On Monday, June 18, 2012 3:13:11 PM UTC-5, Bill Palmer wrote:
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "since my decision is to always check my rudder first before releasing no matter what the tow plane is doing. If we always trained that way, we could eliminate this deadly but common mistake. "

My control (including rudder check) is before hookup. If I understand what you're saying, you work the rudder before release.
1) how does that eliminate this deadly mistake?
2)What do you do if you discover it to be jammed at that time? Tow back to a landing? That's hardly the best time to discover that, I would think. {that may sound a little snarky, but I don't mean it that way - just a genuine inquiry}


On Monday, June 18, 2012 12:46:53 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
On Monday, June 18, 2012 12:04:38 PM UTC-7, John Cochrane wrote:

Nope- If the tail dolly was on, glider is still flyable. Most likely speculation on may part-#1 rule broken here which is FLY THE AIRPLANE.
I have seen a few tail dolly incidents or the years, and in every case, the pilot had to be told that the tail dolly was still on.
Other bad rule broken- NO unrestrained people in the glider- ever.
Terribly sad
UH

Photos do clearly show the tail dolly on. That can't help a cg, though
as Hank says unlikely to move it too far aft unless already at the
back limit. It does suggest things getting hurried in the preflight.

Photos also show both spoilers full open. That could happen in a crash
of course, but might also be indicative of things going wrong. There
was a spoler-open crash earlier this year where the pilots
interepreted the rudder waggle as a wing rock (NTSB). This is a very
dangerous combination. If you don't know the spoilers are open, you
won't know to use the much lower-nose pitch attitude that spoilers
require. You're at 200 feet, not aware your spoilers are open, and in
a pitch attitude that will lead quickly to loss of airspeed. I've been
having towplanes waggle rudders at BFR rides for a while, quite a few
of them release.

And I have to agree with Hank. They let you carry kids on airliners,
but this ain't an airliner -- there's no stick in seat 37E either.
Small children won't get that much out of a glider ride that can't
wait until they can sit alone. I don't let rides even bring video
cameras any more. They won't produce good footage, they'll just get
sick looking through the camera, and it can drop in uncomfortable
places.

John Cochrane

While may not related to this accident, I understand there was another rudder waggle accident recently??
Just to show how confusing it is, I specifically asked in my last BFR to get a rudder waggle (I know, it is not as effective when you ask for it) - the instructor or tow pilot misunderstood and gave me a wing rock instead.. It was still effective, since my decision is to always check my rudder first before releasing no matter what the tow plane is doing. If we always trained that way, we could eliminate this deadly but common mistake.

Ramy

Friends ..
Being so crushed and speechless sitting "mind empty" at my desk .. not be able to gather thoughts, I decided to share with you something I am gathering keen observation on , which may or may not played a rule here but it may be equally important preventing another tragic accident.
I have been flying glass ships for a while, and kind of the ship I fly requires solid 60-65 knots on the tow. This is what makes me comfortable and provides me full control over her..
I have been flying in different places, and I noticed NOT A ONE TIME when tow pilot slowed down so dramatically in a deep turn (intentionally or not) ... that my stick become very.. very.. mushy (and some oscillation my shows up when getting in-and-out of the wake.
To cut some comments right away .. YES - I always ask for 65kts - 60kts min .. on the radio before a take off as a part of my pre-takeoff routine ..
Nerveless, things happen as I learned to live with unexpected ... My method is stay close to the wake (and hide there at the earliest speed drop) especially during early part of the takeoff and watching my release handle just-in-case .. before my wings drop beyond recovery ..
Believe me when I say then one tow pilot had a ASI in miles .. and did not translated my "knoted" requests to proper speed...
And sometimes tow pilots wants to pull me up as quickly as they possibly could ... since the weather is so nice ..and the WAITING LINE is long.

HEAVY TAIL (with a dolly -- but STILL FLYABLE) ... suddenly reduced speed on tow in a first turn ... maybe not much but enough to stall "out of balance" glider ... and pitching may be just a desperate case to wrestling last bits of control from stalling glider ... until the rope broke ..

Respectfully Yours - KiloCharlie