Glider Crash Argentina

On Friday, February 28, 2014 12:16:43 AM UTC-6, 2G wrote:
Unfortunately, all that can be learned is what we already know: you must fly coordinated and maintain airspeed in the pattern. This is a depressingly common type of accident.

Tom

Actually, in accidents like this, the final airspeed/coordination in the "pattern" is usually the least interesting part of it. From what has been reported here, this was a low final glide, 3 km short of the airfield, and a quick decision to land in a field rather than push the last 3 km. One report cited wind direction concerns as well.

Accidents usually involve a chain of events, and if you want to put it in a common category, it might be more productive to put this in the "final glide coffin corner" chain of events that precipitated the stall spin. If 3 km out, there is obviously not enough altitude to do anything like a "pattern.."

Yes, Chuck Yeager does not stall / spin even if he starts a pattern at 200 feet and 40 knots. But for the rest of us mortals, avoiding getting to such a position is the harder challenge.

This -- low energy final glide gone wrong in the last few moments, crash very near the airport -- is a indeed a depressingly common type of accident, but better airspeed and coordination, though vital, is not the only lesson.

John Cochrane