How true that is! :-) I still appreciate the freedom to make a mistake now and then here in the USA ;-). But I simply do not have the guts to try a 200 ft. auto-tow. After learning of this accident...I am pretty sure that never will.

We have a great amount of safety material & resources available here in the USA...I don't think regulation is the answer either.

Every time I read one of these stories on RAS about a fatal accident I am very, very saddened. And a little frightened. I did not know this gentleman. I often wonder what is it that I could be missing, or risking in my flying. What might I do to end up here as the subject of the discussion. Mid Air, Tow, Rigging error? I constantly think about these things (accidents I have read about), virtually every day before I fly. It is part of my checklist.

I think at the end of the day it simply comes down to personal responsibility. Its that simple. We want a deeper answer. We want something to blame.. But 99% of the time it is pilot error. We are all taking higher risks that the normal person. We choose to do this every time we fly.

It sounds as if this poor guy had a mechanical issue or he just made a terrible mistake. We are all incredibly vulnerable in the early phase of tow, including the tow pilot if on an aerotow. As sad as this is...many of us have probably been closer to an accident once or twice than we would like to admit. In this case he got caught on the wrong side of the same odds.

We are all our own pilot in command. Its that simple. We can all learn from it...but almost undoubtedly something like this will happen again some day (unfortunately) when the dust settles and time passes. That is what really scares me about these stories.