INVESTIGATION OF GLIDER SAFETY BELT BEHAVIOR UNDER ACCIDENT CONDITIONS

Abstract

Glider accidents in which the passengers were severely or fatally injured while the gliders themselves suffered only slight damage or none at all, led to the question whether safety belt systems in gliders offer optimum protection from the point of view of present-day safety research. In order to answer this question, the Federal Minister of Transport commissioned TUV Rheinland with an investigation of glider safety belt behaviour under accident conditions. Wherever applicable, possibilities for optimizing safety belt systems were to be derived from the results of the investigation.