At 14:33 29 June 2018, Dan Marotta wrote:
Things may have changed since I last flew in Australia back in the
mid-80s.Â* I was surprised when I said I would preflight my ship and
was
told that I was not authorized to do that!Â* Only the "engineer" could
perform a preflight.Â* I've heard similar about the BGA, though I've
never been there.Â* And I'd suspect that process was only meant for
club,
not private, ships.

In the US it's the pilot's responsibility to ensure that his ship is
airworthy.Â* During and after rigging the pilot determines the safe
condition of the ship which includes visual inspection, verification
that all controls are hooked up, and a positive control check. Since I
keep my ship in my own hangar where nobody has access to it and no
vehicles can bump into it, my preflight, while thorough, would appear
almost casual to the uninformed viewer.

I would suspect the same with the accident ship, a last quick look
before climbing in, but a much closer look before coming to the launch
position.Â* From what we've read here, I don't believe there was a
mechanical fault with the ship.

My deepest condolences to friends and family of the unfortunate pilot.

On 6/28/2018 8:40 PM, Charlie Quebec wrote:
My deepest condolences to the pilot and his friends.
I do have a question, does the video show a normal US preflight
procedure? It seemed very casual to me.


The BGA requirement is
"Inspection Before Flight. All gliders operated from BGA club sites shall
be inspected before flying on each day. Club gliders shall be inspected by

club approved persons who must sign that the glider is serviceable
before it is flown on that day."

The inspection is normally conducted by a qualified pilot - there is no
special requirement for an engineer. The record of the work is the Daily

Inspection (DI) book carried in the glider.