Tow Signals

Tony Verhulst wrote:
SAM 303a wrote:
Had one of these 6 weeks ago.
Both of us 15-20' off the ground with 1500+ ft of runway ahead and the
window popped open on the Pawnee. He shut down......

What am I missing? The window pops open on a Pawnee, big deal - keep going.

Tony V. LS6-b "6N"

Tony I am not a Tow Pilot but a friend was killed by the opening
window on a Pawnee
tow plane.
If the front hinge mounts are damaged or weak in any way the abrupt
wind force can break the hinge point and the window will pivot on the
rear hinge and flail in the slipstream, this happened and killed or
knocked unconcious the towpilot in flight, we knew this happened in
flight because of the stream of blood on the fuse.
Unfortunately the canopy handle is at the perfect position to hit the
the Temporal artery on the head if it lets go.
It has been mandatory to wear a crash helmet when towing in the Pawnee
ever since.