Further contributing to thread drift...

On 2/11/2020 9:46 PM, 2G wrote:
On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 10:53:29 AM UTC-8, Dan Marotta wrote:
When I was towing, I would visually confirm that the glider was off and
then roll steeply and dive. If I hadn't felt the glider get off, I would
fly straight and level for a bit to assure clearance before beginning a
more moderate descent. I also maintained awareness of any gliders that
had not climbed away.

I would blame both of the pilots in this accident but would assign most
of the blame to the tow pilot. Making what amounts to a level turn just
after release is asking for trouble.

On 2/11/2020 8:51 AM, Waveguru wrote:
This seems to happen every few years, where the tow plane makes a left
turn and the glider make a right and they come around and collide. I
changed the way we do it here so that the glider only makes a slight
right turn, and then keeps his eye on the tow plane, so that at least
one of the pair of planes can more easily maintain separation. When
both planes make a 360° turn, neither of them can see the other. This
kind of accident is the result.

Boggs

-- Dan, 5J

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

This sort of mid-air is - to me - excruciatingly: sad; horrifying; and
arguably 100% easily avoidable by every paranoid glider pilot. Color me a
paranoid pilot, who believes in controlling what *this* Joe Paranoid Pilot can
control.

Once I was savvy enough to be primary control-handler (i.e. *before* obtaining
my pilot certificate) I always - and I mean ALWAYS!!! - kept a beady eye on
the tug post-release, until I was 100% certain he could no longer hit me
without Mr. Tuggie actively trying to do so by applying power, climbing back
up, and sneaking into my 6 0'clock position. Perhaps 99% of the time, I'd see
him rolling left and soon-enough beginning the stoop back to the field. Those
few times this didn't happen (e.g. due to a "soft release" or a release not
felt due to turbulence or whatever), I'd halt my right bank and watch him
continue his climb until I either saw him figure out I was off and then
indubitably descend, or, until he was sufficiently high and far enough away
that I could begin my thermal search (necessitating turning my back on Mr
Tuggie, obviously) with sufficient clearance that he couldn't hit me *before*
I'd regained a visual on him.

My reasoning was simple. At the instant of release, my highest known-to-me
collision threat was Mr. Tuggie, so why would I NOT pay him close attention
until our diverging flight paths put him in the same category as all those
other not-yet-seen threats were to me? I actually told my ab-initio instructor
why I'd halted the post-release right bank once, when for some reason or
other, Mr. Tuggie briefly delayed beginning his stoop. He laughed and said
something to the effect, "That's fine by ME!"

Post-release "clearance by rote" is - as this terrible accident strongly
suggests - a seriously flawed methodology.

Bob W.