# Accident 19981005046189A: Cessna 305A, Warren, VT, October 5, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 5, 1998, 14:30 local time - Place: Warren, VT - Airport: Warren/Sugarbush Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 44.1174° N, 72.8270° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at WARREN-SUGARBUSH (0B7), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.1174&lon=-72.8270&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5213G, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5213G) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 305A (registry code 2074002, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-305a) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental O-470 series (registry code 17026, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 305A - Reported engine: CONT O47011B - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 5,078 total, 1,245 in this make and model, 80 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD99FA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99FA004) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981005046189A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.4) DURING TAKEOFF FOR A GLIDER TOW OPERATION, THE TOWPLANE AND THE GLIDER BOTH BECAME AIRBORNE. AN FAA INSPECTOR WITNESSED THE TAKEOFF AND SAID HIS ATTENTION WAS DRAWN TO THE 'ERRATIC PITCH CHANGES' OF THE GLIDER. THE GLIDER PILOT'S CANOPY WAS OPEN, AND THE PILOT REPEATEDLY ATTEMPTED TO CLOSE THE CANOPY. PITCH CHANGES AND CLIMBS ABOVE THE TOW PLANE ACCOMPANIED EACH ATTEMPT TO CLOSE THE CANOPY. AS THE TOWROPE REACHED A VERTICAL POSITION, THE TOWPLANE STRUCK THE GROUND, NOSED OVER, AND CAME TO REST INVERTED. THE TOWROPE SEPARATED, AND THE GLIDER CONTINUED PAST THE TOWPLANE, ROLLED LEFT TO AN INVERTED POSITION AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE TOWROPE IN USE AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT EMPLOYED A 'SWEITZER RING' TO ATTACH AT THE TOW PLANE AND A 'TOST RING' TO ATTACH AT THE GLIDER. BOTH RINGS WERE ATTACHED TO THEIR RESPECTIVE AIRPLANES AND BOTH RELEASE MECHANISMS WERE OPERATIONAL. ACCORDING TO THE 1998 SOARING FLIGHT MANUAL SPONSORED BY THE SOARING SOCIETY OF AMERICA: 'WHEN THE SAILPLANE IS TOO HIGH, IT CAN PULL THE TAIL OF THE TOWPLANE UP, MAKING IT DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, FOR THE TOWPLANE TO TAKE OFF... IF CORRECTIVE ACTION IS NOT TAKEN, THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE FOR THE TOW PIL ILOT IS TO RELEASE THE TOWLINE...IF FOR ANY REASON, THE SAILPLANE PILOT LOSES SIGHT OF THE TOWPLANE, HE SHOULD RELEASE IMMEDIATELY.' (-23) ON OCTOBER 5, 1998, AT 1430 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 305A, N5213G, AND A BURKHART GROB G103C GLIDER, N103VT, WERE DESTROYED AFTER COLLISION WITH TERRAIN DURING TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 04 AT THE WARREN SUGARBUSH AIRPORT (0B7), WARREN, VERMONT. THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT IN THE CESSNA RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. IN THE GROB, THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES AND THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL SIGHTSEEING FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED AT 0B7, AT 1430. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE AIRPLANES WERE INVOLVED IN A GLIDER TOW OPERATION. THE GLIDER PILOT WAS TO PROVIDE A SIGHTSEEING TOUR OF THE SEASONAL FOLIAGE TO THE PASSENGER. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB IAD99FA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99FA004), Oct 5, 1998: Cessna 305A (N5213G), Warren, VT, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The glider pilot's failure to perform the emergency tow release and abort the takeoff. A factor in the accident was the glider pilot's improper decision to make repeated attempts to close the canopy… ## Other reports on N5213G (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20170802016859I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170802016859I), Aug 2, 2017: Cessna 305A (N5213G), Westerly, RI, Substantial damage. The airman was returning from a sight seeing trip. The airman lined up with runway 14 and at the time, the wind was 180 degrees at 9 knots. In the airman's… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.