FAA Final Report N4116Y Glider Tug Upset
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2022
- A tug upset in an aerotow is rare, but can have deadly consequences. A glider pilot and their tow pilot need to be extra vigilent when flying close to the ground.
#creatornow #glider #pilot - Авто та транспорт
I'm a towpilot with over 4000 tows. We had a similar incident where the solo pilot in the front seat did not secure the rear seat canopy and it came open on tow. Instead of releasing from the towplane immediately and dealing with it, the glider pilot kited upwards and put the towplane out of control. The towpilot, not me, recovered control less than 100 feet above the ground. When towing, the towpilot cannot continuously monitor what the glider is doing. We can sometimes feel when the glider is out of position but if the glider pilot kites upwards, there's little chance we'd be able to react in time below a thousand feet. The few times I've been kited on when towing, the negative g's imposed on me prevented me from reaching down and pushing the release handle. I regularly remind glider pilots of our formation contract. I'll take him to lift and clear the area ahead of us, but if the glider loses sight of the towplane for any reason or for any length of time, the glider has to release immediately. The first rule of towing gliders: DON'T KILL THE TOWPILOT.
Interesting, as you said the mantra is Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. A similar thing happened to me flying a Pirat behind a Pawnee at about 200ft agl, the canopy flew open with a bang and my wooly hat went out too. I realised I would need both hands to pull the canopy shut. I radioed the tug pilot to fly straight and level, trimmed held the stick between my knees let go reached out and closed the canopy, let the tug know all was safe and carried on. The canopy lock was not the best and was kept in place with a bungey.
That would be scary! I’ve heard of others having similar issues with canopies, especially on older planes where the locking mechanism is poorly designed or just beyond tolerances.
@@Brian.Murray The lock was just a bit worn, I actually owned a Pirat, and the canopy lock was fine. I think on that occasion, it had not been fully engaged tbh. Yes, it was scary but needed sorting out. Unless the canopy came adrift, and damaged the tail plane the a/c would still fly. The pilot could have just stayed on tow until he reached circuit height and landed normaly, I could have done that too ofc.
Wow - at 200ft AGL, if the stick slipped out of your knees hold and pulled back the tow pilot would have very little chance to react. Assuming you had your options done right, you should have disconnected, IMHO.
A solution maybe a back release on the tow plane. IE. when the upward angle of the tow rope exceeds the tow plane envelope; the tow rope is automatically released. Or another solution could be a electronic sensor that measures the angle and initiates a release. In any case, the tow pilot has very little time to react to a glider kiting. The glider pilot has to release. The first instinct for the tow pilot is tow fly the plane. This isn't the first time or will be the last time (unfortunately) for this type of incident. We had a glider crash this year when the tow pilot had an engine failure. The tow pilot landed safely straight ahead and the glider didn't release (crashed).
killer thumbnail! couldnt get myself to NOT click on it
Towed gliders in New Zealand with a PA18-150 we never had a gilotine to cut the tow rope just a tow rope release which could be activated from cockpit
I might not be able to learn to ever fly glider from a tow to but I absolutely know how to release Let's just something I would do second nature.....rcglider pilot
That looks like the C83 airport in Byron California.
Yep, it was Byron.
From TikTok!, Shame this happened hope the family is doing well after this loss
It’s always sad to lose another pilot. At least they went doing what they love.