Originally Posted by
scifi
Fortunately this 'fly the aircraft into the ground' does not apply to glider pilots, who are all equipped with parachutes. At the first sign of anything falling off the glider, most glider pilots would jettison the canopy, and hit the silk.
Anything falling off would almost certainly be the result of a collision and yes, the parachute would normally be used. Running out of fuel (ie LIFT) would usually result in landing in a field, which is not an unusual thing for a glider. Some pilots own gliders with a retractable engine so would simply fly home. Not many club gliders are so equipped. So part of the sport is sometimes taking a glider home in a trailer. Though not all that often in smaller pieces than the manufacturer envisaged. This really has no relevance or comparison with a power pilot emergency landing.