On Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 9:51:01 PM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:
A disheartening repeat. A similar towplane-glider collision occurred Fall 2014. In that case, the towplane landed downwind due to noise abatement agreement.

The Pawnee can land extremely short. Seems like you should have a really good reason to land downwind.

As others have stated, it's really no big deal to land downwind in light winds. And there is a really good reason for doing it, as long as it can be done safely: efficient towing.

The whole point of aerotowing it to maximize launches. And landing downwind (or opposite traffic, if the wind is L & V or a crosswind) makes for an efficient operation - if done intelligently and the airfield configuration and traffic is suited to it.

I could argue that landing the towplane downwind is actually the SAFEST way to operate a towplane, especially on a single runway.

Of course, you do have to know how to fly your plane - and always follow the maxim that if you are going to crash, hit the softest, least expensive thing at the lowest speed possible...

Kirk