Glider Loss of Control and Near CFIT

[pelmet]

They were lucky to survive this one. At first, I thought they had hit trees and crashed when the camera moves out of place. It turns out they were still airborne and in IMC. I don't think they actually hit anything. But after the camera moves, you can hear the kind of conversation that happens just before a crew dies.....except they survived.

Useful to go full screen and watch the altimeter as the video progresses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SoUmWYRLhE

[2112]

Two things for them to buy, new underwear then a lottery ticket. That was close.

[Heliian]

But why?

What was the thought process here to fly further into the soup than to bail to the right which was wide open?

[pelmet]

But why?

What was the thought process here to fly further into the soup than to bail to the right which was wide open?

I have heard rumours of airport to the left but it is unconfirmed.

[Heliian]

But why?

What was the thought process here to fly further into the soup than to bail to the right which was wide open?

I have heard rumours of airport to the left but it is unconfirmed.

Yes, and it was a dual instruction flight too. Still 0 reason to almost die.

[Adam Oke]

Judging by the G meter, I would say they contacted the trees.

Kudos to the student for the spin recognition.

[karmutzen]

Didn’t spin and didn’t contact trees, in fact it flew back and landed. Pay attention to the Max/min recording hands on the g-meter, and airspeed, and vsi, etc.

Great instructional video for mountain flying (getting on the wrong side of the ridge and descending air) and weather flying to avoid loss of visual clues.

Final comment is the student’s gradual loss of confidence in the instructor to the point where he’s shouting “I have control” instead of the other way around. Stayin’ alive.

[Adam Oke]

Hard to tell, but the G meter starts going crazy just before the camera flips. With audio that sounds to me like dragging a wingtip through the trees.

Can't see the panel when the alleged spin occurs.

[digits_]

What is the meaning of that beeping/blaring siren sound? Is that a standard thing in gliders?

[Adam Oke]

What is the meaning of that beeping/blaring siren sound? Is that a standard thing in gliders?

It is a vario / variometer. The pleasant beeps and tones indicate a climb. The low ugly tones indicate descent. It is essentially an instant VSI.

Not standard, but very common.

[digits_]

What is the meaning of that beeping/blaring siren sound? Is that a standard thing in gliders?

It is a vario / variometer. The pleasant beeps and tones indicate a climb. The low ugly tones indicate descent. It is essentially an instant VSI.

Not standard, but very common.

Sounds like a neat system, but doesn't it drive you bonkers after a while?

[Adam Oke]

What is the meaning of that beeping/blaring siren sound? Is that a standard thing in gliders?

It is a vario / variometer. The pleasant beeps and tones indicate a climb. The low ugly tones indicate descent. It is essentially an instant VSI.

Not standard, but very common.

Sounds like a neat system, but doesn't it drive you bonkers after a while?

Only drives you bonkers when you hear the low tones

[Big Pistons Forever]

It is a vario / variometer. The pleasant beeps and tones indicate a climb. The low ugly tones indicate descent. It is essentially an instant VSI.

Not standard, but very common.

Sounds like a neat system, but doesn't it drive you bonkers after a while?

Only drives you bonkers when you hear the low tones

Sadly I am much more familiar with the low tones than the high tones

On a more serious note I wonder if this is a result of normalization of deviance. At the beginning both pilots seemed pretty comfortable with the view out the front which sure did not look very good to me. I wonder what the club culture is around pushing up against/around/over clouds....

[DirtyDashDriver]

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zea ... se-control

NZ CAA is gunning to talk to them. Gotta love kiwi understatement when he says "We're in trouble mate"

[photofly]

I think there’s a side lesson in being awfully careful with videos shot in flight, and who gets to see them, when something “interesting” happens. Can’t say that YouTube is my first thought.

[youhavecontrol]

Wow... very lucky to be alive. That was painful to watch.

[pelmet]

.

[RedAndWhiteBaron]

I think the far bigger lesson is not flying a VFR aircraft into a freaking cloud - apparently, a few people still need that lesson. Who does that? Not that I enjoy speculating on the causes of accidents, but my god, what were they thinking? There was plenty of clear sky to fly through! Looking for ridge lift perhaps? It does look like they got caught in a downdraft shortly before the oops.

They were flying in semi-mountainous terrain, and through clouds. In my not-so-humble opinion, they aren't lucky to be alive. What they did was rank idiocy.

But then again, I get the heebie-jeebies when the ground gets even partially obscured through haze at a few thousand feet, so I know nothing.

And yes, that's a variometer - not just an instant VSI, but a total energy meter, designed to eliminate/reduce errors that occur when you're trading airspeed for altitude - where you are climbing, but still losing energy. I've only flown one aircraft with one, but they're pretty neat.

[AirFrame]

"The club also added that the pilot who took the video was unable to comment."

He's probably too busy washing the stain out of his shorts.

Up until they make the choice to fly around the backside of that last cloud, I don't see anything wrong with the flight. They had lots of clear air to the right to turn into and exit, so it wouldn't be much different from using the lift on a mountain face to climb up. Lots of room one way, no room the other way.

I don't understand the choice to turn left around the last cloud. Hindsight suggests that if they could have made a 90 degree coordinated turn and just flown straight and level through that one cloud, that they'd be back in the clear air they should have chosen in the first place... Not the easiest choice to make until you're forced to though...

[pelmet]

"The club also added that the pilot who took the video was unable to comment."

He's probably too busy washing the stain out of his shorts.

Up until they make the choice to fly around the backside of that last cloud, I don't see anything wrong with the flight. They had lots of clear air to the right to turn into and exit, so it wouldn't be much different from using the lift on a mountain face to climb up.

I wonder what the cloud clearance requirements are in NZ, and when they were violated. Many of us have violated those rules but it mu=ight be more risky when actual IFR instruments like an artificial horizon are not installed. The CAR's don't give a reason for the distance requirements although I have heard that they are for avoiding other aircraft. Perhaps they also give margin for downdraft situations.

Give yourself more margin from IMC conditions when you don't have the instruments/capability to fly in IMC.