As others have commented, very surprised you either didn’t climb higher on tow to get back to the field safely, and even more that you pressed on regardless of the ‘picture’ to the airfield looking awful, with other field options available. Very lucky you didn’t hit more sink or get spun by the tree branches you hit!
I’m sitting in a big comfy chair in a quiet and peaceful house, likely the safest I’ve ever been in my life, yet that tree strike still caused me to engage level 5 sphincter pucker and drop my phone. Thanks for posting this and regardless of anything else, I’m happy you got down safe 👍🏽
Thanks for posting this video even though you knew you were going to take a lot of heat for it. It's funny how we can sometimes get locked into these mental traps. The fact is, is that we all have made mistakes while flying. I suspect you learned a lesson from this and also you did a great service by posting this so others can learn. Bottom line is Always fly the airplane! Maintain your energy and get the plane safely on the ground. To hell with everything else.
Thank you for sharing, people can learn a lot from this. This is why the normal landing pattern, the return-to-field procedures, and the idea of choosing a safe out field over an unsafe home field approach are taught and repeated so rigidly. Losing a canopy feels very dramatic to the pilot (and passenger, if present) and it's easy to forget that it's not a flight critical part of the airframe. I bet you wouldn't try to do that approach if this happened again!
Thank you for sharing. It's always easy to look back in time at someone else's flying and think "I would never have done that!" I have made other, different mistakes of my own.
If you read the BGA's accident/incident reports something like 20%+ are related to cockpit canopies coming open in flight. (And about as many are landing with wheels up or not locked so they retract anyway). Between the two that's close to half of all incidents should be 'easily' preventable.
It looks like an emergency training turned into reality. In any case, there were enough fields to land an ASK safely prior to this tree encounter. It is a worthwhile video to learn from, as it highlights just how much one can get hooked to the idea of having to land on an airport ...
So many uninformed comments here. An open canopy definitely IS an emergency, since it will alter the flight characteristics, in some types the equivalence of full airbrakes plus bonus. The big mistake there was releasing from tow only 100m above ground, the other was heading for the right-hand field with trees when there was an open field to the left. Hitting the trees on short final like that could easily have ended up much worse than it did. Saved by luck alone.
no bro... He made another mistake... He did not know what he must do in this case... Wrong move... The release was ok, with the right procedure he would land without any problem
should have stayed on tow. drop below the prow each, and let the towplane bring him back to the field. they where in controlled level flight, no need to change that in a situation like this.
@@kurtkesters6043 The problem with this plan is that the tuggie might not be able to climb. The open canopy in the K21 is stronger than an airbrake when the perspex gone. If it doesn't break and flies away (and doesn't hit the tail) it's even stronger. The tug might not be able to climb at all. The best course of action was probably to bring him on finals, detach there, and land opening the airbrakes just a bit, well inside the boundary.
@@StefanoBorini i agree that going of tow in the patern would be advisable. I doubt the the canopy was still attached on landing, i think it is designed to break away in the airstream.
Thanks for posting, Gaining more altitude before releasing and getting into emergency mode could always help, fixing into landing on the airport is also a lesson, you had plenty of options. for landing.
Holy s##t! I would have dumped it in the field before that! Or asked the tug to bring me closer to the field. It was still climbing, although barely. Hope the damage was minimal... Good job making it back in one piece!
Nice and bould of you to share this video. A lot to learn for all of us here. It's a natural instinct within us to try reaching "home". But it can be a killer. Never fly without a plan B. And C... more plans safer flights. Thank you, Regards Fjord and Mountains soarer.
In a club in Israel we had similar accident in a grob twin 2 seater in an introductory flight. The canopy opens to the right on two hinges. the front one failed and the canopy worked like a one sided sail. It happened on early take off. the instructor released the tow brake and they immediately lost control of the glider. their luck was that during their dive towards the ground, they hit a tree with the wing and did a look around it. the student in front broke his leg and the instructor was fine. obviously the glider was a total loss. Since then , in both of our gliding clubs, before solo we train for emergency situation of canopy open ! The exercise is opening the spoilers during a tow. then, we instruct the tow plane to take us to a long final 800 foot AGL. Even with a large drag creator, you should be able to land the plane safely. I suggest your club also do this practice. thanks for sharing Rami
Hi Rami, thanks for sharing, I'll bring this up with our instructors. We're regularly offer training for all club members for winch failure and spins and it feels like this might be a good addition. /uli
Well, its easy to complain about others mistakes. Yes, you released too early instead of geting som altitude but we are all glad that you got down safely.
Thanks for sharing. I love how any gliding video seems to attract gliding experts to the comments like wasps to pints of lager in a beer garden on a summers day.
That was a close call on those trees... i cant speak italian so I cant understand much. the returning high on our club is around 60 meters, i felt that you guys kept low for too long. Anyway, every situation we come out in one piece is a learning one... congratulations
the main lesson is: If you get in a situation like this and the glider is flying stable and you do NOT make things worse by delaying a decision, then continue flying until you have a plan. In this case there was no need to rush into some kind of decision since you where climbing.
I disagree. This was best what could be done in the situation. If canopy will open it will break off and hit the tail (it opens to the back). Then you will have two pilots in real trouble. One in the glider one in the tug. Especially at low altitude.
@@LSVFlachkurbler How could he know that there will be not enough energy in the glider to just slightly go over? Please, we are just humans. His decision was to not risk more then necessary. As soon as he saw opportunity he released. The 20s is a long time. It is tough to have a plan for exact moment when you find out that your canopy is open. Will it be 200ft or 2000ft above the ground? You know well that when on the tow you can hit a bump of rising air practically at any time. Not sure if you had an experience with ASK21s. If I remember right, they are build to break off the canopy when it opens in flight. Not the best design but it is pretty to look at when both canopies are open. What will you do in such predicament? I guess risk both pilots and stay 20s longer? It was still very low to the ground. Maybe better landing field? It did not look that bad. He did good. He saved himself, tug pilot and the glider. Problem is in not following the checklist but not in decision making. I like your soaring as well and you way more experienced than I am, but in this case I think they guy deserves some slack.
@@jacekpiterow900 Incorrect. A complete canopy, frame and all would damage the tail plane but no more. The aircraft will still be flyable. As LSVFlachkurbler said, continue until you have a plan. Here was wasted opportunity. As for judging energy, that is what gliding is all about.
I disagree. This was best what could be done in the situation. If canopy will open it will break off and hit the tail (it opens to the back). Then you will have two pilots in real trouble. One in the glider one in the tug. Especially at low altitude.
Emergency towing? You are kidding right? The only “emergency” is when some dork tries to tow with the brakes open. If you have a climb you can try and drag them over the field but when you tow people like this you do so with one hand on the release.
@@Trevor_Austin Both big mouths you and Jarek, probably never been in a glider and don't know what a emergency tow back to the field is... Either they had two people in the plane and the rear one can hold the canopy. Or he was alone and the canopy was just open , not broken off, or already flew away... This story of the canopy breaking the rudder is jst a small percentage of what can happen... He should have never released there and try to make it back to the field.. The tug should have brought him back... He is very lucky he only caught the tip of those trees , and not anything substantial or he would have been dead by now... By the way when he releases he has a really big field to his right to outland in , He has a big field in front of the airport to land in.... This is just target fixation with an almost deadly result.
In my days of instructing on K21 we used a New monic Code CB SIFT CBE which stands for C- Controls full and free and working in the correct sense B- Ballast check cockpit weight and balance limits and and ballast weights if fitted are secure also check with outside person Tail dolly is removed . S- Straps Locked and tight and check other pilots by asking them if so if flying Duel. F- Flaps full range of movement and not interfering with other controls. T- Trim Full range of movement and set for Take Off C- CANOPY Checked Locked in two positions and the Emergency lever Tell Tale Wire is secure and lever is in the correct position, Push lightly upwards to ensure canopy is secure in K21 apply pressure on Rear canopy also to ensure locked if an outside person is there get a second visual check done to ensure locked . B- Brakes Air Brakes / Spoilers open and closing together and Flush and Locked. E- Eventualities If student and instructor this is a pre take off check of commands and who will fly the aircraft if an emergency happens or what the instructor wishes the Student to do if something happens this is Re affirming the briefing prior to getting into the aircraft. Then the Launch Cable or Tow Rope is asked for Now you have a Second pair of eyes asked the Outside person to Confirm Tail Dolly is Removed and if solo this is when you ask them to Confirm Straps are locked and secure and the Canopy is down and visual check it is locked correctly
Secondo me il pilota del traino s'era un furlan che te voleva copà😂 Scherzo! Finché la puoi raccontare ben fatta! Grazie per la condivisione! Ottimo spunto di riflessione
I don't really understand why a release occurred so low. I think you imply that your aerodynamics were compromised yet is this not mitigated under tow? I am failing to comprehend why you did not opt to gain more height with tow energy before releasing. Can you explain please.
Since I didn't see it posted yet: the reason his cockpit is entering a dimensional rift is because of the rolling shutter effect from the digital camera.
From what I remember in ASK21 is kind of easy to let the rear canopy stay unlocked. There is no clear visible indication there for the front pilot. Nice reminder to who uses ASK21. Rear canopy opens to the back. On first thermal bump it will catch wind and break off hitting stabilizers - it is a t-tail after all. One may have very bad day after that. I will say good decision. Any damage to the glider? Thanks for sharing.
Not quite. Firstly one always checks the rear canopy locks before getting in the front, secondly you usually can’t lock the front canopy until the rear has been done first.
Did the rear canopy stay intact? That would create loads of drag. I witnessed a winch launch of a ASK21 where the rear canopy opened and shattered into thousands of pieces. The pilot could land without problems. On my first solo winch launch on a Grob Twin the front canopy opened because I had not checked it to be closed. I grabbed it with my right hand, continued to control the glider with my left hand at the stick, closed and secured the canopy and continued the flight. Also some luck involved, I guess.
After reading some of the Comments on here there are a lot of un-informed people making fairly wild judgments. I am a Gliding instructor and If that had been a student of mine he would be in for some remedial training Ditching the tow was not a good idea at that low altitude he had radio communication with the tug pilot so he should of spoken to him and kept the tow on while circling the airfield. Then when at safe altitude for the possible abandonment of the glider due to loss of control he would of had height to use a Parachute safely. If it had to be used. AS the rear canopy on the ASK 21 Glider hinges rearwards if it had popped open it would act like a large airbrake but it also possibly might of detached due to the forces acting on it. The Pilot in this case Panicked and Threw the Tug away which if he had used it gave him a better chance. Once the Tow had been released he then made it a very tight low circuit and hit Trees on the approach and had to pull up to avoid obstacles at the end of runway He was a Very Lucky guy to have not been injured I to am a believer in not wearing Baseball caps when flying gliders they impair a pilots look out I hope you got some follow up training and you are still flying today Be Safe and enjoy a great sport
Hello Fabrizio, I am a glider pilot, I also fly on the ASK21. I have seen and reviewed your video for dozens of times, I would say very interesting and educational. However, I do not understand why you did not have to be towed near the field to face a safe standard circuit, and because you have dropped just 100 meters (at least this is what I read from your altimeter). However, both 100 meters are suitable to immediately return to the counter-track, with the wind in the tail, but why have you set a turn so wide and you have not turned immediately tight, strong of the speed that the driver gave you? You would have immediately brought the snout aligned on the track saving altitude. I would say that it went well with the impact of the trees, but the risk I think was very high. Anyway, thanks for publishing your video. Greetings.
salve marco, questa mia solo per spirito di confronto, ma posto il fatto della tensione del momento e che siamo tutti piloti di f35 quando stiamo sul divano davanti ad una tastiera, mi chiedo perchè ha sganciato invece di farsi trainare in un angolo di sicurezza per arrivare all'atterraggio senza patemi , e per quale motivo non ha cabrato leggermente per evitare l'impatto con le cime degli alberi sulla testata della pista (minuto 3:37); non ne sono sicuro per il video non chiaro, ma l'anemometro segnava 80 km/h, aveva circa 15 km/h di margine sullo stallo e una leggerissima cabrata per guadagnare un mezzo metro secondo me avrebbe avuto possibilità di farla.
@@netzer7739 NEVER bleed speed off to clear ANYTHING. You want the aircraft right side up when you hit, and the only way to accomplish that is with airspeed. 80 is nothing. That's 43kts. That's 8kts from stall, at 20-30 feet off a runway, with a major controllability problem. NEVER bleed speed to stretch a glide if already at approach speed! He was already slow!
How is it possible that you can lock the front canopy without the rear one secured. Schleicher has standardly build a mechanical leaver in the Ask21 where the bolt of the rear locking mechanism pushes the leaver down that allows to close the front leavers because their bolts can now move backwards. Have you removed this system and if so why
As I've already replied to many comments in this topic, the locking mechanism in my Ask21 that allows to close the front leavers didn't worked at the time and was not fixed by the staff of the flying club even after my accident. Don't ask me why.
Very interesting and thanks for sharing. 1. How was it possible to lock the front canopy on an ASK21 with the rear canopy not locked? Normally there should be the "rocker arm" which prevents locking the front Canopy when rear canopy locking pins dont push the "rocker arm" down. EDIT: Just saw your reply on another comment. Bad club management when the locking mechanism isn´t repaired till now. It´s just a broken spring. 2. The rear canopy was still attached after landing? I thought the rear canopy would break away, in case of a intentionally opening on a rescue bail out. Were the hinges/tubes bent afterwards? 3. Indeed you were lucky with hitting the trees only "slightly" and flying a forgiving ASK21. Good Job on landing, especially evading the runway posts with going between them ;) 4 Did you realize during the flight what happened? Probably yes, because of windy cockpit. But did you get it that this gives you extra drag? Did the aero-tow bring much less climb rate as usual? Minus 1-2 m/s on final is more than usual, but not as bad with having a concave anemometer bowl in the wind. I´m asking because of the comments on taking the field in front of the trees and the airfield. 5. Talk to the land owner of the trees and cut them down. If not managable, i heard that copper nails in the tree trunk or battery acid in dry season are not preferred by vegetation (and drinking water). Sometimes these bad woodpeckers peck a tree so hard that its water running part the cambium is destroyed * IRONY OFF * Thanks again for sharing. Afterwards it is easy to analyse and come up with good advice, but when you are in the situation, you don´t have much time and additional stress. Should something arise on my flights with some sorts of panels extending in the airstream except the airbrakes, i will now definitely be sure to consider the extra drag.
In order for front pilot to confirm that rear canopy is locked in ASK 21 you have to check two latches. Each one is about a 20cm behind pilot shoulders just slight below. There two of them since canopy opens up backward. When you are 20-50 is a OK, try to do that when you get to 60 with the parachute and strapped to your seat :) He did good, really good. He will do even better if he checked canopy before getting into the cockpit.
@@jacekpiterow900 One has to check the rear canopy before getting seated in the front. If one has forgotten this, there is a safety mechanism (left and right) which prevents locking the front canopy if the rear canopy is unlocked. This safety mechanism (as i mentioned above) is a simple lever arm with a simple spring pushing it up, but this mechanism was inoperable on this ASK21 at that time, and as Fabrizio stated somewhere else here, it still is, despite this incident. Couldn´t find a close up of the mechanism, but it is visible (white plastic with bolt in the middle) in this picture on the right side on the bottom of the strut between fwd + aft canopy. www.alexander-schleicher.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/21-Cockpit-004.jpg It blocks the front locking rods to be pushed into the hole in the strut completely (therefore the front handles arent fully close-fitting to the front canopy --> pilot knows something is "wrong") unless the rear locking rods push the plastic arm up, giving free way for the front rods to be inserted completely.
My CFI would ream me severly for that. How do you take off without the canopy locked? CHAOTIC. How do you land without first establishing an overshoot situation? If in doubt, land out. The only correct call there was that luck saved his arse!
He should have carried out rear cockpit checks before getting in or have a ground crew member doing the rear checks as he went through the cockpit checks. The Ground Crew should have had a final check of the aircraft before putting the cable on. He could have got the tug to drop him back over the airfield before releasing. He also could have landed in a lot of better fields than going between some trees to get back onto the airfield
@1:05 the rear canopy opened into the wind (like an anemometer bowl) because he forgot to check it locked on his solo flight in a double seater. The safety mechanism (two simple rocker levers, L+R, with springs) to prevent this was not working, and to his comment somewhere else here 6 months ago, has not been repaired to this time (09.2020), in spite of this situation. We had a broken spring of the mechanism on the right side last year, the spare part directly from Schleicher was about 3-5€. The extra drag of the open canopy resulted in a bad climb rate on tow. He released too early/far away from final, and got this bad sink rate, due to his new airbrake system. The trees right in front of the runway are the icing on the cake ;)
The bit which made my heart leap into my mouth was 1:06. Rear canopy opens, aircraft pitches up - climbs up over the tug - if he hadn't caught that as fast as he did this footage would show the last moments of the tug pilot.
Ciao Fabrizio, grazie per la tua risposta, si, credo si sia trattato di una incomprensione con il pilota trainatore. Tutto bene quello che finisce bene. Questi video insegnano moltissimo, anche io ne pubblico diversi. Cieli sereni.
If you have enough speed in the right glider you can go around, the ground effect can give you lift with barely any drag for thousands of meters. I can show you a video of a guy who went around twice in a glider.
TV FLIGHT Neither of those commenting were flying this glider. Even though I don't think I would have made any of the decisions you made.... You piloted this glider and you made it back alive.... Lots to learn from this video!
I have made my flight training on an ASK 21 and i can tell that the windshields are designed in a way that prevents such an incident. There is a mechanism installed that will not let you lock the forward canopy if you have not locked the rear one. How have you done this?
The canopy interlocks are a known weakness because they are made of nylon so they wear and flex and pilots just push a bit harder and defeat the lock. I strongly recommend upgrading to the aluminium canopy interlocks, even if you only replace one side. They are much cheaper than a new canopy. Alexander, please remember that these engineering controls are not perfect and that even though you think something is impossible, you should still check. Fabrizio, well done for flying the aircraft all the way to the end. Ciao.
So, here's what I noticed and this is just from an observers view. 1) You released very, very early. I know you had an emergency but this type of emergency could have waited for 200'. At a 100' elevation you're generally not going to make it on a return. 2) I'm just curious, did you release your water ballast as soon as you began your return? That probably would've helped you get over those trees.
That was in Italy, therefore Europe and thats the crazy place where people except for the British Islanders use the metric system in gliders. So it was 100 meters or about 300 feet. But you are right, and like said on other comments, the airplane flew, the aero-tow group had a positive climb rate with at least 1 Meter/Second. He had time to make a plan like Hannibal Smith. But afterwards you are always smarter.
@@hectorpascale1013 You do know, all pilots use the metric system... even here in the USA we judge things by meters and kilo's so I'm not entirely sure you know what you're talking about...
@@JeffreyOsb but the notation " ´ " you used stands for feet ;) The SI-unit meter/metre is abbreviated " m ". I guess you Americans have to use the metric systems in gliders since most of them come from Germany ;)
Oh my god... You are really lucky to have come back to the ground safely. First, you disconnect from the tow plane at 100m. Why? Even if the canopy was gone, you could have gotten more height, to make a safe approach. You could have told the tow plane pilot to tow you back to the airport and then disconnect. Then, you were getting really really slow on the approach. You had like 80 km/h when you were on close final. You were about to stall! You had no options, no energy margin whatsoever and you even hit the trees, which could have resulted in a spin and crash. If there had been a little downwash you would have been in deep trouble. Seriously, when I would have been you in this situation in final, I would have gone for the brown field for the right, fly a little to the left and then make a right turn und land there safely. Please people, do not ever abort a start like that unless it's really really necessary! Always keep you airspeed high enough, especially in situations like this. And always try consider all the options, like going into a field. You don't have to make it back to the airport, consider all the options! Many thanks for sharing! I think there is a lot to learn from this video! :)
although I agree that i would have been a better decision to have called for a tow-back, a ASK-21 is nowhere near a stall at 80km/h, even less so when flying it solo ( as I believe was the case here) where i has less wing loading. Also, spinning a ask-21 is nearly impossible without the fitting of a spin kit (weights on the tail).
Ciao Fabrizio, sono un pilota di aliante, anche io volo sull'ASK21. Ho visto e rivisto per decine di volte il tuo video, direi molto interessante ed educativo. Non capisco tuttavia perchè non ti sei fatto trainare nei pressi del cielo campo per affrontare un sicuro circuito standard, e perchè hai sganciato a soli 100 metri (almeno quello che leggo dal tuo altimetro). Comunque sia 100 metri sono idonei per rientrare immediatamente in contro-pista, con il vento in coda, ma perchè hai impostato una virata così larga e non hai virato subito stretto, forte della velocità che il trainatore ti ha dato? Avresti subito portato il muso allineato sulla pista risparmiando quota. Direi che è andata bene con l'urto degli alberi, ma il rischio credo sia stato altissimo. Comunque grazie per aver pubblicato il tuo video. Saluti.
Ciao Marco, in effetti appena mi sono accorto di quello che era successo ho chiesto al trainatore di portarmi in "zona prenotazione" ad una quota tale da poter impostare con calma la procedura di atterraggio, e se non sbaglio credo che ad un certo punto del video si senta che gli chiedo di portarmi a 600 m per poi sganciare a cielo campo. Nella concitazione del momento c'è stata un'incomprensione col pilota, che ha preferito trainarmi lungo il circuito di atterraggio standard, peraltro dal lato di sottovento opposto rispetto a quello utilizzato dagli alianti, riportandomi in finale in sicurezza. Non essendomi reso conto delle sue intenzioni ho preferito sganciare quando ero ancora in base per non metterlo nei guai dato che eravamo a 100 metri. Condivido poi sull'errore di non aver virato subito stretto.
Mi sorge spontanea una domanda: ma in Italia, atterrare fuori campo fa parte del training per prendere il brevetto? Cioe', te ne fanno fare materialmente almeno uno, o soltanto te ne parlano? Chiedo perche' sto prendendo il brevetto in Nuova Zelanda, dove l'iter e' parecchio lungo, passa attraverso 2 stadi intermedi (+ uno di brevetto finale).
Il fuori campo per prendere il brevetto in Italia non fa parte del training, e per quel che ne so neanche in Slovenia. l'ipotesi del fuori campo viene affrontata ma solo a livello teorico durante gli stage di perfezionamento presso il club "Il Centrale" di Rieti.
@@fabriziodefilippini4091 grazie. In Slovenia non ho idea, io sto facendo in Nuova Zelanda perche' ci vivo. Qua la strada per il brevetto completo e' lunga. Ci sono tre stadi, in sostanza. Cert. A, Cert. B e QGP (Qualified Glider Pilot) che sarebbe il brevetto. Cert. A sostanzialmente significa che hai fatto 3 voli in solo. Cert. B significa che sai stare su usando termiche, entro il "gliding range" dell'aeroclub. QGP e' il brevetto. Prima del QGP ti fanno fare l'atterraggio fuori campo. E' anche vero che la Nuova Zelanda e' un posto completamente diverso: poche piste, poco asfalto, tantissimi prati dove atterrare. Non dico che atterrare fuori campo sia "la norma", ma capita spesso a chi ad esempio tenta i 50km per la prima volta. Io e' quasi un anno che faccio, quasi ogni weekend, e sono diciamo quasi al Cert. B, e ho dato 4 dei 6 esami per il QGP. Probabilmente per gennaio ci arrivo.
Pero' a sto punto mi sorge spontanea un'altra domanda. Se per caso si rompe / sgancia il cavo, diciamo, quasi a fine pista, su una pista diciamo "corta", e il pilota non ha altitudine per virare in sicurezza, e non e' abituato ad atterrare fuori campo, che fa? Qua la norma e' avere almeno una opzione per atterrare "avanti" in caso di rottura / sgancio del cavo a bassa quota.
Ovviamente ti spiegano come e dove fare l'atterraggio di emergenza a seconda dell'altitudine a cui ti trovi. Durante il training è previsto anche l'atterraggio di emergenza sganciando a quota relativamente bassa (intorno a 100/150 metri) ma sempre a cielo campo in modo che non ci sia il rischio di dover fare fuori campo.
Probabilmente se avessi fatto attività in Nuova Zelanda sarei arrivato anch'io al Cert. B perché all'epoca volavo da solo entro il "gliding range" dell'aeroclub. In bocca al lupo per il tuo QGP.
Meno di un anno (avevo preso il brevetto tre mesi prima), però all'epoca volavo quasi tutti i weekend e avevo già fatto un'ottantina di decolli con una trentina di ore di volo, di cui circa il 20% da solista.
Ho capito. Ovviamente non sono nella posizione di giudicare alcunché, l'unica cosa che mi sento di dirti è che l'essersi dimenticato la cappottina è stato l'ultimo dei problemi, IMHO il problema più grosso è tutto quello che è successo dopo, ne convieni?
Avrei dovuto aspettare di farmi trainare fino in finale assicurandomi di avere quota sufficiente prima di sganciare, ma per la troppa fretta, dovuta all'adrenalina oltre che ad un difetto di comunicazione col pilota al traino, ho preso la decisione errata.
Well handled, considering that level of experience. But the tree hit could have been a show stopper. You probably had more luck than you deserved on that one. But if all else fails, luck is welcome too of course.
ciao fabrizio, forse sarà stata errata, ma hai riportato a terra l'ask21 senza danni significativi (forse solo qualche righina) e dal video mi pare tu abbia mantenuto sangue freddo e controllo della situazione pur accorgendoti che eri "corto". non giudico, apprezzo, ti ringrazio per aver pubblicato il video mettendo a disposizione la tua esperienza per tutti e ti saluto con affetto.
Rear canopy opening isn't an emergency. So many people come close to wrecking their gliders because of this. No reason to change how a pattern is flown with a canopy open.
Canopy open is never an emergency. Should have continued tow to at least 1500' to check controls before attempting to land. Suppose your open canopy caused control issues or you had other issues and you released at 200'?
depends on decision of the pilot. Unlucky situation on final. I would do a lot differently, but at the end of day he land safely and can fix his plane:)
Not true . The ASK21 rear canopy is designed to break off at the hinge if opened mid flight - force of the air will do that. The tail is high T and can be damaged by the canopy as it detaches. A fellow member of my University club did this exact thing, but on a winch launch. The canopy did not detach because (it turned out) of an earlier repair on the hinge, but the plexiglass shattered, leaving the frame bouncing about as a sort of airbrake. This occurred at 400ft. He managed to land safely, but with the flight characteristics affected. So the canopy loss CAN certainly be a serious emergency. In this case, the pilot could have taken the alternative steps you mention, with the proviso that there was no danger to the tug. He should have landed out in any event. The field was a bad choice. In the UK, that would have cost him a lot of money in the club bar later..
Actually I landed on the taxiway, where those blocks are located, rather than on the runway because my glider has been yawing to the right after hitting the trees.
Good question. Solid posts, concrete etc. have no place on any airfield. Even at major airports (in the developed world) everything has weak points or is frangible.
All'aeroclub Fly & Joy de Premariacco, vizin Cividale del Friuli, dove i tien anca i corsi. Xe passadi quasi cinque anni dall'incidente, e gho molado l'attività l'anno dopo.
@@fabriziodefilippini4091 Ah me dispiasi che te ga molla'. Grazie dell'info, mi stago imparando a volar in Nuova Zelanda dove me son trasferi'. Pero' saro' in Italia in vacanza presto, magari fazo un salto li' a Premariacco. I fa solo aerotow o i ga anche el winch?
I fa solo aerotow. A Premariacco i gha la scuola, i fa corsi per principianti e anche ripresa attività per chi sa già andar. Altrimenti all'aeroclub de Postumia, ma dubito che i te fa volar se no te diventi socio. Se te vol far distanza il posto top in region xe Enemonzo, ma no i gha la scuola per cui te devi trovar chi te porta su in biposto.
Ciao Fabrizio, magari non te ga pel cul ma te aggiorno :-) Go fatto la mia "cazzada" anche mi - go dimentica' de metter giu' el carrel su un Standar Astir del club in cui volo qua in NZ. Per fortuna un atterraggio moooolto dolce sull'erba altina, quindi zero danni. Tramite contatti traversi, co iero in Italia a luglio go riva' a far un giro in Blanik de un due ore ad Ajdovscina, su e zo pel coston che i ga a est dell'aeroporto. Bastanza bel, non gavevo mai fatto volo su costone. Variometro spento, se riva a far tutto "a ocio". So che te ga molla', ma se te interessa famme saver. El resto ben, qua in NZ, dove volo mi, a Papawai, se fa voli in onda spesso e volentieri (noi semo nell'isola nord, quindi non xe figo quanto Omarama, ma figo abbastanza lo stesso). Lo scorso weekend son arriva' a 3000 m da un lancio a 500 m, e podevo salir ancora ma non gavevo l'ossigeno. E ancora una roba: i incidenti succedi proprio a tutti. Un per de weeked fa un istruttor, con anni de esperienza, xe probabilmente sceso troppo, e troppo veloce, dall'onda, a spoiler tiradi, poi ga trova' una discendenza de tipo -10 nodi nel circuito (che nei giorni de onda pol succeder), el iera za basso, e praticamente el xe atterrado nella base leg, in mezzo ai grembani e cespugli, sbregando un'ala.
Rivedendo il video dopo due anni di esperienza e circa 200 ore totali, penso che se mi capitasse, per dire, domani, rischierei di fare lo stesso identico errore. Eri vicinissimo alla pista, praticamente in finale, probabilmente ad occhio sembrava di farcela tranquillamente. Penso sia difficilissimo prevedere di quanto cambia l'angolo di planata, quanto inefficiente diventa l'aliante, con un cupolino aperto.
Too many armchair pilots here! Although he hit the trees, the glider pilot got it down without killing himself. Thats means he done a good job! I dont think people understand the serious of the situation until they are put through it! It takes balls..
I think most of the comments are from real glider pilots. If he had the opportunity to do that again he would have done a field landing, which would have been a much safer option. Luck saved him there. If he’d have hit some sinking air or the wind shadow from the trees he’d have ploughed right into them.
Another victim of the nylon interlocks. But seriously, you are lucky you didn't kill the tuggie and yourself. Also, you turn finals at 43 knots. Do you have a death wish? However, I respect and deeply appreciate anybody posting his/her own mistakes. It's how we all learn how not to kill ourselves.
Why the hell didnt you chose to land in a closer field , there are plenty of them around The worse was the moment where you just land between two concrete blocks !! You have taken major risks here by not chosing a closer landfield and by the way, on ASK21 that i know, you can NOT close the front canopy if the rear canopy is not locked , strange ?
There was a failure in the locking mechanism of the canopy on my ASK 21. That's why I locked the front canopy without realizing that the rear canopy was not locked properly.
yes, you were flying, you were in tow. You should have asked for the towplane to bring you back !!!! Too many mistakes end in hitting the trees ! Could have been much worse. No compliment for that. Anyway, I hope this should teach what not to do !
We have trees on final at our glider port. I barely missed touching one of them on a poorly planned final just after solo. Fortunately I had a good deal of airspeed and was able to close the spoilers and pop over the trees. The ASK21 is a tough bird.
Our airfield has forrest to the north and east, a high voltage landline to the west and a road, even more forrest and a gocart racetrack to the south. It's quite common in germany, to be honest and it's getting worse. They're building lots of windmill around it aswell. You gotta know what you're doing and you will be fine
I had a scary first solo in a 2-33 just last week. During aerotow we went through a huge rotor vortex and I got nervous and disconnected from the tow plane. While flying back to the airport at pattern altitude I encountered a lot of wind shear. I flew my downwind leg in a headwind causing me to lose a lot of altitude by pitching down to keep my airspeed high . I flew a very uncoordinated base to final and overshot the runway and then bounced the landing three times. Scariest day of my life, but I’m lucky to have kept flying the plane and kept my airspeed up. A video of my solo is here czcams.com/video/0d8EsJWF-uE/video.html
As others have commented, very surprised you either didn’t climb higher on tow to get back to the field safely, and even more that you pressed on regardless of the ‘picture’ to the airfield looking awful, with other field options available. Very lucky you didn’t hit more sink or get spun by the tree branches you hit!
It's great that you share this so others can learn. I feel like a lot of other people would try to hide this mistake.
I’m sitting in a big comfy chair in a quiet and peaceful house, likely the safest I’ve ever been in my life, yet that tree strike still caused me to engage level 5 sphincter pucker and drop my phone. Thanks for posting this and regardless of anything else, I’m happy you got down safe 👍🏽
Sphincter pucker lmfao
Thanks for posting this video even though you knew you were going to take a lot of heat for it. It's funny how we can sometimes get locked into these mental traps. The fact is, is that we all have made mistakes while flying. I suspect you learned a lesson from this and also you did a great service by posting this so others can learn. Bottom line is Always fly the airplane! Maintain your energy and get the plane safely on the ground. To hell with everything else.
Thank you for sharing, people can learn a lot from this. This is why the normal landing pattern, the return-to-field procedures, and the idea of choosing a safe out field over an unsafe home field approach are taught and repeated so rigidly. Losing a canopy feels very dramatic to the pilot (and passenger, if present) and it's easy to forget that it's not a flight critical part of the airframe. I bet you wouldn't try to do that approach if this happened again!
In ASK21 i think it is critical. Just look up the way it opens.
Thank you for sharing. It's always easy to look back in time at someone else's flying and think "I would never have done that!" I have made other, different mistakes of my own.
Car crashes
If you read the BGA's accident/incident reports something like 20%+ are related to cockpit canopies coming open in flight. (And about as many are landing with wheels up or not locked so they retract anyway). Between the two that's close to half of all incidents should be 'easily' preventable.
Very lucky. I’d have stayed on tow for another 200m and kept my speed up. Those trees could have been disastrous...
It looks like an emergency training turned into reality. In any case, there were enough fields to land an ASK safely prior to this tree encounter.
It is a worthwhile video to learn from, as it highlights just how much one can get hooked to the idea of having to land on an airport ...
So many uninformed comments here. An open canopy definitely IS an emergency, since it will alter the flight characteristics, in some types the equivalence of full airbrakes plus bonus. The big mistake there was releasing from tow only 100m above ground, the other was heading for the right-hand field with trees when there was an open field to the left. Hitting the trees on short final like that could easily have ended up much worse than it did. Saved by luck alone.
no bro... He made another mistake... He did not know what he must do in this case... Wrong move... The release was ok, with the right procedure he would land without any problem
He could of easily cleared the tress too.
should have stayed on tow. drop below the prow each, and let the towplane bring him back to the field. they where in controlled level flight, no need to change that in a situation like this.
@@kurtkesters6043 The problem with this plan is that the tuggie might not be able to climb. The open canopy in the K21 is stronger than an airbrake when the perspex gone. If it doesn't break and flies away (and doesn't hit the tail) it's even stronger. The tug might not be able to climb at all. The best course of action was probably to bring him on finals, detach there, and land opening the airbrakes just a bit, well inside the boundary.
@@StefanoBorini i agree that going of tow in the patern would be advisable.
I doubt the the canopy was still attached on landing, i think it is designed to break away in the airstream.
Thanks for posting, Gaining more altitude before releasing and getting into emergency mode could always help, fixing into landing on the airport is also a lesson, you had plenty of options. for landing.
Holy s##t! I would have dumped it in the field before that! Or asked the tug to bring me closer to the field. It was still climbing, although barely. Hope the damage was minimal... Good job making it back in one piece!
Nice and bould of you to share this video.
A lot to learn for all of us here. It's a natural instinct within us to try reaching "home". But it can be a killer. Never fly without a plan B. And C... more plans safer flights.
Thank you, Regards Fjord and Mountains soarer.
I'm glad nothing more came of that, and that you are okay.
In a club in Israel we had similar accident in a grob twin 2 seater in an introductory flight.
The canopy opens to the right on two hinges. the front one failed and the canopy worked like a one sided sail.
It happened on early take off. the instructor released the tow brake and they immediately lost control of the glider. their luck was that during their dive towards the ground, they hit a tree with the wing and did a look around it. the student in front broke his leg and the instructor was fine. obviously the glider was a total loss.
Since then , in both of our gliding clubs, before solo we train for emergency situation of canopy open ! The exercise is opening the spoilers during a tow.
then, we instruct the tow plane to take us to a long final 800 foot AGL. Even with a large drag creator, you should be able to land the plane safely.
I suggest your club also do this practice.
thanks for sharing
Rami
Trent Palmer flies like s old WOMAN.
Hi Rami,
thanks for sharing, I'll bring this up with our instructors.
We're regularly offer training for all club members for winch failure and spins and it feels like this might be a good addition.
/uli
@@uhertlein I'm glad this is helpful.
Safe landings
@@dicksteele9386 ----> old flying women are called " witches " ------- and they fly very well .......
Very lucky stretching that glide out when there was an open field to the left!
I thought the same. Why the hell i didn't take the field right in final approach?
Yes for the cockpit I never see one like that before !
you are lucky. a multiplicity of errors could have been worse. thanks for sharing.
Your share is good reminder.Thanks!
I think it can be very valueable to post such videos for others to learn from the mistakes.
Well, its easy to complain about others mistakes. Yes, you released too early instead of geting som altitude but we are all glad that you got down safely.
Thanks for sharing. I love how any gliding video seems to attract gliding experts to the comments like wasps to pints of lager in a beer garden on a summers day.
Live and learn....thanks for posting.
That was a close call on those trees... i cant speak italian so I cant understand much. the returning high on our club is around 60 meters, i felt that you guys kept low for too long. Anyway, every situation we come out in one piece is a learning one... congratulations
Wow that was close! You're really lucky!
It’s cool to see you show off your arborist skills with the glider.
He was paid extra for trimming those trees on final. That helped offset the cost of the aborted tow.
The moment you hit the top of the trees and going more sideways looks awesome luckily everything went well. great piloting skill
Thanks Fabrizio for sharing.
the main lesson is: If you get in a situation like this and the glider is flying stable and you do NOT make things worse by delaying a decision, then continue flying until you have a plan. In this case there was no need to rush into some kind of decision since you where climbing.
LSVFlachkurbler well said!!
I disagree. This was best what could be done in the situation. If canopy will open it will break off and hit the tail (it opens to the back). Then you will have two pilots in real trouble. One in the glider one in the tug. Especially at low altitude.
@@jacekpiterow900 so hitting the tree because there was no real plan was your prefered solution compared to staying 20s longer on the tug ?
@@LSVFlachkurbler How could he know that there will be not enough energy in the glider to just slightly go over? Please, we are just humans. His decision was to not risk more then necessary. As soon as he saw opportunity he released. The 20s is a long time. It is tough to have a plan for exact moment when you find out that your canopy is open. Will it be 200ft or 2000ft above the ground? You know well that when on the tow you can hit a bump of rising air practically at any time. Not sure if you had an experience with ASK21s. If I remember right, they are build to break off the canopy when it opens in flight. Not the best design but it is pretty to look at when both canopies are open. What will you do in such predicament? I guess risk both pilots and stay 20s longer? It was still very low to the ground. Maybe better landing field? It did not look that bad. He did good. He saved himself, tug pilot and the glider. Problem is in not following the checklist but not in decision making. I like your soaring as well and you way more experienced than I am, but in this case I think they guy deserves some slack.
@@jacekpiterow900 Incorrect. A complete canopy, frame and all would damage the tail plane but no more. The aircraft will still be flyable. As LSVFlachkurbler said, continue until you have a plan. Here was wasted opportunity. As for judging energy, that is what gliding is all about.
The lesson I took from this clip is to always trim your nose hair when filming with a wide-angle lens from over your shoulder.
Has your club ever heard about emergency towing? The tug should have brought you back to the field
I disagree. This was best what could be done in the situation. If canopy will open it will break off and hit the tail (it opens to the back). Then you will have two pilots in real trouble. One in the glider one in the tug. Especially at low altitude.
Emergency towing? You are kidding right? The only “emergency” is when some dork tries to tow with the brakes open. If you have a climb you can try and drag them over the field but when you tow people like this you do so with one hand on the release.
@@Trevor_Austin Hehe... that way you will tow everybody with your hand on release :) Last time I checked nobody is perfect.
That makes sense
@@Trevor_Austin Both big mouths you and Jarek, probably never been in a glider and don't know what a emergency tow back to the field is... Either they had two people in the plane and the rear one can hold the canopy. Or he was alone and the canopy was just open , not broken off, or already flew away... This story of the canopy breaking the rudder is jst a small percentage of what can happen... He should have never released there and try to make it back to the field.. The tug should have brought him back... He is very lucky he only caught the tip of those trees , and not anything substantial or he would have been dead by now... By the way when he releases he has a really big field to his right to outland in , He has a big field in front of the airport to land in.... This is just target fixation with an almost deadly result.
risking the treeline was ballsy. pilot wasn't fazed at all when the trees gave his plane a few beauty scars tho. great pilot!
Wow! I bet you were a wiser pilot when you landed than you were when you took off...
In my days of instructing on K21 we used a New monic Code CB SIFT CBE which stands for C- Controls full and free and working in the correct sense B- Ballast check cockpit weight and balance limits and and ballast weights if fitted are secure also check with outside person Tail dolly is removed . S- Straps Locked and tight and check other pilots by asking them if so if flying Duel. F- Flaps full range of movement and not interfering with other controls. T- Trim Full range of movement and set for Take Off C- CANOPY Checked Locked in two positions and the Emergency lever Tell Tale Wire is secure and lever is in the correct position, Push lightly upwards to ensure canopy is secure in K21 apply pressure on Rear canopy also to ensure locked if an outside person is there get a second visual check done to ensure locked . B- Brakes Air Brakes / Spoilers open and closing together and Flush and Locked. E- Eventualities If student and instructor this is a pre take off check of commands and who will fly the aircraft if an emergency happens or what the instructor wishes the Student to do if something happens this is Re affirming the briefing prior to getting into the aircraft. Then the Launch Cable or Tow Rope is asked for Now you have a Second pair of eyes asked the Outside person to Confirm Tail Dolly is Removed and if solo this is when you ask them to Confirm Straps are locked and secure and the Canopy is down and visual check it is locked correctly
CB SIT CB back in my day!
Woaaaahhh!! this was pretty close!!!
Secondo me il pilota del traino s'era un furlan che te voleva copà😂
Scherzo! Finché la puoi raccontare ben fatta!
Grazie per la condivisione! Ottimo spunto di riflessione
Era triestino come me.
He did hit trees on final...lucky he did not crash.
good you made it down safely. now you do a more detailed cockpit check before take off .live and learn .others take note .Keith Australia
I don't really understand why a release occurred so low. I think you imply that your aerodynamics were compromised yet is this not mitigated under tow? I am failing to comprehend why you did not opt to gain more height with tow energy before releasing. Can you explain please.
Since I didn't see it posted yet: the reason his cockpit is entering a dimensional rift is because of the rolling shutter effect from the digital camera.
how is there rolling shutter effect on something that isnt moving?
I am surprised that you have not landed out. You had plenty suitable fields. And also who did put those barriers on the grass?
Great save I know u watch this video say I should of could of main thing learned hear check list pre flight well that’s my back seat flying
Was your camera on acid?
From what I remember in ASK21 is kind of easy to let the rear canopy stay unlocked. There is no clear visible indication there for the front pilot. Nice reminder to who uses ASK21. Rear canopy opens to the back. On first thermal bump it will catch wind and break off hitting stabilizers - it is a t-tail after all. One may have very bad day after that. I will say good decision. Any damage to the glider? Thanks for sharing.
Not quite. Firstly one always checks the rear canopy locks before getting in the front, secondly you usually can’t lock the front canopy until the rear has been done first.
Did the rear canopy stay intact? That would create loads of drag. I witnessed a winch launch of a ASK21 where the rear canopy opened and shattered into thousands of pieces. The pilot could land without problems.
On my first solo winch launch on a Grob Twin the front canopy opened because I had not checked it to be closed. I grabbed it with my right hand, continued to control the glider with my left hand at the stick, closed and secured the canopy and continued the flight. Also some luck involved, I guess.
Luckily the rear canopy shattered into thousands of pieces shortly after it opened.
late reply
but the ask21 canopy has a weak spot on its hinges, where its designed to break off the aircraft incase of a bailout
After reading some of the Comments on here there are a lot of un-informed people making fairly wild judgments. I am a Gliding instructor and If that had been a student of mine he would be in for some remedial training Ditching the tow was not a good idea at that low altitude he had radio communication with the tug pilot so he should of spoken to him and kept the tow on while circling the airfield. Then when at safe altitude for the possible abandonment of the glider due to loss of control he would of had height to use a Parachute safely. If it had to be used. AS the rear canopy on the ASK 21 Glider hinges rearwards if it had popped open it would act like a large airbrake but it also possibly might of detached due to the forces acting on it. The Pilot in this case Panicked and Threw the Tug away which if he had used it gave him a better chance. Once the Tow had been released he then made it a very tight low circuit and hit Trees on the approach and had to pull up to avoid obstacles at the end of runway He was a Very Lucky guy to have not been injured I to am a believer in not wearing Baseball caps when flying gliders they impair a pilots look out I hope you got some follow up training and you are still flying today Be Safe and enjoy a great sport
Well said.
On final wouldn't it have been better to slide more left to that green field? It looked like a good spot to me?
Yes you are right
Hello Fabrizio, I am a glider pilot, I also fly on the ASK21. I have seen and reviewed your video for dozens of times, I would say very interesting and educational. However, I do not understand why you did not have to be towed near the field to face a safe standard circuit, and because you have dropped just 100 meters (at least this is what I read from your altimeter). However, both 100 meters are suitable to immediately return to the counter-track, with the wind in the tail, but why have you set a turn so wide and you have not turned immediately tight, strong of the speed that the driver gave you? You would have immediately brought the snout aligned on the track saving altitude. I would say that it went well with the impact of the trees, but the risk I think was very high. Anyway, thanks for publishing your video. Greetings.
salve marco, questa mia solo per spirito di confronto, ma posto il fatto della tensione del momento e che siamo tutti piloti di f35 quando stiamo sul divano davanti ad una tastiera, mi chiedo perchè ha sganciato invece di farsi trainare in un angolo di sicurezza per arrivare all'atterraggio senza patemi , e per quale motivo non ha cabrato leggermente per evitare l'impatto con le cime degli alberi sulla testata della pista (minuto 3:37); non ne sono sicuro per il video non chiaro, ma l'anemometro segnava 80 km/h, aveva circa 15 km/h di margine sullo stallo e una leggerissima cabrata per guadagnare un mezzo metro secondo me avrebbe avuto possibilità di farla.
@@netzer7739 NEVER bleed speed off to clear ANYTHING. You want the aircraft right side up when you hit, and the only way to accomplish that is with airspeed. 80 is nothing. That's 43kts. That's 8kts from stall, at 20-30 feet off a runway, with a major controllability problem. NEVER bleed speed to stretch a glide if already at approach speed! He was already slow!
Hi. What was the communication error with the towing pilot you mentioned in Italian?
He didn't told me that he would have towed me to final. That's why I decided to unhook too early from the towing aircraft.
Even worse when the front canopy is not locked properly. The sink rate is huge if it opens in flight.
How is it possible that you can lock the front canopy without the rear one secured. Schleicher has standardly build a mechanical leaver in the Ask21 where the bolt of the rear locking mechanism pushes the leaver down that allows to close the front leavers because their bolts can now move backwards. Have you removed this system and if so why
As I've already replied to many comments in this topic, the locking mechanism in my Ask21 that allows to close the front leavers didn't worked at the time and was not fixed by the staff of the flying club even after my accident. Don't ask me why.
Very interesting and thanks for sharing.
1. How was it possible to lock the front canopy on an ASK21 with the rear canopy not locked? Normally there should be the "rocker arm" which prevents locking the front Canopy when rear canopy locking pins dont push the "rocker arm" down. EDIT: Just saw your reply on another comment. Bad club management when the locking mechanism isn´t repaired till now. It´s just a broken spring.
2. The rear canopy was still attached after landing? I thought the rear canopy would break away, in case of a intentionally opening on a rescue bail out. Were the hinges/tubes bent afterwards?
3. Indeed you were lucky with hitting the trees only "slightly" and flying a forgiving ASK21. Good Job on landing, especially evading the runway posts with going between them ;)
4 Did you realize during the flight what happened? Probably yes, because of windy cockpit. But did you get it that this gives you extra drag? Did the aero-tow bring much less climb rate as usual? Minus 1-2 m/s on final is more than usual, but not as bad with having a concave anemometer bowl in the wind. I´m asking because of the comments on taking the field in front of the trees and the airfield.
5. Talk to the land owner of the trees and cut them down. If not managable, i heard that copper nails in the tree trunk or battery acid in dry season are not preferred by vegetation (and drinking water). Sometimes these bad woodpeckers peck a tree so hard that its water running part the cambium is destroyed * IRONY OFF *
Thanks again for sharing. Afterwards it is easy to analyse and come up with good advice, but when you are in the situation, you don´t have much time and additional stress. Should something arise on my flights with some sorts of panels extending in the airstream except the airbrakes, i will now definitely be sure to consider the extra drag.
In order for front pilot to confirm that rear canopy is locked in ASK 21 you have to check two latches. Each one is about a 20cm behind pilot shoulders just slight below. There two of them since canopy opens up backward. When you are 20-50 is a OK, try to do that when you get to 60 with the parachute and strapped to your seat :) He did good, really good. He will do even better if he checked canopy before getting into the cockpit.
@@jacekpiterow900
One has to check the rear canopy before getting seated in the front. If one has forgotten this, there is a safety mechanism (left and right) which prevents locking the front canopy if the rear canopy is unlocked. This safety mechanism (as i mentioned above) is a simple lever arm with a simple spring pushing it up, but this mechanism was inoperable on this ASK21 at that time, and as Fabrizio stated somewhere else here, it still is, despite this incident.
Couldn´t find a close up of the mechanism, but it is visible (white plastic with bolt in the middle) in this picture on the right side on the bottom of the strut between fwd + aft canopy.
www.alexander-schleicher.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/21-Cockpit-004.jpg
It blocks the front locking rods to be pushed into the hole in the strut completely (therefore the front handles arent fully close-fitting to the front canopy --> pilot knows something is "wrong") unless the rear locking rods push the plastic arm up, giving free way for the front rods to be inserted completely.
My CFI would ream me severly for that. How do you take off without the canopy locked? CHAOTIC. How do you land without first establishing an overshoot situation? If in doubt, land out. The only correct call there was that luck saved his arse!
He should have carried out rear cockpit checks before getting in or have a ground crew member doing the rear checks as he went through the cockpit checks. The Ground Crew should have had a final check of the aircraft before putting the cable on. He could have got the tug to drop him back over the airfield before releasing. He also could have landed in a lot of better fields than going between some trees to get back onto the airfield
----> Hi Richard, - we are proud of You ! ------> still better the pilot would have made a bicycle - tour .......................
trees at the approach to the runway ??? what was the tow aircraft doing ? low flying???
@1:05 the rear canopy opened into the wind (like an anemometer bowl) because he forgot to check it locked on his solo flight in a double seater. The safety mechanism (two simple rocker levers, L+R, with springs) to prevent this was not working, and to his comment somewhere else here 6 months ago, has not been repaired to this time (09.2020), in spite of this situation.
We had a broken spring of the mechanism on the right side last year, the spare part directly from Schleicher was about 3-5€.
The extra drag of the open canopy resulted in a bad climb rate on tow. He released too early/far away from final, and got this bad sink rate, due to his new airbrake system.
The trees right in front of the runway are the icing on the cake ;)
The bit which made my heart leap into my mouth was 1:06. Rear canopy opens, aircraft pitches up - climbs up over the tug - if he hadn't caught that as fast as he did this footage would show the last moments of the tug pilot.
Close call! Is this the Gopro6 rubber edition?
No, it's an old Gopro3 white series
Ciao Fabrizio, grazie per la tua risposta, si, credo si sia trattato di una incomprensione con il pilota trainatore. Tutto bene quello che finisce bene. Questi video insegnano moltissimo, anche io ne pubblico diversi. Cieli sereni.
Picking walnuts this way is just more fun
Close call...
If I see good , you could easily avoid that trees
Looks like you hit a little bit of treebulence at 3:37
No go around in a glider.
Boom
When flying a glider, every single landing IS an emergency landing, as you have no opportunity to 'go around'.
If you have enough speed in the right glider you can go around, the ground effect can give you lift with barely any drag for thousands of meters. I can show you a video of a guy who went around twice in a glider.
Oh my god...
Should have turned towards to airfield way earlier
You should land Before the bushes at field Before.....very danger to chans that you do. But good that nothing happend
Oh my gosh... very very bad decision to drop at this altitude and position !!!!! ...you can flight even if you loose the windshield...
uhhh, that was close!
TV FLIGHT Neither of those commenting were flying this glider. Even though I don't think I would have made any of the decisions you made.... You piloted this glider and you made it back alive.... Lots to learn from this video!
I thought you couldn't close the front canopy if the rear one is open...
The security locking system was broken but I didn't know it. That's why I could close the front canopy without closing the rear one.
How long have you been flying.
When the incident occurred I had been flying for one year.
Well done walking away from that then. You made some mistakes but if you live and learn from them then that is what matters.
pucker factor level 7
I have made my flight training on an ASK 21 and i can tell that the windshields are designed in a way that prevents such an incident. There is a mechanism installed that will not let you lock the forward canopy if you have not locked the rear one. How have you done this?
The mechanism that prevents such an accident didn't work because it was broken. That's why the rear canopy opened though the forward one was locked.
The canopy interlocks are a known weakness because they are made of nylon so they wear and flex and pilots just push a bit harder and defeat the lock. I strongly recommend upgrading to the aluminium canopy interlocks, even if you only replace one side. They are much cheaper than a new canopy. Alexander, please remember that these engineering controls are not perfect and that even though you think something is impossible, you should still check. Fabrizio, well done for flying the aircraft all the way to the end. Ciao.
So, here's what I noticed and this is just from an observers view.
1) You released very, very early. I know you had an emergency but this type of emergency could have waited for 200'. At a 100' elevation you're generally not going to make it on a return.
2) I'm just curious, did you release your water ballast as soon as you began your return? That probably would've helped you get over those trees.
No water ballast on ASK21
@@florentchapdelaine5647 I actually didn't know that! Clearly I need to freshen up on my various models. Thank you for the information.
That was in Italy, therefore Europe and thats the crazy place where people except for the British Islanders use the metric system in gliders. So it was 100 meters or about 300 feet. But you are right, and like said on other comments, the airplane flew, the aero-tow group had a positive climb rate with at least 1 Meter/Second. He had time to make a plan like Hannibal Smith. But afterwards you are always smarter.
@@hectorpascale1013 You do know, all pilots use the metric system... even here in the USA we judge things by meters and kilo's so I'm not entirely sure you know what you're talking about...
@@JeffreyOsb but the notation " ´ " you used stands for feet ;) The SI-unit meter/metre is abbreviated " m ". I guess you Americans have to use the metric systems in gliders since most of them come from Germany ;)
Oh my god... You are really lucky to have come back to the ground safely. First, you disconnect from the tow plane at 100m. Why? Even if the canopy was gone, you could have gotten more height, to make a safe approach. You could have told the tow plane pilot to tow you back to the airport and then disconnect. Then, you were getting really really slow on the approach. You had like 80 km/h when you were on close final. You were about to stall! You had no options, no energy margin whatsoever and you even hit the trees, which could have resulted in a spin and crash. If there had been a little downwash you would have been in deep trouble. Seriously, when I would have been you in this situation in final, I would have gone for the brown field for the right, fly a little to the left and then make a right turn und land there safely.
Please people, do not ever abort a start like that unless it's really really necessary! Always keep you airspeed high enough, especially in situations like this. And always try consider all the options, like going into a field. You don't have to make it back to the airport, consider all the options!
Many thanks for sharing! I think there is a lot to learn from this video! :)
although I agree that i would have been a better decision to have called for a tow-back, a ASK-21 is nowhere near a stall at 80km/h, even less so when flying it solo ( as I believe was the case here) where i has less wing loading. Also, spinning a ask-21 is nearly impossible without the fitting of a spin kit (weights on the tail).
Written check list
Ciao Fabrizio, sono un pilota di aliante, anche io volo sull'ASK21.
Ho visto e rivisto per decine di volte il tuo video, direi molto interessante ed educativo. Non capisco tuttavia perchè non ti sei fatto trainare nei pressi del cielo campo per affrontare un sicuro circuito standard, e perchè hai sganciato a soli 100 metri (almeno quello che leggo dal tuo altimetro). Comunque sia 100 metri sono idonei per rientrare immediatamente in contro-pista, con il vento in coda, ma perchè hai impostato una virata così larga e non hai virato subito stretto, forte della velocità che il trainatore ti ha dato? Avresti subito portato il muso allineato sulla pista risparmiando quota. Direi che è andata bene con l'urto degli alberi, ma il rischio credo sia stato altissimo. Comunque grazie per aver pubblicato il tuo video. Saluti.
Ciao Marco, in effetti appena mi sono accorto di quello che era successo ho chiesto al trainatore di portarmi in "zona prenotazione" ad una quota tale da poter impostare con calma la procedura di atterraggio, e se non sbaglio credo che ad un certo punto del video si senta che gli chiedo di portarmi a 600 m per poi sganciare a cielo campo. Nella concitazione del momento c'è stata un'incomprensione col pilota, che ha preferito trainarmi lungo il circuito di atterraggio standard, peraltro dal lato di sottovento opposto rispetto a quello utilizzato dagli alianti, riportandomi in finale in sicurezza. Non essendomi reso conto delle sue intenzioni ho preferito sganciare quando ero ancora in base per non metterlo nei guai dato che eravamo a 100 metri. Condivido poi sull'errore di non aver virato subito stretto.
Mi sorge spontanea una domanda: ma in Italia, atterrare fuori campo fa parte del training per prendere il brevetto? Cioe', te ne fanno fare materialmente almeno uno, o soltanto te ne parlano?
Chiedo perche' sto prendendo il brevetto in Nuova Zelanda, dove l'iter e' parecchio lungo, passa attraverso 2 stadi intermedi (+ uno di brevetto finale).
Il fuori campo per prendere il brevetto in Italia non fa parte del training, e per quel che ne so neanche in Slovenia. l'ipotesi del fuori campo viene affrontata ma solo a livello teorico durante gli stage di perfezionamento presso il club "Il Centrale" di Rieti.
@@fabriziodefilippini4091 grazie.
In Slovenia non ho idea, io sto facendo in Nuova Zelanda perche' ci vivo.
Qua la strada per il brevetto completo e' lunga.
Ci sono tre stadi, in sostanza. Cert. A, Cert. B e QGP (Qualified Glider Pilot) che sarebbe il brevetto.
Cert. A sostanzialmente significa che hai fatto 3 voli in solo.
Cert. B significa che sai stare su usando termiche, entro il "gliding range" dell'aeroclub.
QGP e' il brevetto. Prima del QGP ti fanno fare l'atterraggio fuori campo.
E' anche vero che la Nuova Zelanda e' un posto completamente diverso: poche piste, poco asfalto, tantissimi prati dove atterrare. Non dico che atterrare fuori campo sia "la norma", ma capita spesso a chi ad esempio tenta i 50km per la prima volta.
Io e' quasi un anno che faccio, quasi ogni weekend, e sono diciamo quasi al Cert. B, e ho dato 4 dei 6 esami per il QGP.
Probabilmente per gennaio ci arrivo.
Pero' a sto punto mi sorge spontanea un'altra domanda.
Se per caso si rompe / sgancia il cavo, diciamo, quasi a fine pista, su una pista diciamo "corta", e il pilota non ha altitudine per virare in sicurezza, e non e' abituato ad atterrare fuori campo, che fa?
Qua la norma e' avere almeno una opzione per atterrare "avanti" in caso di rottura / sgancio del cavo a bassa quota.
Ovviamente ti spiegano come e dove fare l'atterraggio di emergenza a seconda dell'altitudine a cui ti trovi. Durante il training è previsto anche l'atterraggio di emergenza sganciando a quota relativamente bassa (intorno a 100/150 metri) ma sempre a cielo campo in modo che non ci sia il rischio di dover fare fuori campo.
Probabilmente se avessi fatto attività in Nuova Zelanda sarei arrivato anch'io al Cert. B perché all'epoca volavo da solo entro il "gliding range" dell'aeroclub. In bocca al lupo per il tuo QGP.
😊♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Fabrizio, quanta esperienza di volo avevi quando è successo questo evento?
Meno di un anno (avevo preso il brevetto tre mesi prima), però all'epoca volavo quasi tutti i weekend e avevo già fatto un'ottantina di decolli con una trentina di ore di volo, di cui circa il 20% da solista.
Ho capito. Ovviamente non sono nella posizione di giudicare alcunché, l'unica cosa che mi sento di dirti è che l'essersi dimenticato la cappottina è stato l'ultimo dei problemi, IMHO il problema più grosso è tutto quello che è successo dopo, ne convieni?
Avrei dovuto aspettare di farmi trainare fino in finale assicurandomi di avere quota sufficiente prima di sganciare, ma per la troppa fretta, dovuta all'adrenalina oltre che ad un difetto di comunicazione col pilota al traino, ho preso la decisione errata.
Well handled, considering that level of experience. But the tree hit could have been a show stopper. You probably had more luck than you deserved on that one. But if all else fails, luck is welcome too of course.
ciao fabrizio, forse sarà stata errata, ma hai riportato a terra l'ask21 senza danni significativi (forse solo qualche righina) e dal video mi pare tu abbia mantenuto sangue freddo e controllo della situazione pur accorgendoti che eri "corto". non giudico, apprezzo, ti ringrazio per aver pubblicato il video mettendo a disposizione la tua esperienza per tutti e ti saluto con affetto.
Rear canopy opening isn't an emergency. So many people come close to wrecking their gliders because of this. No reason to change how a pattern is flown with a canopy open.
armchair pilot,ask 21 rear canopy opens up and is hinged at the rear.It would cause an enormous amount of drag.
It would hardly create any drag at all as said canopy would be ripped clean off.
@@davidcooper2496 well in this case it didn't as the drag was really high until landing, resulting in hitting the trees.
@@chillibean1663 If hitting 3m/s sink would make you (almost) crash, it's about the pilot.
Wow
Canopy open is never an emergency. Should have continued tow to at least 1500' to check controls before attempting to land. Suppose your open canopy caused control issues or you had other issues and you released at 200'?
depends on decision of the pilot. Unlucky situation on final. I would do a lot differently, but at the end of day he land safely and can fix his plane:)
Not true . The ASK21 rear canopy is designed to break off at the hinge if opened mid flight - force of the air will do that. The tail is high T and can be damaged by the canopy as it detaches. A fellow member of my University club did this exact thing, but on a winch launch. The canopy did not detach because (it turned out) of an earlier repair on the hinge, but the plexiglass shattered, leaving the frame bouncing about as a sort of airbrake. This occurred at 400ft. He managed to land safely, but with the flight characteristics affected. So the canopy loss CAN certainly be a serious emergency. In this case, the pilot could have taken the alternative steps you mention, with the proviso that there was no danger to the tug. He should have landed out in any event. The field was a bad choice. In the UK, that would have cost him a lot of money in the club bar later..
Who the hell put those concrete blocks on the damn runway!! isn't there anything softer?
Actually I landed on the taxiway, where those blocks are located, rather than on the runway because my glider has been yawing to the right after hitting the trees.
Good question. Solid posts, concrete etc. have no place on any airfield. Even at major airports (in the developed world) everything has weak points or is frangible.
If you were flying on LSD should be the title
Che bel sentir parlar triestin per radio. Pero' bisogna ricordarse de serar el cupolin de drio :)
Ma dove xe questo? Se vola vicin Trieste??
All'aeroclub Fly & Joy de Premariacco, vizin Cividale del Friuli, dove i tien anca i corsi. Xe passadi quasi cinque anni dall'incidente, e gho molado l'attività l'anno dopo.
@@fabriziodefilippini4091 Ah me dispiasi che te ga molla'.
Grazie dell'info, mi stago imparando a volar in Nuova Zelanda dove me son trasferi'.
Pero' saro' in Italia in vacanza presto, magari fazo un salto li' a Premariacco.
I fa solo aerotow o i ga anche el winch?
I fa solo aerotow. A Premariacco i gha la scuola, i fa corsi per principianti e anche ripresa attività per chi sa già andar. Altrimenti all'aeroclub de Postumia, ma dubito che i te fa volar se no te diventi socio. Se te vol far distanza il posto top in region xe Enemonzo, ma no i gha la scuola per cui te devi trovar chi te porta su in biposto.
Ciao Fabrizio, magari non te ga pel cul ma te aggiorno :-)
Go fatto la mia "cazzada" anche mi - go dimentica' de metter giu' el carrel su un Standar Astir del club in cui volo qua in NZ. Per fortuna un atterraggio moooolto dolce sull'erba altina, quindi zero danni.
Tramite contatti traversi, co iero in Italia a luglio go riva' a far un giro in Blanik de un due ore ad Ajdovscina, su e zo pel coston che i ga a est dell'aeroporto.
Bastanza bel, non gavevo mai fatto volo su costone. Variometro spento, se riva a far tutto "a ocio".
So che te ga molla', ma se te interessa famme saver.
El resto ben, qua in NZ, dove volo mi, a Papawai, se fa voli in onda spesso e volentieri (noi semo nell'isola nord, quindi non xe figo quanto Omarama, ma figo abbastanza lo stesso). Lo scorso weekend son arriva' a 3000 m da un lancio a 500 m, e podevo salir ancora ma non gavevo l'ossigeno.
E ancora una roba: i incidenti succedi proprio a tutti. Un per de weeked fa un istruttor, con anni de esperienza, xe probabilmente sceso troppo, e troppo veloce, dall'onda, a spoiler tiradi, poi ga trova' una discendenza de tipo -10 nodi nel circuito (che nei giorni de onda pol succeder), el iera za basso, e praticamente el xe atterrado nella base leg, in mezzo ai grembani e cespugli, sbregando un'ala.
Rivedendo il video dopo due anni di esperienza e circa 200 ore totali, penso che se mi capitasse, per dire, domani, rischierei di fare lo stesso identico errore.
Eri vicinissimo alla pista, praticamente in finale, probabilmente ad occhio sembrava di farcela tranquillamente.
Penso sia difficilissimo prevedere di quanto cambia l'angolo di planata, quanto inefficiente diventa l'aliante, con un cupolino aperto.
Are you still flying gliders?
No, I'm not
@@fabriziodefilippini4091 how come. Did it get boring?
u could see u wasnt going to make the air field. why didnt u pull out the brakes and gone for a field. a lot safer
how badly was the glider damaged ?
Only the canopy was damaged.
You were lucky :D
Given it was a K21, I assume there was more damage done to the trees than the glider.
Too many armchair pilots here! Although he hit the trees, the glider pilot got it down without killing himself. Thats means he done a good job! I dont think people understand the serious of the situation until they are put through it! It takes balls..
Thanks for your comment
I think most of the comments are from real glider pilots.
If he had the opportunity to do that again he would have done a field landing, which would have been a much safer option. Luck saved him there. If he’d have hit some sinking air or the wind shadow from the trees he’d have ploughed right into them.
Another victim of the nylon interlocks. But seriously, you are lucky you didn't kill the tuggie and yourself. Also, you turn finals at 43 knots. Do you have a death wish? However, I respect and deeply appreciate anybody posting his/her own mistakes. It's how we all learn how not to kill ourselves.
Why the hell didnt you chose to land in a closer field , there are plenty of them around
The worse was the moment where you just land between two concrete blocks !!
You have taken major risks here by not chosing a closer landfield
and by the way, on ASK21 that i know, you can NOT close the front canopy if the rear canopy is not locked , strange ?
There was a failure in the locking mechanism of the canopy on my ASK 21. That's why I locked the front canopy without realizing that the rear canopy was not locked properly.
Some older ASK-21's don't have that safety feature and it is possible to lock the front canopy even if the rear canopy is open.
I prefer pilots that don't rely on luck..
Don’t wear Base Ball caps in a glider actually do not wear it in any VMC environment!!! It’s a look out limiting device 🙄🙄🙄
yes, you were flying, you were in tow. You should have asked for the towplane to bring you back !!!! Too many mistakes end in hitting the trees ! Could have been much worse. No compliment for that. Anyway, I hope this should teach what not to do !
What the hell kind of airfield has damn great obstructions on it ffs? This is just downright un-civilzed
We have trees on final at our glider port. I barely missed touching one of them on a poorly planned final just after solo. Fortunately I had a good deal of airspeed and was able to close the spoilers and pop over the trees. The ASK21 is a tough bird.
Our airfield has forrest to the north and east, a high voltage landline to the west and a road, even more forrest and a gocart racetrack to the south. It's quite common in germany, to be honest and it's getting worse. They're building lots of windmill around it aswell. You gotta know what you're doing and you will be fine
I had a scary first solo in a 2-33 just last week. During aerotow we went through a huge rotor vortex and I got nervous and disconnected from the tow plane. While flying back to the airport at pattern altitude I encountered a lot of wind shear. I flew my downwind leg in a headwind causing me to lose a lot of altitude by pitching down to keep my airspeed high . I flew a very uncoordinated base to final and overshot the runway and then bounced the landing three times. Scariest day of my life, but I’m lucky to have kept flying the plane and kept my airspeed up.
A video of my solo is here czcams.com/video/0d8EsJWF-uE/video.html
It was so weak tow plane, less than 100m after 2 minutes, should be at least 200m with single seat glider.
Every landing in a glider is an emergency.
Not really we just have to nail every landin
Bad dessision, enough fields around there