On March 12, 2011 a Wings of Rogallo H3 pilot with 70 hours of airtime and 250 logged flights prepared to launch his Falcon 195 from the 1750-foot launch at Ed Levin Park.
Preflight of the glider was unremarkable; all parts appeared to be in place and properly adjusted.
The accident pilot elected to launch via the more shallow launch path to the north of the regular launch (the 'Paraglider Launch') of the site because the north-trending wind was less cross at that site; and, as assessed by the accident pilot, the site often seems to have fewer eddies and turbulence in the wind flow under those conditions does than the steeper launch, although sometimes requires a longer, stronger run.
The pilot hooked in and verified hook-in, and then test-floated his wing, feeling the air on the wing and checking the streamer on the hill. A fellow pilot advised caution because of the more northerly wind cycles. After a few seconds of a balanced wing condition, the accident pilot called out 'clear' and began to walk and then light-knee-bent run, feeling the hang straps tighten while keeping the angle of attack in a position he considered appropriately low. As he ran, he rose and settled twice, running harder each time his feet were on the ground. Finally, as the steepness of the hill increased, the pilot eased the bar forward a bit and flew off the hill.
Immediately after launch the accident pilot encountered a small amount of lift, confirmed by several birds in front of the hill that seemed to be doing more soaring than flapping. His mind was set on sustaining flight by using what seemed to be available lift. The accident pilot made an uneventful left turn, passing below the main launch and fairly close to the terrain and was rewarded with a few optimistic beeps from his vario.
After proceeding southward for a number of yards the accident pilot decided to return to the suspected areas of light lift that he had just encountered. The pilot entered an responsive right turn away from the hill and tracked back toward launch angling in toward the terrain. Although experiencing audible indications of lift, that happiness was dashed by the sudden realization a turn had begun into the hill; the glider was not responding to inputs for a left-hand bank away from the hill ~ DAMN! IT WAS NOT RESPONDING TO WEIGHT SHIFT INPUT!!!; and he was rapidly and disastrously approaching the hillside.
The accident pilot's last memory of the flight is that he spotted a flatter, but uphill-oriented area to his right that appeared to offer some forgiving characteristics ~ a better crash site than directly into the hill on the current course. He made a slight adjustment to the right (and yes, the glider seemed to respond in that direction) with the wings roughly level and no steep pitch. He has no memory of the impact with the terrain. In reconstructing these events the pilot is unable to recall details of bar position, airspeed, and possible cross-control. He remembers experiencing anxiety, and a feeling of 'freezing' at the point of 'nothing else to be done at this point', but not a sense of panic. He does not remember seeing the precise moment of impact but expected that the left wing would impact first and turn the nose of the glider into the hill where it would come to rest on the flatter area.
The glider impacted the terrain. There are probably some observers who can provide objective details about airspeed, direction, and flight attitude. After impact, he pilot was unconscious for a period of time that he cannot estimate, but also might be provided by observers. It was at least long enough for EMT personnel to get to the accident site(15 -30 min?). One downtube was broken and the possibility of other hidden damage awaits inspection of the wing. It seems unlikely that the leading edges would be undamaged. The accident pilot was wearing a full-face helmet. The chin-guard portion was still attached, but sheared completely through in a vertical direction on the right side just before the curve of the chin. The accident pilot suffered a cut through the full thickness of the upper lip roughly corresponding to the third right incisor, and a light but steady flow of blood from the wound was easily controlled with pressure. There were also two linear bruises on his chin that appear to correspond to the edges of the helmet chin guard.
The accident pilot was airlifted to Santa Clara Medical Center where the lip injury was sutured under local anesthesia; a CT scan of the head revealed no evidence of concussion, and an xray of the upper torso revealed no injuries (Note: still checking into just what that xray is meant to reveal). The patient was released to the immediate care of friends who told him, very strongly, what they thought about "jumping off of mountains".
http://www.wingsofrogallo.org/board/vie ... ?f=6&t=955
