Near Death Experience in a Glider: Instructor Reacts! 

FAQ: Why don't gliders have an artificial horizon (AH)? most gliders don't have an artificial horizon for many reasons: - Although gliders often fly near cloud, we rarely fly IN cloud. So we just don't need them. - A traditional mechanical AH requires a lot of power top power up a gyroscope. - Some countries it's not legal to cloud fly. - AH cost a lot. For a two seat glider, you'd need two of them, doubling the cost. - To use an AH you need training, which most people don't have. - Saying all that, some gliders do have them installed, and some countries it is legal to cloud fly. Would it have helped in this case? Maybe, as once in cloud it's the only way to know which way is up. But it wouldn't have stopped the situation, which was the glider was sucked down in the sinking air on the lee of the mountain range, due to lack of situational awareness...

"We're in trouble, mate" must be the worst thing to hear from your instructor...

Cumulogranite: clouds full of rocks. To be avoided by all aircraft without radar.

First of all, a big thank you to the pilots for sharing this. There are many who would cover this up. The blaming even here illustrates why many will say: "Let's not mention this to anybody". Many clubs would be tempted to impose strong sanctions against the pilots. That subtle little turn left wasn't caught in time by the instructor and the reported 40 kt crosswind did the rest. It's an excellent lesson in how quickly an apparently minor move can go seriously wrong.

Excellent video! I will share it on my channels!

That was truly frightening. When I became a glider instructor, my instructor told me my number one job was to make sure the student didn't kill us both. Your analysis of how this situation developed is spot on. Here in the US, cloud clearance requirements are large and unfortunately are often violated by glider pilots. I suspect that happens elsewhere as well. Your channel is great!

It doesn't even have a fuel indicator, dangerous.

They took the wrong exit off the highway and ended up in a real bad neighborhood.

Thanks for version 2 of this video, and the added information. I want to thank the pilots involved in this incident in allowing the share of their experience. They drew a lot of criticism, some unwarranted and exaggregated, but I think they save 1 or 2 lives for sure.

What a great analysis of how a near disaster can sneak up on a fun day out. My thanks also to the pilots involved for allowing us all to learn from from their experience. So pleased to hear that they are both back flying.

This is the 3rd and by far the best explanation and commentary on this incident (the others being Blancolirio and Mentor Pilot, both powered pilots). Thanks.

Hell, that all started to fall apart REALLY quickly! Good to know that everyone was OK. This type of level-headed reflection on a near-disaster is key to improving safety for all.

This scared the bejeezus out of me just watching it. It's interesting when looking at BGA accident statistics to see how many times "instructor failed to take over in time" is writ large among the contributing factors. Not wishing to deride the instructor in this case because Im sure we've all taken our eye off the ball at times but it looks like a classic example. It is always a fine balance between allowing a "learning experience" and asserting authority but close up against a ridge line covered in orographic cloud is not the place to indecisive, especially when the student is a novice on ridge flying. To state the bleeding obvious, that flight could so easily have been just another statistic!! Thanks for the analysis, Tim. I'm so glad the two pilots were safe, albeit more by luck than judgement, and that they 'got back in the saddle', so to speak. Remember, "Bloggs is always out to kill you and the more advanced Bloggs is, the more devious he/she is in the methods of trying to kill you"! :- Dave Bullock, Senior BGA Instructor Examiner. That comment stuck with me to good effect, all the years I was instructing.

With due respect, the key from this lesson is that "INSTRUCTORS ARE HUMAN TOO", if you are a pilot, don't be afraid to speak up when you feel something's not right. Well done for the Student pilot for saving both lives and well done to Instructor to recognizing his mistake and allowing Student pilot to take over control.

I actually had an awfully lot of anxiety watching this. Probably the only reason I don't have my license. So glad things worked out for them but it doesn't get much tighter than this! Thanks for sharing, wow just wow!

That is about the most visceral way possible to learn the meaning of “lee side”. Your clear explanation stopping at perfect moments to note the instruments and what that meant about where they were in relation to the ridge was as near perfect as i could imagine. It should allow a-lot of people to understand the lee side while only needing to pucker vicariously. I thought that when the camera flew off they had actually stopped in the trees the first time i saw this.

Please keep content coming! My first year of gliding was last year, this year I will be working towards my solo. Just got all my simulator equipment to practice at home. Thankyou for the effort and amazing insight.

Thanks so much for your in depth analysis and the permission of the pilots to do so. As a low hour pilot I have learned a number of lessons from this. Keep up the great videos. Just received my t-shirts btw……very happy with the quality. Thx.

I am studying to be a glider pilot and my instructor always demonstrates clearly and safely what will happen if you lose your attention. For a moment of carelessness, you can pay with your life. Cool videos and explanations, learn better from other people's mistakes, you are doing a great job.

I mean lets be real... they are playing with their lives in that much cloud with 0 instruments to help should they lose the horizon. I would never do this....way too easy to get into cloud without even an attitude indicator you are done.

Blimey! When the dip below the clouds need arose to reacquire situational awareness, and the airspeed rocketed up, it made me nervous. Tremendous the pilots were willing to share this for all to learn from. Will share this on my channel too. Love your videos and getting to see the NZ landscape. As an ex-pat, I don't know when I'll be next down to see the whanau, so your channel is a bonus.

Excellent review. My take on this with limited gliding and powered flying is that the aircraft was in trouble from the first second of the video. They were not equipped with an artificial horizon so should not have been anywhere near, and certainly not above, the cloud.

Oh my. Thanks for sharing and bery good analysis. Lesson learned. Hope you don't mind sharing this video during recurrent training. Really good job!

Thanks for the narrative. Nice job!

Thanks so much for this summary and lessons to be learned !

An interesting detailed analysis. I do not know what New Zealand’s cloud clearance requirements are, but in the US these pilots flew for an extended period in violation of those rules passing numerous opportunities to get clear of the clouds and terrain. I imagine the NZ rules are very similar.

Thank you for making these videos!

10/10 mate, thanks for posting!

Thank you for sharing. Brings back some real memories. 👍🏼

Excellent analysis !!! Thanks !

That was a hell of an experience for the pilots and certainly a thrilling experience for me as a viewer. I have no experience in flying a glider but as a private helicopter pilot with a NZ license I know that where they were is not where I ever want to be. It looks as if they were so focused on getting lift over the ridge that they forgot to fly safely. My first reaction was: "Why are they going for the cloudy side of their flight? As a viewer I wondered why the instructor did not stop it and escape to the right. So glad they survived and that their video will help others to do better.

Great video , great lesson for pilots! Thanks!

Thank you for this instructional video. It will be useful to many aircraft pilots

Just watched this video after watching the Mentour pilot walk through and I just wanted to say well done to both the student and the instructor for getting out of such a scary situation in the way they did. Many years ago when I was a teenage student enjoying glider training I had a near miss with a helicopter flying low out of trees across my winch line on take off when I was at about 100ft and know how quickly you have to react! It was a long walk back!! Truely hope that the student has carried on flying after this and well done to the instructor for not trying to take control when things went pear shaped. Mistakes made should always be a learning tool and thank you for sharing.

Great video. Big respect to the pilots on sharing this cautionary incident

Woah a great example for as a pilot you always need to keep situation awareness otherwise you get your close call if you're lucky, or you die. Watching this gives anxiety for a good reason, gee. That one was so close I couldn't imagine it any closer for a happy end. I'm glad they are back in the air! Yep you need some reinforced steel ropes as nerves and some pair of brass to keep your stuff together in a situation like this and to be able to survive. Piloting is all about awareness and a sharpened mind. Even a bit of fatigue might get you into your grave pretty quickly. Thanks for sharing, thanks for the analysis - I'm sure this video will save lives!

This was excellent and all credit to the student and instructor for posting the original video.

Scary stuff, and a good lesson to learn. Also important to note is that moist air forced up by the mountain can turn into cloud in seconds. Once, while Paragliding in front of a 1300m high mountain, I went from unlimited visibility to zero visibility in a matter of seconds, when a cloud formed right around me!

Thank you and the pilots involved (specially the instructor) for sharing, very glad there was a happy ending. I instruct in the French Alps so can totally relate to the rapidly developing situation. I very quickly learned that the margins when instructing in the mountains or in wave are very very small indeed, even when flying with experienced students and even when away from the ridge or cloud. One thing i would say is that once the instructor took control he should have kept control until landing in my opinion. The conditions were clearly very difficult and no longer appropriate for training. We are lucky in the UK to be allowed to fly in cloud and it is a skill i always keep up to date, including practicing limited panel.

Obviously the camera angle doesn't necessarily show us everything but I am a bit surprised the pilot/student decided to veer left when the clouds were clearly occluding the ridge/terrain. I guess it is one of those situations where the student feels 'safer' because he/she assumes the instructor is a safety net & would have intervened but he/she should not forget that they had the controls. Glad they got to land safely, learn their lesson and put it to good use in their subsequent flights.

my flight instructor also showed me this video I think it's so great that you can learn so easily from other people's mistakes these days

Bloody Hell. Watching this again after the first video you had on it & this still scares the crap out of me. Fantastic review though Tim. Balcolirio & Mentour Pilot also did reaction videos to this & maybe other channels. Not sure about the permissions though. You were te first channel I follow to cover it. Thanks for sharing, big lessons learned for sure!

They had a guardian angel! Thanks guys for sharing this video. Take care!

Thank you great video great narration, my heart was in my mouth god knows what it must have been like at the controls, just shows how quickly something can go wrong

Great advice. I have been sucked up in the clouds in a hang glider in 1975 while ridge flying. I was lucky to make it out alive. Moved to sailplanes and loved it.

great breakdown and that raised my adrenaline sharply

Very well summarized and analyzed, thank you for sharing this video! What I noticed is that a second variometer can be heard (17:50). I use XC Soar from time to time, the acoustic vario of this app sounds exactly the same. If the flight instructor used XC Soar, he could have seen that they are being moved over the edge of the ridge, even if a cell phone is not proper instrumentation for a cloud flight in IMC. Thank God everything went well!

Lee side rotors are nasty. And they can be deadly if one loses visibility like in this case. Lots of wrong decisions prior to that and I am really glad pilots managed to get out of this alive. Lessons learned indeed. Thanks for commenting and posting this very educational content, Tim.

Thanks for the analysis Tim. I to first saw this on Blanco's and Mentour Pilots channel, hence ended subscribing to your channel when Peter mentioned you. Not a Pilot myself but I must ask, are gliders not fitted with gyro's? I would have thought it an essential instrument to be able to gauge the attitude of the glider especially in this scenario with cloud whiteout. The call of 'spin, spin' is a little confusing given we don't know the attitude of the glider. I would have thought they may have been spiralling down, not spinning. Brings back memories of skiing in a whiteout and the weird sensation of not knowing if you're going down or traversing a slope.....and that possibility that you may just ski off a ledge....or hit something.

Flying gliders mostly in flatland, this is a reminder of the dangers when clouds and mountains mix. Not blaming the pilots, but feel there are taking quite some risks, also flying kn between clouds in the beginning. A reminder that flying is not inherently dangerous, but very unforgiving. So happy they walked away. Phew it's difficult to watch.

When first watching the clip of the video posted before, I was scared when the last view of the ground vanished at the right side, the glider still heading right into the clouds without seeing the ground any more. Though I would have thought it wise to turn at least 90 degrees to the right much earlier, this was the last moment it was possible to do relatively safely. Entering between the cloud banks without ground view, relatively low over a ridge made me feel sick. I am very glad the pilots survived this potentially lethal situation unharmed. The video shows 2 things quite clearly: 1. how fast you loose control in clouds 2. how dangerous such a situation can be. Thanks for the analysis.

What a scary situation! I am glad everyone is okay.

Glad to hear they're both flying again... with each other I wonder.

Great video, boy oh boy, how they didnt get killed is incredible!

THAT was a ring tightener! Glad they’re OK. Just starting back out after 30 odd years on the ground and I’m finding these videos very educational. You never forget though, I found myself yelling “turn right, turn right” when you still could see clear air to the right. WOW

Thanks for the explanation, had no idea what I was looking at in the original video being a land-lubber

One extra tip - keep your phone charged up to avoid having to work with a less capable/less familiar backup device (that PDA this video mentioned)

Thank You for Your excellent review and analysis of what happened! It may save lives. Also want to thank the pilots for allowing this to be published, that takes guts, hope the NZ authorities think likewise... I noticed that their glider had no turn indicator gyro. All gliders I have flown here in Sweden have been so equipped. Will try to get a glider instrument rating next summer if possible. Cloud flying with gliders is legal here but restricted to certain areas. It is also a safety factor when flying in wave conditions, we had a fatal accident at the Kiruna wave camp a few Years ago.

A friend of mine showed me today this video and I couldn't believe how someone can end up in that situation going inside the clouds over a ridge... Thanks for this explaination, made sense.

Kudos to the pilots for sharing this. And also kudos to them both for managing to get out of it. Sure the lapse in judgement could have been avoided on both parts. But crap happens, nobody is perfect. And they cooly recovered and held it together and got down safe, which is most important. And didn’t damage the glider 😅😅

Craziest suction cup phone mount ad I've ever seen: that thing STICKS :P

On my first solo qualifying flight at RAF Locking I flew straight off the winch and into cloud. Muscle memory got me to fly into the downwind leg whereupon I hit VFR again about half way. Made the rest of the circuit ok only to land and have the CFI send me off twice more to quailify. I have often debated with myself as to the right and wrong of this but he had far more faith in my capabilities than I had; I think it was a case of "Get back on the horse".That was about 50 years ago but I can still remember the experience. Taught me to stay the hell away from low cloud :-D

Great video.

Still makes the hairs on my neck stand up seeing this again.

Being able to see, having a safe route to land, even if that is an out-landing come way over the need to gain a couple of hundred feet. Plus surely the out-landing options near the airfield are good and known. Flying out away from the ridge gives them the option to assess an out-landing away from it and also assess returning to the ridge to gain the height needed for a glide back. Plus there may have been options for some lift on the way back. It was more than that one last turn. Staying not only out of clouds but a safe distance away also is a must, if only to give you the visibility to give you different options than the single one option they seemed intent on following. Thank you to the pilots for sharing. I know it can be easy to become complacent and be oblivious to potential danger. Understanding why rules are in place is just as important as knowing them. Can you bend the rules for flying near clouds? Perhaps if you’re thousands of feet above any possible ridge, but don’t bend them when you know there’s a ridge there.

wow that made me feel sick watching that. i have never experienced that while watching a video. im glad to hear these guys are ok. wow what a ride.

Wow. Thanks to the two pilots for sharing this! Everybody walked away and learnt from this!

Perfect commentary

My first time seeing a student who takes the control from the flight instructor in a dangerous situation so they don’t crash. Usually it’s the other way around. Thank you for analyzing the video 👍🏼

It might be worth pointing out that different countries have different rules for gliders flying in cloud. In the UK glider pilots can get a cloud flying rating that allows them to fly in cloud. This rating is generally used to cloud climb in cumulus clouds at the top of a thermal when there is plenty of height to play with, or to descend through cloud if you have been caught out, when wave flying for example. It is certainly not equivalent to an IMC or instrument rating. I don't know this for certain, but I have the impression that less cloud flying is done in the UK these days, probably because most modern glass fibre gliders do not have speed limiting air brakes, so if you do lose control in cloud you are very likely to exceed VNE before you can recover. If you do decide to fly in cloud it is important to prepare yourself mentally, and be flying on your giros before you enter cloud. Even with training and suitable instruments, if you enter cloud unexpectedly in a modern GRP glider you are likely to lose control.

I really like your way of analyzing what happened. I'm a gliding flight instructor and flight examiner and will certainly be sharing this video with my students. For what it's worth, flying inside cloud (and especially coming out of a tall towering cumulus at high altitude) is one of the essential appeals of soaring for myself. However, here in Finland we do it while thermalling over flat ground and usually with at least 3000 ft of cloud base. Obviously the licensing and operation rules for IMC flying are followed and we have good procedures for radio traffic, and most importantly we're running the required instrumentation and train how to fly on instruments. Even if my pilot license, aircraft equipment and local rules allowed me to fly within or close to cloud, I would never dare to chase lift near a cloud that actually contains the ridge inside, i.e. cloud base is below the ridge top. However, using the skill and instruments for IMC flying, the video's situation would have been salvageable even from within the cloud. Just turn headwind for level flight and watch the speed. But as we see, without the instruments and skill, it's impossible for even the most experienced pilots. Thanks again for the superb analysis and presentation that's a pleasure to watch.

As a model airplane pilot who aspires to fly full scale aircraft, this was helpful to understanding what things a pilot has to keep in mind. Also, I have a model glider, but mine has a motor. That would have been useful to avoid those clouds.

This video seems to start a little later than the first clip that circulated on RU-vid. In that clip, they also went behind a cloud, but popped around the other side quite quickly. This situation they flew into looked similar (well as much as clouds can look similar when you're flying), but didn't resolve in the same way. To me the real danger seems to be that they had already "gotten away with it" once before, setting them up for trouble. On that previous time they had gone behind the cloud without seeing the blue on the other side, at least from the camera point of view. I suspect there was not as much lift next to the fluffy clouds as there was next to the main body of clouds, and they had possibly flown a large extent of this flight with cloud bank to the left, fluffy blobs to the right. The fluffy blobs gradually increasing in size until they merged with the body at the fateful turn.

lesson number 6. Bring a clean pair of underwear on each flight.

Also a motor and a prop would be nice too

Scary! So pleased they survived. I couldn't see it mentioned that the green flashing light is the ballast indicator light on this DG1000S glider. Each flash indicates one unit of tail ballast (up to 10 can be carried). The pilots must ensure the glider is correctly ballasted for their weight before takeoff. This is usually done by visual inspection of the ballast weights, but the DG1000s also has this indicator light. After checking, the front seat pilot normally presses the light prior to takeoff to extinguish the light. It has nothing to do with the cause of the incident.

What a nightmare 🥶 Thank you for sharing the video and the lessons learned. I got shrinking balls watching this vario, quietly turning to sinking like hell! Is it some kind of suicide setting, turning off sound while negative ?

Oh wow!Terrifying! I found myself exclaiming out loud when they turned left. They were definitely too close in to the cloud by quite a large margin, staying outside of the fingers of protruding cloud, even if it meant accepting less lift, would have been a million times safer.

Omg, this is scary.. My feelings where to get out of the clouds asap and turn right. Luckily this went well for them!

Hi Tim that was dammed scarey!! Do you know a pilot called Ged Terry I believe he flew in NZ?

I'm wondering about the need to calculate the final glide here. Should an experienced instructor be able to judge if they are in gliding distance of the field during a local flight (assuming they are flying from their home site)?

Great video - I qualified PPL in nov 19 and quickly picked up a copy of “how and why pilots die.” This book should be essential reading for any new PPL’s as it describes one of the biggest killers “VFR into IMC.” As tempting as it is to fly around the clouds you’re asking for Trouble without proper instrument training. I have since started my instrument training and it certainly sharpens up your skills. Thank you to these two guys for sharing this video of one of your darkest moments as a pilot, i can imagine it’s embarrassing for yourselves but don’t feel like that, you got home and managed to give us all something to learn from. Well done sirs!

That must have been the best high five of his life back on the ground! XD

It seems another major factor here may be confusion over who is in command. The student takings control whilst the instructor is doing his best to fix the problem, the instructor is PIC and as such the student should have allowed the instructor to fly the plane.

As soon as they lost sight of the ridge they should have abandoned their goal. I can't believe they had the nerves to do this. That flight was one big gamble. and what about other traffic? no way to see it coming. Respect for the pilots to post this video.

Why the student didn’t slip out down and right out into the valley is very surprising. Ultimately this was an unforced communication problem, Great examination of what happened as always. 👍😎🇬🇧

Ok. That makes some sense. Keep away from those cloud formations and all will be fine. Thanks again.

Just when I thought he'll turn right - you stopped and said watch this next ....he turned left ....( actually was pushed by wind )..... boy was i sweating just watching this expecting accident . Thanks God they pulled it of.....( this time ) .....

An animated reconstruction of this without cloud would be incredibly useful. Its scary to think you could be blown back over the ridge without being aware. Great saves from both as an instructor im not sure i could allow a student "screaming i have control" to carry on but them both fighting the stick would have doomed them im sure great trust from both and some facinating insights

I we t to a safety seminar at Jandakot Perth recently this was a case study as VMC into IMC is a top safety issue for pilots

Also I am sure this video will stick in the minds of a lot of pilots and possibly save future lives!

This is a very frightening video, but nevertheless it is a very good example how a little inattention or rather incorrect assessment of the situation can have life-threatening consequences.

It was a Dg1000 right ? i just did my spin instruction in that a few days ago i usually fly the ask21 but the dg spins better

at 19:40 I thought they crashed. Did they pull so many G’s the camera flipped?

Jolly good show, mate. Any tips for flying with a pug dog?

That is so scary. They are very lucky to be alive.

I flew a couple of weeks ago in a glider at Aero Club Salland in the Netherlands. The first thing a learned, it’s not allowed to fly in the clouds. You can’t see other gliders around you

Off to find some fresh knickers. I felt the pucker when they skimmed the top of those trees.

Frightening,keep out of cloud in sailplanes,things happened so quickly there,thank you for showing this important video.

Wow...I felt panicked just watching that. Crazy how fast bad things can happen.