I wonder what the cloud clearance requirements are in NZ, and when they were violated.
Same as Canada, and yes. 5km visibility, 2km from a cloud, and 1,000' vertically. If below 3,000' ASML, 5km visibility and clear of cloud.
They were Class G where they were, but the eastern CTA for Palmerston North begins at 4,500' from pretty much where the video would begin based on when the one pilot says he can see Pohangina.
I don't understand the choice to turn left around the last cloud.
I do and don't. I do because the Ruahine Range turns slightly east between Pohangina and Ashurst a couple of km south. To keep over the terrain, they would have had to turn left. I don't because weather knowledge is pounded into pilots during license exams in NZ. Or it was when I did it. The weather in that area is the same as BC - that cloud just stacks up against the ranges and with a westerly wind doesn't go anywhere for days.
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Incident Location.jpg (129.86 KiB) Viewed 1595 times
Near CFIT implies Controlled Flight which is much too flattering for those moments they were in cloud. We're all grateful the glider stayed in one piece during an energetic recovery after coming out of cloud. That's when lots of GA aircraft come apart.
An AHRS might help you stay right side up, but the adjacent cumulo granitus might get in the way. They didn't miss hitting something by very much.
The bottom (green) is a G meter. You'll notice it go bonkers when they nearly crash.
Red and blue are the variometer (I believe it is a total energy variometer) and VSI. I'm not 100% certain which is which, but I believe the top red one is the vario and the bottom blue one is the VSI. The beeping sounds you here seem to correlate to the top instrument, and it tends to lead the bottom one - which makes sense because although a VSI has lag, a variometer typically has much less lag. Conceivably, they could also be two different types of variometers.
A variometer measures total energy delta - so in the case where you pull back on the stick and zoom, it will not read increasing energy, because although altitude is increasing, airspeed is decreasing. It helps glider pilots recognize when they are gaining altitude but still losing airspeed, at a quick glance. You could also perhaps be diving through some sort of lift, so although your VSI will read negative, your vario will read positive, as some external factor is adding energy to the plane.
Savage Poetry wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 5:37 pm
At 1:44 of the video we see the pilot makes a bad decision! It's clear on the right!! Why go towards bad conditions on the left. I don't get it
I couldn't make out from the conversation why they did that. I assume they were looking for lift, which would be found nearer the windward side of that hill. Someone more familiar with the area could speak better about it. I've never soared on ridge lift, only thermal lift.
This is what I could make out (I was bored today). It sounds as though the instructor was hoping to get in one last exercise before heading back to the airport, which is why he seems fixated on the weather in Fielding (the home airport). The student points out where Pohangina is, and the instructor seems to think that based on where they're going they'll be OK, so he continues with the exercise - maybe? Based on where I think this happened, Fielding would have been just to the right of the sun when the video first started, and at 0:38 had they flown around the cloud on the right, they would have been pointed damned near right at it.
After a while, the instructor realizes they're too far into the clouds and tries to command the student to "head towards Fielding," but by this time they're all but IMC.
Start
INS: “Try to climb as much as you can”
STD: “K”
STD/INS: [Garbled]
INS: “…so here ya hanging around there ah…”
STD: “[so]…get back to the ridge”
INS: “Yeah, just sorta, go in the middle of this here, just around…just wanna get as much lift as you can…and we’ll change it to um…[garbled]”
INS: “[Garbled]”
INS: “You’re doing a’right I think, just navigate….stay to…”
STD: “There’s Pohangina there”
INS: “Yeah, that’s [cloudy?]…Fielding is getting cloudy too. Fielding, getting [garbeled]…ok…decision [garbled]…we’ve got [garbled]…you’re gonna fly right through there, so that’s OK”
STD: “OK”
INS: “…and…stay with [garbled] as much as you can…there…four and a half thousand feet would be better…”
STD: “OK.”
INS: “…if you can get it.”
STD: “Hmmm”
STD: “I’ll pitch for that”
INS: “OK”
1:54
INS: “Right; I think; so, head towards Fielding”
STD: “Yep - should be out this way”
INS: “[It] should be… [sounds like three]… thirty-six I think…so come around a little bit further – you may have to go over the top of this cloud I think if we’re gonna go over it
STD: “Yeah – we’ll go out that…”
INS: “Yeah, yeah go through that gap there – we just don’t wanna blow over the uh um [garbled]…”
STD: “…the,uh, ridge”
INS: “the hill as well…[garbled]..yeah, so – as soon as we get out [garbled]”
2:33
INS: “[garbled] it’s not looking good…uhm…go down, get’s us out I think”
2:50
INS: “Oh, I don’t like this…[ugh or jesus]”
2:54
STD: “Oh, oh!”
INS: “GO!...Nah, I got it”
STD: “N’I don’t”
INS: “Yeah, I got it”
INS: “Expletive”
3:11
INS: “We’re in trouble mate”
STD: “Oh [expletive]! – Alright, nose down”
INS: “[Garbled] – Where are we? [Garbled]”
STD: “Oh..[garbled] low, well we’re pitching”
INS/STD: “Oh…”
STD: “…Expletive”
INS: “[Garbled]…”
STD: “Alright, I see the hill, I see the hill…”
INS: “[Garbled]…so we’ll head and get [down] under it”
STD: “yeah, g’down - alright”
INS: “…turned around”
STD: “Turn around, turn around”
INS: [Garbled]
INS: “Oh…[garbled]”
STD: “Oh expletive! Spin, Spin, Spin…”
INS: “Spin”
STD: “…nose down, nose down!”
INS: “[Garbled] – I’ve got it”
STD: “I have control”
INS: “[garbled]’ve got it…[garbled]”
STD: “I have control, I have control, I have control”
INS: “[Garbled]…control”
STD: “I have control, I have control”
INS: “Let’s get outta here”
STD: “Yeah, I have control”
INS: “Right – get down this hill”
STD: “Down here, down here – I have control”
STD: “I have control”
Mentour Pilot did a quite fair commentary on what he thinks happened. His basic theory is they were soaring on ridge lift on the windward side of that hill, a momentary lapse in judgement blew them too close to that hill, and everything went downhill from there (except the aircraft... no pun intended).
Pure Glide also released a commentary, with the blessing of both pilots involved. It's quite a good commentary I think.
The long and short of the explanation is: they were trying to get to 4500' to have enough altitude to make the field. They misjudged the winds at their altitude - the winds were 40kts into the ridge. They got blown over the ridge without realizing it, into clouds, turbulence, and downdrafts. And then everything went to hell.
Both pilots walked away after an off-field landing in a pasture, both pilots have flown since, and the glider was undamaged.
