On Jun 16, 12:34*pm, jcarlyle wrote:
There's several words to describe that - "competitor" and "big brass

Actually, I'd call it pretty irresponsible. That glider could, at any
moment have a system failure due to weakened structure. The only
smart response is to land IMMEDIATELY, and definitely avoid overflying
any people on the ground.

Just checked the rules, and there's nothing in there regarding a
pilot's responsibility after a collision.

But several years ago, at a national contest, there was some heated
debate at the mandatory meeting about what a pilot should do in such a
case. If I recall correctly, an immediate landing for inspection was
mandated, with one or two vocal "I'm here to WIN!!!" dissents.

Nothing bad happened this time. But what if someone had been hurt or
killed due to a system failure while the pilot continued to soar?
What would be reported in the media? What would the NTSB response be?

-Tom