N29HS

On May 18, 1996, at 1500 central daylight time (cdt), a Russian AS+LTD glider, N29HS, was substantially damaged after it collided with terrain, following an uncontrolled descent. The private pilot exited the aircraft during the uncontrolled descent and deployed the parachute which he was wearing. The pilot sustained serious injuries in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the local 14 CFR Part 91 flight, and no flight plan was filed.

The pilot wrote on the NTSB form 6120.1/2 that he was performing aerobatic maneuvers in the glider. The pilot wrote that after executing a loop he slowed the glider down, and then entered the glider into a spin. The pilot reported that after executing approximately 300 degrees of rotation in the spin he began a recovery. The pilot wrote that the rotation stopped, but the airspeed went above the never exceed velocity for the glider during the recovery. The pilot wrote that the glider then developed severe flutter, and pulling back on the stick more caused the flutter to intensify. The pilot reported that jettisoning the canopy resulted in an uncommanded roll of the glider to inverted. After the uncommanded roll the pilot reported that he exited the glider at approximately 2,070 feet mean sea level.

The glider's composite skins on the horizontal stabilizer, elevator, left wing and fuselage sustained wrinkling and were delaminated in the accident.