ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 302096
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| Date: | Friday 12 August 2022 |
| Time: | 11:54 |
| Type: |  Schleicher ASK-13 |
| Owner/operator: | Black Mountain Gliding Club |
| Registration: | G-DCMK |
| MSN: | 13305 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1975 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Troed yr Harn Farm, Troed yr Harn, Talgarth, Powys -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Talgarth Airfield, Talgarth, Brecon, Powys |
| Troed yr Harn Farm, Troed yr Harn, Talgath, Powys | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Schleicher ASK-13 glider G-DCMK of the Black Mountain Gliding Club crashed on 12 August 2022 shortly after take-off from Talgarth Glider Field, Talgarth, Powys.
According to the BGA (British Gliding Association) final report into the incident (See link #2 for the full report)
REPORT INTO THE ACCIDENT INVOLVING SCLEICHER K13 G-DCMK AT BLACK MOUNTAINS GLIDING CLUB TALGARTH ON 12 AUGUST 2022.
BGA reference 2022-132
CIRCUMSTANCES
The glider was launched on a standard instructional sortie by means of an aerotow, that is the glider was pulled into the air by a powered aircraft in this case a Pawnee.
The launch proceeded normally until a height variously estimated as between 20 and 60 ft when the tow rope was seen to separate from the glider. At this point in the launch process there was insufficient runway for the glider to land ahead and also insufficient height to execute a turn back to land from a modified circuit or downwind on the takeoff strip.
The pilot was faced with a number of poor options and elected to attempt to land in the best available field. The aircraft crashed during this attempt and both the instructor and the student sustained serious injuries. The aircraft was destroyed.
The club's disaster plan was put into operation and the emergency services responded exceptionally well to remove the pilots to hospital.
AIRCRAFT INSPECTION
The aircraft was destroyed during the attempted landing with severe damage to the wings and fuselage. This damage placed the aircraft beyond economic repair. Addition damage was done by the emergency services to extract the pilots from the wreckage for timely transport to hospital.
When interviewed after the accident neither pilot had any recollection of operating the release cable to intentionally release from the tow.
The release fitted to the aircraft was an overhauled unit serviced by an approved maintenance organisation and issued as serviceable with the appropriate documentation. Exhaustive tests of the release mechanism failed to identify a cause for the spontaneous release. The release fitted to the aircraft was virtually new having been installed some 72 launches prior to the accident flight.
An experienced BGA inspector was asked to visit the site so as to examine and test the release mechanism. This was to establish if any mechanical faults were present which could have contributed to the glider becoming detached from the tow plane.
Despite the disruption to the forward fuselage from the impact and the additional damage caused by the emergency services to extricate the pilots the release worked correctly on all occasions.
CONCLUSION
The cause of the towrope becoming detached from the towing aircraft could not be positively identified. At the point that the rope detached the accident the handling pilot was unable to select a suitable site for a successful field landing.
A number of minor observations were raised as a result of this investigation and these are being addressed through the BGA inspector network
Damage to airframe=
Per the AAIB report (see link #1) the aircraft was "destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB Final Report: https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-investigation-to-schleicher-as-k-13-g-dcmk
2. BGA Final Report: https://members.gliding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/01/BGA-accident-investigation.-K13-at-Talgarth-12-Aug-22.pdf
3. BFU Germany BFU22-0824-DX: https://www.bfu-web.de/DE/Publikationen/Bulletins/2022/Bulletin2022-08.pdf?__blob=publicationFile
4. https://www.brecon-radnor.co.uk/news/glider-crashes-in-field-near-talgarth-559349
5. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67577306?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
6. https://members.gliding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/01/BGA-accident-investigation.-K13-at-Talgarth-12-Aug-22.pdf
7. https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/23959786.report-finds-inconclusive-cause-powys-glider-crash/
8. https://www.blackmountainsgliding.co.uk/about-us/fleet/
Location
Media:
The AAIB has published a report into an accident involving a Schleicher AS-K 13 (G-DCMK) where the tow rope detached at low level following an aerotow launch, Troed yr Harn, Talgarth, Powys.
— AAIB (@aaibgovuk) November 30, 2023
Read the report here https://t.co/zDXPHrxqR0#AviationSafety pic.twitter.com/o51W0yZwkv
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Dec-2023 10:32 | harro | Updated [Registration, Cn, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
| 02-Dec-2023 13:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 02-Dec-2023 13:23 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Embed code] |
| 17-Jan-2024 09:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
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