DUO DISCUS GROUNDED AS OF 31 JULY 2003

Here are the two new documents available today:

http://www.schempp-hirth.com/tmdocs/396-8-488.pdf - Describes the
specific episode and suspected problem.

http://www.schempp-hirth.com/tmdocs/396-8-489.pdf - Describes the
inspection, bonding repair, and inspection holes that you have to make
in the wing.

Bob K.

Basil,

Thanks for the pointer. Is Schempp-Hirth meeting the
costs of the inspection/repair?

John Galloway

At 16:12 01 August 2003, Basil Fairston wrote:
Nothing too serious. Just cut a few dozen holes in
each wing, do a
borescope inspection and if you are lucky, repair the
holes. Should be back
in action by the end of the season. Ours is booked
in for Monday.

http://www.schempp-hirth.com/en/index.html gives details



'Marc Till' wrote in message
...
see also :

http://www.lba.de/dokumente/ad/2003-245-e.pdf (for
the Turbo version)

Marc

Bob Kuykendall a écrit:
English-language version he

http://www.lba.de/dokumente/ad/2003-246-e.pdf

Bob K.

The following is a translation to the article in german...

btw... is there a subcontractor that makes the wings for some of the
sailplane companies?

I noticed that there were a series of production numbers for some of
the effected sailplanes. Just curious of it was a specific production
run?



_ Friday 25. July 2003, 21:48 clock Absurz a glider in range of
Lampertheim/Kreis route Darmstadt (ots) - luck in misfortune have two
pilot a two-seat glider. The two pilots, 35 and 30 years old, were on
the today's day (25.07.03) gg. 15.30 started in the pfaelzischen laugh
Speyerdorf. Against 16.50 o'clock, in approx. 2000m height had bent
one of the two bearing areas, thus the airplane was only reduced
maneuverable and could not be brought in such a way no more to the
landing. In arrangement with the air traffic control ANNOUNCEMENT

in
Mannheim brought the pilot the airplane into a favorable flight
position, so that both pilots, who were equipped with parachutes,
could make an emergency exit. The leaderless aircraft came down
directly beside a garbage depot with hut field.

A pilot landed in the Feldgemarkung of Lorsch, second came in a small
forest with Lorsch down. Both pilots could be found intactly by police
patrols, which were located with the help of their mobile phones; both
had announced themselves by telephone after their landing to police
and/or the homeland airfield.

Witnesses had observed from the soil the scenario and had informed the
police, on which on it wide search measures with two law enforcement
helicopters and the fire-brigade were introduced directly. The fallen
glider could be found in the course of the search measures by a
helicopter of the law enforcement helicopter station Egelsbach.

At present experts of the Federal Agency for flight investigation
examine the airplane in the crash place. The salvage will still with
difficulty turn out there the crash place in a small forest is.

To determine the guaranteed aircraft then in the next days more
exactly examined around the cause for the flight accident. That only
one week old glider had a value of approx.. 90.000. - Euro. Further
damage did not result from the crash fortunately.

John Galloway wrote in message ...
Southern Sailplanes, the UK agents, have been told
that the wing failed about 4 metres from the tip.
The glider was still flying (presumably not very well)
and so the pilots were able to get out successfully.
Apart from the fact that all the Duos with the relevant
serial numbers are grounded they have no information
as to what action needs to be taken by owners until
an Airworthiness Directive appears.

John Galloway

At 23:18 31 July 2003, Eric Van Geetsum wrote:
WTH IMEDIATE EFFECTIVENESS THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES HAVE
SUSPENDED THE
AIRWORTHINESS OF THE DUO DISCUS (T)
ALL DUO'S ARE GROUNDED DUE TO A WING FAILURE IN FLIGHT
(BOTH PILOTS BAILED
OUT AND LANDED SAFELY WITH THERE CHUTE.)

MORE DETAILS
LOOK AT:


www.lba.de/dokumente/ad/lta-dt/2003-245-d.pdf


www.lba.de/dokumente/ad/lta-dt/2003-246-d.pdf


Eric

I think I just saw a pig fly by!!!


"John Galloway" wrote in message
...
Basil,

Thanks for the pointer. Is Schempp-Hirth meeting the
costs of the inspection/repair?

John Galloway

At 16:12 01 August 2003, Basil Fairston wrote:
Nothing too serious. Just cut a few dozen holes in
each wing, do a
borescope inspection and if you are lucky, repair the
holes. Should be back
in action by the end of the season. Ours is booked
in for Monday.

http://www.schempp-hirth.com/en/index.html gives details



'Marc Till' wrote in message
...
see also :

http://www.lba.de/dokumente/ad/2003-245-e.pdf (for
the Turbo version)

Marc

Bob Kuykendall a écrit:
English-language version he

http://www.lba.de/dokumente/ad/2003-246-e.pdf

Bob K.

In article , "ventus2ct
(Ruud Holswilder)" writes

Duo Discus NOT Grounded.
Only an inspection is needed before the next flight.

At least one of the Lasham Duos is soaring today (yes, it is sunny over
southern England and people are flying 500s and even 750s, I was
confined to a towplane) because (I was told) its wings were not in the
affected batch.

It would be useful to know precisely what manoeuvre the pilots in the
affected glider were doing at the time of the structural failure.

--
Ian Strachan
Lasham pilot

Until the mentioned inspection has been carried out and the result is
positive.

Robert

Ian Strachan wrote:
In article , "ventus2ct
(Ruud Holswilder)" writes

Duo Discus NOT Grounded.
Only an inspection is needed before the next flight.


At least one of the Lasham Duos is soaring today (yes, it is sunny over
southern England and people are flying 500s and even 750s, I was
confined to a towplane) because (I was told) its wings were not in the
affected batch.

It would be useful to know precisely what manoeuvre the pilots in the
affected glider were doing at the time of the structural failure.

"Ian Strachan" wrote in message
...
In article , "ventus2ct
(Ruud Holswilder)" writes

Duo Discus NOT Grounded.
Only an inspection is needed before the next flight.

At least one of the Lasham Duos is soaring today (yes, it is sunny over
southern England and people are flying 500s and even 750s, I was
confined to a towplane) because (I was told) its wings were not in the
affected batch.

It would be useful to know precisely what manoeuvre the pilots in the
affected glider were doing at the time of the structural failure.

--
Ian Strachan
Lasham pilot

That is quite right, up to S/N 164 are not affected. 102 is flying in
Boulder, Colorado.

Hello,

"Eric van Geetsum" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
WTH IMEDIATE EFFECTIVENESS THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES HAVE SUSPENDED THE
AIRWORTHINESS OF THE DUO DISCUS (T)
ALL DUO'S ARE GROUNDED DUE TO A WING FAILURE IN FLIGHT (BOTH PILOTS
BAILED
OUT AND LANDED SAFELY WITH THERE CHUTE.)

If i read the document correctly, not all DUO's have been grounded.Only from
production number 165 (?) upwards
and propably all of the DUOS Turbo. We have been to Switzerland yesterday by
plane and there were some
DUOs flying. When i recognized it correctly, none of them with a german
registration.

Rgds,

Dirk

"Oliver Trujillo" wrote in
:

Hallo,
wer trägt eigentlich die Kosten für die durchzuführende Inspektion?
Das wird doch nicht gerade billig.

Unsrer war letzte Woche bei Schempp-Hirth und wurde kostenfrei inspiziert
( wie viele andere auch).
Wenn ihr es allerdings bei nem LTB machen lasst würde ich kurz bei
Schempp-Hirth fragen wies aussieht mit der Kostenübernahme.


Grüße

Oliver


Gruß Benny Bauer

There should have been quite a few inspected by now. Has anyone found a Duo
in the affected SN range without bonding voids?

Allan

"Basil Fairston" wrote in message
...
I think I just saw a pig fly by!!!


"John Galloway" wrote in message
...
Basil,

Thanks for the pointer. Is Schempp-Hirth meeting the
costs of the inspection/repair?