Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango Eight
On Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 8:43:11 AM UTC-4, Walt Connelly wrote:
One might conclude from this thread that there is an acceptable
death rate among tow pilots
You state this like it's shocking.
There's a death rate associated with taking aspirin. Or lying in bed.
I looked up all fatal accidents for airplanes in the NTSB database containing the words "glider" and "tow". Back to 1970, it's 24. This link will open that search http://tinyurl.com/y9flwdkh
While there's nothing to celebrate here, that number is an order of magnitude smaller than the number you get in a search for fatal glider accidents over the same period of time (295) and nearly three orders of magnitude smaller than the number of all fatal accidents involving airplanes (22,062). If you sift through those 24 reports to find the fatal accidents where failure to release (for any reason) might have been a factor (many of the accidents happened well after the glider released normally) you might well be down to single digits. I've read about a third of them so far. In any event, you will get to a "small" number, albeit one with that came with catastrophic consequences for family, friends and associates in each and every case (as happened 22,000+ other times over hte same time frame in GA as a whole).. I have no death wish and I do not enjoy the prospect of unnecessary or easily avoidable risk to myself or my friends, and neither does anyone else I know.
Neither am I (or anyone else I know who tows) unconcerned about the potential for problems with the "Elmira Death Hook" (thanks, Gregg), but there's an awful lot else out there that (statistically) is far more likely to be our undoing, especially if we go soaring as well as tow. I do recommend towplane operators improve their release hardware at their earliest opportunity if they are still flying an EDH. And this is my own plan. In the meantime, as previously stated, we're still towing.
You'll do as you see fit of course. But I won't be at all surprised when no one at the FAA takes this very seriously, because on the numbers, they should have better things to do. If per chance someone does (Hi Steve, I hope you're reading!), then the right way to go is get helpful information in the hands of operators, not simply ground everyone.
There are STC'd kits for many towplanes available. By no means all, and mine is one of the oversights so no, I do not have the option of writing a $2500 check and making this happen immediately. Thanks for reading.
best regards,
Evan Ludeman / T8 |
Yes Mr Ludeman, there is a death rate associated with asprin and lying in bed. In the case of aspirin if you have a compromised GI Tract or if you take too much you can develop GI bleeding which can lead to death. I also recall a patient with a CVA which was later attributable to excessive asprin use. There are better analgesic alternatives these days to aspirin but it's cheap and easily available over the counter just as there is a better alternative to the Schweizer hook as installed these days. Lying in bed can result in thrombosis which if not managed properly can lead to stroke or death, I am well aware of these things. The difference is that they are usually self inflicted. If inflicted by others who knew or should have known of the potential negative results then penalties can apply. Failure of a medical staff to not properly care for an invalid patient is well known and can result in sanctions.
The difference here is that the tow pilot is placed in jeopardy by the unskilled or careless action of the glider pilot on tow. The tow pilot is then further placed in jeopardy by a mechanical device well known to failure just when needed the most. My point is that this is a largely correctable condition. My recommendation will be to at a minimum, invert the Schweizer hook and reposition the release handle so as to make it quickly available to the tow pilot. I am trying very hard to not inhibit the sport of glider flying while at the same time improving the survivability of the tow pilot at a critical point in time.
Yes, more glider pilots die in accidents than tow pilots but these are largely the result of a mistake made by the glider pilot. I am not suggesting that we can totally eliminate risk from the sport. I ride a motorcycle, I've sky dived, flown the jump plane, scuba dived (I now only dive with someone well known to me as a result of a near major accident) and I was a volunteer for the Vietnam Police Action. I've ridden a 12 speed racing bicycle on the road with cars, hunted wild boar with a handgun and long bow, all these things could have resulted in my loss of life. Pilots by the very nature of what they do are risk takers.
Perhaps until you find yourself at a very low altitude, unable to release from a kiting glider due to a design flaw in the release you will not understand. Yes we continue to tow. I did 8 more tows the day of my last incident. I continued to tow for a couple of more weeks after the incident with the same set up.
I am additionally well aware that there is an altitude below which a tow pilot will not be able to react quickly enough regardless of the equipment available. That is a risk we take.
Yes, the FAA may totally ignore my response, but then again perhaps a few glider operations will see the validity of my point and make a life saving change. For the record an entire country has addressed this problem and long ago mandated the changes I am suggesting here. I do have my supporters.
Have a great day,
Walt