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Old February 28th 19, 04:51 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Jonathon May
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Posts: 82
Default TOW PLANE Accident

At 13:50 28 February 2019, wrote:
As a former tow pilot with just short of 7000 tows I can say I

have
experie=
nced two very sudden and violent kiting incidents. One at 2K

feet and one
a=
t just above 300 feet. Not every kiting incident is a slowly

evolving type
=
giving the tow pilot time to reach for and actuate the release. I

was
flyin=
g with a Schweizer hook conventionally installed and a release

handle on
th=
e floor of the Pawnee. In both incidents I was unable to release

the rope.
=
The 2K incident resolved when the glider pilot realized what he

had done
an=
d release, in the 300 foot incident the rope broke...fortunately.

I understand the tow plane in this incident had a Tost system

and a
guillot=
ine. My question would be..where was the release? Was it down

on the floor
=
or up where the pilot could easily grab and actuate it? I could

reach the
h=
andle in both incidents but again, the pressure was too great to

effect a
r=
elease. This is acknowledged in the SSA literature in BRIGHT

RED LETTERS
an=
d yet these conditions persisted at the time of my incidents. My
understand=
ing of the guillotine system is that there is no pressure on the

handle.=20

The autopsy seems to conclude there was no heart attack. The

pilot was 5'
1=
1" tall and weighed 190 lbs giving him a BMI of 26.5, just at the

low end
o=
f overweight. He had some mild to moderate coronary artery

disease, this
di=
d not appear to contribute to the problem. In addition the last

view of
the=
elevator appears to show it in the up position indicating that

the pilot
w=
as trying to get his nose up....a futile attempt until the glider is
releas=
ed.=20

The report indicates that the glider was approximately 250' AGL

when the
RO=
PE BROKE under the strain. The tow plane was estimated to be

63 feet below
=
the glider at the time based on a tow rope length of 160 feet.

This would
p=
ut the tow plane below 200 feet. My low kiting experience

happened at just
=
over 300 feet. Had the rope not broken I would have been

another
statistic.=
As it was I recovered at tree top level, slightly below some of

the trees
=
off to the side. I had just enough room to recover, the

gentleman who died
=
in this incident did not.=20

How long should it take an instructor to react when he can't see

the tow
pl=
ane? The proper reaction is TO RELEASE IMMEDIATELY. In the

second video it
=
was at 9 seconds when a snapping sound was heard FOLLOWED

by the release
be=
ing pulled. The report indicates that the rope broke under the

strain
while=
the glider was still attached. The instructor pulled the release

AFTER
the=
rope broke as I interpret the report.=20

If we can't expect an instructor to keep his eyes on the tow

plane AND
when=
he realizes the towplane is no longer in his line of sight to

release
imme=
diately, how can we expect a 15 year old on her 3rd solo to

react
properly?=
=20

JMHO

Walt Connelly



I am not making excuses for anyone, but last summer I was
conducting a trail lesson in a DG1000 .The tow pilot found a good
thermal and we climbed well, near my release height the tug
levelled his wings, then just vanished below my view.
I of course released immediately .
Afterwards the tug pilot, who happened to be our chief flying
instructor, had a little chat with me.
We decided he flew out of the side of the thermal out of+5 into-5
and so were in different air. Suffice it to say the time period was
between 1&2 seconds from all being normal and the tug
vanishing.
Thankfully we were at 2000 ft.