Another fatality on Sunday in South Africa - with a Cessna glider tug crashing just on the initial part of the flight. Eye witnesses seem to have seen the glider (Ventus CM) kite and force the tow plane into the ground. A very experienced tow pilot and gliding instructor will be sorely missed by the gliding community.

Here is the link to the active thread on the AvCom site regarding this incident including the eye witness account. Registration on the site will be required to view the topic. http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewto...p?f=9&t=130916

Whether an automatic release would have saved the plane and pilot can be speculated but its certainly worth investigating if it will save lives from being lost in this type of accident.

Clinton