Recognizing and reacting to tow plane engine failure

On Sunday, October 26, 2014 8:59:46 AM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
The case of the towplane being on the ground and aborting takeoff when the glider is flying in ground effect is problematic.

On Sunday, October 26, 2014 10:27:28 AM UTC-4, John Carlyle wrote:
I don't understand why you call low level tow plane engine failure "problematic".

Problematic
noun
1. a thing that constitutes a problem or difficulty.

The problem is obvious: the glider pilot has very little time avoid collision.

jc:

I've seen two actual low level engine failures in ten years of glider flying (to be specific, the glider was flying and the tow plane was not).

Was there a collision?

I've seen the aftermath of one such aborted takeoff. The tow plane and glider collided (no human injuries).

What is the success rate for this maneuver?

On Sunday, October 26, 2014 10:03:20 PM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
Problematic
noun
1. a thing that constitutes a problem or difficulty.

It also means "untrue, unlikely or incorrect".

Was there a collision? I've seen the aftermath of one such aborted takeoff. The tow plane and glider collided (no human injuries). What is the success rate for this maneuver?

I've seen two cases that ended with zero damage.

-John, Q3