At about 15:03 EDT, a Glaser-Dirks DG-400 broke up in flight and crashed. The pilot bailed out and received only minor injuries. The glider was self-launched from Mountain Meadow Airport in Burlington about 13:30. Flying straight and level at about 6,500 feet, the pilot heard a sharp bang that sounded like the glider had struck an object. The pilot turned the glider 360 degrees to look for any other traffic in the area. As the glider rolled out of the turn, another loud bang was heard and the gear warning alarm began to sound. The pilot looked out to the left and observed the left wing displaced 20 degrees up from its normal position. The glider began to descend and control inputs by the pilot were unresponsive. The glider accelerated and neared a vertical attitude, at which point the pilot donned a parachute and jumped out. The left wing and its control surfaces were not recovered.
May 1, New Milford, Conn. / Glaser-Dirks DG-400
At about 15:03 EDT, a Glaser-Dirks DG-400 broke up in flight and crashed. The pilot bailed out and received only minor injuries. The glider was self-launched from Mountain Meadow Airport in Burlington about 13:30. Flying straight and level at about 6,500 feet, the pilot heard a sharp bang that sounded like the glider had struck an object. The pilot turned the glider 360 degrees to look for any other traffic in the area. As the glider rolled out of the turn, another loud bang was heard and the gear warning alarm began to sound. The pilot looked out to the left and observed the left wing displaced 20 degrees up from its normal position. The glider began to descend and control inputs by the...
Key Takeaways:
- A Glaser-Dirks DG-400 glider broke up in flight and crashed after the pilot heard two loud bangs and observed the left wing displace upwards.
- The pilot successfully bailed out of the plummeting glider, sustaining only minor injuries.
- The incident involved a catastrophic structural failure, as the left wing and its control surfaces were not recovered, leading to unresponsive controls and a rapid descent.
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