Accident Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2cT OY-XSW, Sunday 11 August 2024

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Date:	Sunday 11 August 2024
Time:	12:54
Type:	Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2cT
Owner/operator:	Svævethy
Registration:	OY-XSW
MSN:	18 12/45
Engine model:	Solo 2350
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Ved Boest (Midtjylland) - Denmark
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	EKAB
Destination airport:	EKAB
Investigating agency:	HCLJ
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The accident occurred during a local competition flight from Arnborg (EKAB). Immediately after take-off, an engine test of the glider's engine did not give rise to any comments. Increasingly weak thermals during the flight necessitated a landing in the terrain. The pilot selected a suitable field (grass field, approximately 500 metres long and runway direction 110°/290°). The pilot planned to land to the west. While manoeuvring into the selected field and at a flight height of approximately 250 metres above the ground, the pilot deployed the glider's homing engine. After repeated unsuccessful take-off attempts and an unexpected sinking experience, the pilot deployed the landing gear to prepare the glider for landing.
However, the pilot realised that an agricultural machine unexpectedly drove into the selected field, preventing the planned landing. In an attempt to land elsewhere on the selected field, the pilot decided that the combination of too low an altitude and the deployed retrieval engine made it too risky to continue.
The pilot chose to land in a tractor track between spruce trees approximately 1-1½ metres high. A few metres into the tractor track, the left wing caught the spruce trees, resulting in a 120-degree ground loop and the glider came to a full stop between the spruce trees. During a subsequent attempt to retract the retrieval engine, the pilot found that the automatic fuse for the engine control had tripped. The accident occurred in daylight and under visual meteorological conditions (VMC)

Accident investigation: