Accident at Szeged WGC

On Jul 30, 5:17*pm, Andy wrote:
On Jul 30, 1:03*pm, Herb wrote:

What a completely senseless and preventable accident. *Go back and
look at the vicious comments that were made here when BB suggested all
line finishes should be abolished in favor of the 500' and 1 mile
cylinder. *Mr. Larson's death should have been enough to quiet the
fans of low and fast. *Gliders have no business flying close to the
ground, same for other aircraft. *

You and JJ seem to be under the impression that the Szeged accident
resulted from a low altitude high speed approach. *Reports from the
site indicate the glider, like some others finishing that day, was low
energy.

Do you have new information that conflicts with those reports?

If not, can you please explain how the finish type was a factor in the
accident.

Andy (GY)

The difference is that the direct finish, flown perfectly means you
cross the finish line(airport boundary?) at exactly your average speed
for the task and at as little altitude as you dare. It doesn't take
much to have that go wrong.
The issue of safety of people other than the pilots is mostly a factor
of whether potential victims are in the flight path as opposed to
finishes across a lake(like Finland or big fields as we had in
Germany).
I suspect we will see a trend, even in Europe, away from direct
finishes.
Also a factor is this is the "big race" and people will take risks
they would not take any other time.
I speak from experience on this.
FWIW
UH