On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 11:46:52 PM UTC-5, 2G wrote:

You can't hardly blame the glider pilot: they were flying straight ahead and were struck from behind. The tow pilot is clearly the one at fault.

Tom

There's one thing we know for sure about accident reports: they aren't 100% accurate. I think we ought to hesitate to convict someone we've never met based on evidence that can't be verified.

That said...

The day I tow some doofus that

-chooses to release in a right hand turn
-does a soft release
-clears to my left

and doesn't immediately get on the radio to let me know what's going on and make certain he keeps me in sight until we achieve normal vertical separation... we're going to have some words.

In the glider, I teach (following release & right turn): 1) track the towplane, 2) find the airport, 3) get on with normal flight procedures. Our turns at separation are typically 90 deg left for the towplane and 45 or more right for the glider. OK to thermal once you are certain the towplane is out of the area.

Yes, the tow pilot had better options. 2020 hindsight he Given loss of situational awareness, or the vague awareness that the glider is somewhere out of sight, close and below, then a better thing to do is clear the area.. If you realize you've been victim of a soft release, then I think the thing to do is simply proceed straight ahead for at least 30s while beginning your descent.

That tow pilot has my deep sympathy. No one wants a do-over more than he does.

best,
Evan Ludeman / T8