Recognizing and reacting to tow plane engine failure

On Thursday, October 23, 2014 9:39:53 AM UTC-6, Evan Ludeman wrote:
On Thursday, October 23, 2014 11:30:05 AM UTC-4, firsys wrote:
So there are tuggles (new word) who are insensitive
to change in engine note and do not monitor the tach!
No surprise, unfortunately.

The other possibility is that we (mostly) have tow pilots with enough grit that they don't wave off or release at the first hiccup. This has been my experience.

T8

That "grit" is often an inability to make a timely decision.

A true, recent incident illustrates the point:

Tug (C-182) loaded to gross with survival gear, full fuel and two aboard attempts to tow a heavy glider with two aboard from a high density altitude airport with no off-field landing options. The takeoff runway is 7,700 feet long but uphill and downwind.

The tow barely misses the REIL lights on the departure end and then begins a descent down a dry wash toward a river. No wing wave is given and the glider does not release. Finally, with no option left except landing in swift, white water, the glider pilot sees a patch of unimproved desert slightly above him and releases. He uses his airspeed to gain just enough height to make a safe landing atop a small mesa ~ 500 feet below runway elevation. The tug takes several minutes to gain enough height to land back on the runway.

So, what went wrong? The tug had a problem developing full power. Probably a muffler baffle had come adrift partially blocking the exhaust - something hard to pick up on a run up. All have been tight lipped about the postmortem.

The decision to make the takeoff in the first place is questionable. The tug had not been test flown that day which, had that been done, would have likely revealed the problem. In any event a C-182 should not have full tanks for towing so the 'test flight' should have lasted long enough to burn off excess fuel.

The tug pilot should have released the rope while the glider still had room to stop on the runway when it became clear the takeoff roll was WAY too long. The glider pilot should have released while still rolling for the same reason. Once past the departure end, neither pilot had any real options until the patch of desert atop the mesa became available.

I always suggest selecting a "GO - NO GO" point on the runway where the glider can still release and stop if the takeoff is not going well. Had the glider pilot done this, he would have stopped at the downwind end of the runway so successive tows could have been downhill and into the wind. The tug pilot would have probably detected the lack of power and retired the tug until the problem was corrected.

On Thursday, October 23, 2014 12:38:09 PM UTC-4, Bill D wrote:
On Thursday, October 23, 2014 9:39:53 AM UTC-6, Evan Ludeman wrote:
On Thursday, October 23, 2014 11:30:05 AM UTC-4, firsys wrote:
So there are tuggles (new word) who are insensitive
to change in engine note and do not monitor the tach!
No surprise, unfortunately.

The other possibility is that we (mostly) have tow pilots with enough grit that they don't wave off or release at the first hiccup. This has been my experience.

T8

That "grit" is often an inability to make a timely decision.

Happily, that isn't *my* 28 years of experience. Yours may vary.


A true, recent incident illustrates the point:

Tug (C-182) loaded to gross with survival gear, full fuel and two aboard attempts to tow a heavy glider with two aboard from a high density altitude airport with no off-field landing options. The takeoff runway is 7,700 feet long but uphill and downwind.

It illustrates something, alright, but it isn't relevant here.

T8