Ely, Nevada - Accident?

On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 5:25:48 PM UTC-8, wrote:
Well I'm glad the pilot is ok, but curious if there is a lesson I should learn here. Given a good distance from anything else hard, this doesn't seem like it should result in an unscheduled disassembly.

If you are thermaling, the glider is not operating anywhere near a structural limit like any max G or speed. Flying an inattentive slow circle makes for the stall and subsequent spin. (Ask me how I know.)

So why not just fly out of the unusual attitude? Was there another glider, or not enough distance to the ground? Or perhaps there was a problem with the recovery?

The NTSB seems to say that a stall spin should result in a broken glider. This doesn't seem right unless there is no other margin.

There have been a number of accidents resulting from spins degrading into high-speed spiral dives. Particularly with some of the long wing birds. Not saying it's unavoidable, but it is something for all of us to keep in mind.

Cheers,
Craig
7Q

On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 6:03:51 PM UTC-8, Craig Funston wrote:
On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 5:25:48 PM UTC-8, wrote:
Well I'm glad the pilot is ok, but curious if there is a lesson I should learn here. Given a good distance from anything else hard, this doesn't seem like it should result in an unscheduled disassembly.

If you are thermaling, the glider is not operating anywhere near a structural limit like any max G or speed. Flying an inattentive slow circle makes for the stall and subsequent spin. (Ask me how I know.)

So why not just fly out of the unusual attitude? Was there another glider, or not enough distance to the ground? Or perhaps there was a problem with the recovery?

The NTSB seems to say that a stall spin should result in a broken glider. This doesn't seem right unless there is no other margin.

There have been a number of accidents resulting from spins degrading into high-speed spiral dives. Particularly with some of the long wing birds. Not saying it's unavoidable, but it is something for all of us to keep in mind.

Cheers,
Craig
7Q

It takes about 8 sec of freefall to reach the glider's VNE of 145 kt (less if the glider's forward speed is converted to the vertical, in which case it may take only 5 sec). To some this may seem like an eternity, to others it happens in a flash. As always, this situation requires the immediate application of the appropriate recovery sequence

Tom