"T o d d P a t t i s t" wrote in
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John Giddy wrote:

Wasn't there a fatal just a few years ago where one of the wing pins
in a DGsomething came out because the safety latch became
delaminated from the inside of the fuselage? Wing flexure in rough
conditions caused the pin to work out, as I remember.

A DG400 lost its wings a few years ago. It was piloted by
Fred Jacobs and at an age when most of us have been retired
for 10-20 years, he successfully made his first parachute
jump when the wings decided to depart. Delamination of the
safety latch was suspected, but I don't think anyone knows
for sure.


I started to write that I was dubious about the wing pins working their way
out since they would be locked in place by shear loads. Then I thought
about it more.

For those gliders where the removable pins merely hold the wings against
sliding out of the fuselage and the spar end spigot pins take the actual
bending loads, there is no shear load on the removable pins. They could
indeed work their way out.

My Nimbus uses a single 50mm diameter pin that does take shear loads so it's
hard to see it working out. However, I'll safety it anyway.

Bill Daniels