving control and initiative to the other pilot. The two pilots, however, did not discuss the assignment of roles and functions before the flight.
At a certain point in the flight, the pilot in the front seat continued the flight under conditions that the pilot in the rear seat disapproved of without clearly expressing it. From there, the latter was tense because the landing on the Rosier area seemed inevitable. However, he left the controls and the initiative to the pilot in place before.
When the pilot in the front seat could no longer find any lift, he decided to interrupt the flight and land on the Rosier area. He prepared for the taking of the field by commenting on his actions aloud. Thinking that he was in difficulty, the pilot in the rear seat took over control. He tried unsuccessfully to gain altitude and then resolved to land.
He performed the downwind leg with a slightly narrow gauge from the landing area. During this, the glider lost little altitude. He found himself too high on the base leg and the pilot in the rear seat was forced to make a outbound turn to lose altitude. During the final flight path, with the glider still too high, he extended the flaps, then ordered the pilot in place before extending the parachute brake. The latter, demobilized since the resumption of control by the pilot in the rear seat, pushed, after a few seconds of hesitation, the brake parachute control lever to the front stop, causing it to be released.
In an attempt to avoid a hedge of trees, both simultaneously retracted the speed brakes and pulled the elevator control. The glider struck a tree and came to rest on its back in a river, submerging the occupants.
Contributing factors
- The lack of an explicit definition of the flight environment and the precise roles of each of the two pilots before take-off. The flight took place in an unspoken framework that was based on a combination of status (instructor/student) and experience (knowledge of the area/long circuit flights).
- The lack of knowledge by the pilot in the front seat of the operation of the braking parachute.
- Lack of explicit training or briefing on the presence of a braking parachute and its operation. The pilot in the rear seat was not aware that the pilot in the front seat was unaware of the existence of the braking parachute and its operation.
- The passivity of the pilot in the rear seat, who was the pilot-in-command, before taking control of the aircraft, did not allow him to anticipate the approach path sufficiently.
- The non-visibility of the pictogram indicating the "released" position of the braking parachute, which did not allow the pilot in the rear seat to realize that he was going to release the braking parachute by placing the control in the forward stop position.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.ledauphine.com/hautes-alpes/2019/08/02/val-des-pres-un-planeur-se-crashe-dans-la-claree-deux-blesses
https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1621779
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 13 March 2003 | F-CFAJ | Private | 0 | Saint-Alban-Leysse | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Aug-2019 07:19 | Discus | Added |
| 10-Aug-2019 07:21 | Discus | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Narrative] |
| 10-Aug-2019 07:53 | Discus | Updated [Narrative] |
| 10-Aug-2019 12:33 | Geno | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Aug-2020 13:50 | harro | Updated [Time, Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation