Thanksgiving comes to a glider pilot.

[Keith Lane]

And he has a lot to be thankful for, too!
Notice the logo on the vertical stabilizer, too.
Looks like he may need to cash in.

 

[EdFred]

All I can say is... "what the hell was he doing?"

 

[tonycondon]

attempting to turn into the wind for a landing at way to low of an altitude after a too low tow release while doing a demo for an airshow when the weather was really too lousy for flying.

there is a video of it on youtube.

 

[Keith Lane]

More info...
http://www.iconicaircraft.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3425&p=141493

Mr Newman crashed while performing for the Swift Aerobatic Display Team at the Royal Air Forces Association airshow at Shoreham, West Sussex.
Amateur photographer Rob Yuill, 62, of Hornchurch, Essex, who took the amazing sequence of pictures, said: 'He had a very lucky escape indeed.'
'The glider was supposed to perform an aerobatic display with two powered aircraft - but it was a very overcast day with low cloud.'
'The gilder only performed for a couple of minutes before being released from its tow line. Then it flew downwind and turned to make its final approach to land.'
'As he turned, I realised the glider was at the wrong angle as its nose went down. He had lost air speed and headed straight into the ground.'
'It was not far off vertical when it hit the runway. The nose section just crumpled. It was an awful thing to see.'
'There was an silence from the crowd as people took in what had happened around 400 ft in front of them.'
'I felt a real sense of relief when the pilot crawled away. I had feared the worst because it was such an awful crash.'
'Two ambulances and a couple of fire engines were on the scene very quickly and he was taken away on a stretcher.'
Mr Newman who was the UK unlimited aerobatic gliding champion in 2008 and 2009 was taken to Worthing Hospital after the accident, which took place on August 23.

He has since been transferred to a hospital closer to his home in Egham, Surrey, and is said to be "'on the mend'.
Mr Newman, an operations manager for an automatic door manufacturer, is having to lie on his back for the next three weeks to help his spine heal naturally.
Swift Aerobatic Display team spokesman Guy Westgate said: 'Mike is in good spirits and the whole team wish him a speedy recovery.'
Mr Newman, a gliding instructor and aerobatic coach, has been flying since 1996.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the British Gliding Association have begun an investigation into the crash.
Air show organiser Don Bean said: 'We are very sorry about the pilot being hurt - but it is fortunate the accident was not much more serious.'

 

[EdFred]

Two ambulances and a couple of fire engines were on the scene

With it being a glider crash this made me laugh.

 

[shenanigans]

Two ambulances and a couple of fire engines were on the scene

With it being a glider crash this made me laugh.

You can never be too cautious. Oddly enough, a glider crashed this past summer due to an in flight fire. I think the battery caught on fire.

 

[Richard]

What is that part that appears to have separated from his starboard wing tip? Looks like a drag chute.

 

[tonycondon]

he had smoke cannisters on the wingtips. i bet thats it

 

[brcase]

Yet another example to add to my list that seems to comfirm that most stall spin accidents are the result of the illusion of speed, and pilots that are not thinking they are in a situation where a stall/spin might be possible.

This was an experienced Acrobatic pilot bit by going downwind and thinking he had plenty of airspeed when he really only had plenty of ground speed and not enough airspeed. I would bet he wasn't even thinking that a stall might be a possiblity because he was going so fast.

One of my favorite NTSB reports was a stall spin in a Husky that was doing a Predator control flight. The pilot reported that he thought the elevator cable had broken. Of course it was intact after the crash.

I have watched students and even private pilots enter an unintentional spins. Champs are great for demonstrating this because they do it so slow that unexperenced pilots don't realize what is happening. The Nose drops they pull back even farther on the stick, the wing drops they add aileron to correct and they sit there is the stick all the way back and full aileron wondering why the airplane is going down and turning opposite to the aileron.


Brian
CFIIG/ASEL

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I have watched students and even private pilots enter an unintentional spins. Champs are great for demonstrating this because they do it so slow that unexperenced pilots don't realize what is happening. The Nose drops they pull back even farther on the stick, the wing drops they add aileron to correct and they sit there is the stick all the way back and full aileron wondering why the airplane is going down and turning opposite to the aileron.

Naah, that's what Champs ALWAYS do, isn't it? Gotta have some rudder in there if you want it to turn the right direction.