N.O.H.

All the flight crews involved in the mid-air at Minden seem to have reacted
well to the emergency. There is no evidence to suggest that either aircraft
was contravening any regulations or being flown in any irresponsible way.
We all know that gliders can be hard to see, and we all know that gliders
have large blind spots. The time taken to make one turn in a thermal is
sufficient for 300 kt traffic to close from well over a mile down to zero.
These are the facts of nature that we all live with.

Bird strikes happen, and even though birds are much smaller than gliders,
they can still bring down a large aircraft by injuring pilots or destroying
engines. Lightning strikes happen. Many of us fly experimental or
homebuilt aircraft, and structural failures occasionally happen [and
sometimes in certificated modern aircraft too].

Let's not get carried away by the fear of, or a sudden enthusiasm for, even
more regulations or mandatory equipment. We already do things to help
minimize, but not eliminate, these Normal Operating Hazards. That is why it
is important for gliders in general to stay out of Class A and restricted
airspace. It is why we have glider operating areas marked on sectionals.
It is why we try to be aware of bird migration paths, and not to fly into
obvious electrical storms, and perform condition inspections and preflights.
We apply common sense and reasonable prudence, and we accept the known
residual risks.

Sometimes **** happens even after extensive potty training. Surely we can
live with that ? After the investigation into this accident, perhaps some
reasonable adjustments to operating patterns will be considered useful.
Perhaps not. But I suspect that we will all try to keep a slightly better
lookout for a while, and perhaps that's all that can be hoped for.

Ian

Ian:

I've added some thoughts to my original post about this event. Some of
these thoughts anticipate some of what you write in this post. You've
got some good points here and you're welcome to visit what I just wrote
and react to that. I share your reluctance -- resistance -- to a
mandated technical fix. Fred