On Wednesday, November 13, 2013 5:22:14 AM UTC+13, son_of_flubber wrote:

PTT (Premature Termination of Tow)(aka rope break) correlates with a number of fatal accidents. How often has a hard_to_break towrope led to a fatal accident?

In the case of aerotow upset, if the rope doesn't break the towplane and glider will both hit the ground. That's a good reason to have a weaklink (or weak rope). I know of four tow upsets where I fly, fortunately all high enough to not hit the ground. Three weak links let go, one towpilot released manually. The towpilot who released had his first upset a week before the second, so he was primed and ready on the release.


--
Philip Plane