The pilot intended to land the glider as close as possible to the hangar. On final, speed was increased to make good the touchdown point, then the aircraft was held in level flight at about 20 feet above the strip. As the landing gear was selected down, the nose dropped and the glider impacted the runway heavily. The landing gear failed and the glider slid for 47 metres on its lower fuselage before coming to rest. The elevator trim had been set nose down for high speed flight, and although a trim check is required, it was omitted from the pre-landing checks. The pilot said that when he changed hands to lower the gear, he may have relaxed the pressure on the stick in his left hand which moved forward under the influence of the nose down trim, resulting the nose drop and the subsequent heavy landing.
