Crestline Ca Hook in failure

[stevek]

I launched Crestline earlier that day in a PG.


Visiting pilot on borrowed glider seen crashed on the ridge west of Crestline launch.

Initial reports were of glider upside down with broken wing and no sign of pilot.

911 dialed and Crest Forest Station 25 responded in force:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VgVi5Njcb8c

At about 0:45 to 1:10 in the video, you can see the broken glider, and the bridle and cut parachute lines draped across the brush. The pilot is on the other side of the brush.

The pilot, along with his Tenax Cosmic harness and Gopro camera were airlifted to Loma Linda after sheriff's helicopters used sirens and loudspeakers to clear the airspace.

Glider retrieved the following day showed it was assembled correctly and all critical assembly connections still intact. Frame tubing indicated failure at right half of crossbar and right outer LE at the sleeve. Sail had tears chordwise near root and at tubing failure zones.

An extended bridle and parachute lines would ordinarily lead to the conclusion that there was a failed reserve toss. But if so, the pilot should have been no more than a harness main away from the hang point. Instead, he was at the parachute end of the bridle/parachute system.

This indicates a failure of the harness setup.

The carabiner and chute bridle, still encased in the neoprene streamlining sleeve, and most of the harness pitch line, were still attached to the glider's hang loops. The pilot was still in his harness when airlifted and the family had possession of it which left questions unanswered until it could be examined. The following Friday I got to view the harness and it showed all critical components intact, including the single suspension main.

The harness main was not connected to the carabiner and consequently, the glider. The harness main was run through the neoprene sleeve along with the parachute bridle but somehow not connected to the carabiner.

The pilot did a full hanging hang check on launch with a local pilot's assistance. He made a good launch.

It was a huge bit of bad luck that he got through the hang check without dropping to the dirt. There was enough friction within the neoprene sleeve and support from the pitch line to allow the hanging check, and at a glance, it would appear okay, as there was a carabiner connected to the glider and a strap and pitch line connected to the carabiner.

The pitch line would have accepted a fair bit of the pilot's weight but after launching as the pilot flew longer, the hang strap must have slipped through the neoprene sleeve and eventually, the pilot would have been supported only by his grip and the pitch string. The pilot flew long enough to be observed flying normally, making a few passes below Billboard, then a few moments later he was seen on the hillside.

I went back to the crash scene Thursday Nov.8 looking for the parachute canopy and deployment bag thinking they might have been severed from the bridle just before impact but they werent there. Thought they must be still in the chute container on the harness. nope. Turns out it got carried out by the responders as can be seen in the video at 8:57.

The pilot's onboard video is still with his family and has not been reviewed.

Did the pilot do a recent repack? Just get this harness from someone else? We may never know the preceding events that led to the main not getting connected to the carabiner, but we know the outcome.

When servicing your gear, be diligent in ensuring all components are connected properly. Check again.

At this writing, the pilot is still in the intensive care unit at Loma Linda Med Center. He is far from ok.

Will post updates when received.

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I

[stevek]

It was Nov 4.