On 5/24/2014 8:21 AM, John L Fleming wrote:
son_of_flubber;883103 Wrote:
On Sunday, May 4, 2014 12:27:10 AM UTC-4, Waveguru wrote:-
Premature termination of the tow at 100ft. Did not complete the turn
back to the runway. -

My sympathy to everyone touched by this tragedy.

Turning 180 back to the runway from only 100 feet AGL is unusual. I
wonder why he did that.

I've been watching this thread from day one. I'm back here in New York
and was a friend of Bob and am puzzled by the turn as he always had his
ducks all in a row. I'm too am a glider pilot and I find it hard to
believe he made a steep bank at 100 feet. Bob had accumulated 1000's of
hours in both fighters and the two single engine aircraft he owned.
MAYBE, there was something wrong with the Zuni and he released because
he couldn't control it?????? For instance........aileron linkage
failure. I would be interested in others thoughts on this. John

My condolences for the loss of your friend. I hadn't been in aviation but two
or three years before personal aviation acquaintances and friends began dying
in aviation-related accidents. All I could do was mourn their passing, try and
extract lessons for myself (if any), rationalize that they died doing
something they loved, and take some decision(s) for my own future.

Many glider pilots often roll their eyes at "the obviousness" of NTSB probable
cause conclusions (e.g. pilot failed to maintain sufficient speed), but one
thing I think NTSB investigators are quite adept at is establishing control
connection continuity, particularly in the aftermath of low-speed accidents as
this (where wreckage is minimally disturbed from effects of the crash itself),
so probably the best answer to your puzzlement can be expected to come from
the final NTSB report on this crash.

Bob W.