20220807014239A

On August 7, 2022, at 2:46 pm this office became aware of this accident when inspector privacy data omitted received a call from the FAA south west regional operations center.a signed statement provided by the pilot indicated that while still flying down the runway under tow, he heard an unfamiliar wind noise in the cockpit. He then noticed that he got out of position with the tow plane. He released the tow rope because he lost sight of the tow plane. Pilot stated that at the time he released, it was a little past half way down the runway. He said that attempted to land straight ahead. He reached to deploy the airbrakes but was unsuccessful in deploying them. He indicated that he was not able to put his hands on the airbrake handle. When he approached the end of the runway, he still was not on the ground. The end of the runway has a row of tall trees, and he was well below the tops of the trees. He said he turned right past the last hanger taking him between the hanger and the trees. This changed his direction from a south direction, to a west direction. The glider came to rest maybe 100 ft. east of the last hanger in a grass field north of the trees. Pilot indicated he is not aware that he contacted anything but the grass field. Pilot indicated that he called the NTSB and reported the accident and was given permission to relocate the glider. Photos of the scene provided by the pilot show the empennage separated from the fuselage and connected to the fuselage only by the control cables. One winglet was off the wing and the tail wheel was severed damaged from the empennage.

On an email received from the tow pilot he indicated that once the tow line was connected and the slack was removed, he briefly waited for the glider pilot to wag his rudder, signaling their preparation for takeoff. Then, wagged his rudder and confirmed the wing runner's signal to launch. Closing the cockpit window, he applied full power and proceeded to have a normal takeoff. Pilot said that he rotated in the same spot as his previous tows and climbed out at the same rate and airspeed. Pilot stated that nearing 200'

AGL, he spotted the glider supposedly on tow much further right and lower than expected.

Anticipating to be yanked by the abnormally low tow position he readied the tow release in the cockpit, before realizing the glider was too FAR to still be on tow. The glider released and was now gliding down the runway. Clearing left closed traffic, he turned his sight back to see the glider approach and then turn west of the southern tree line bordering the glider port property. The pilot said this is where he hear a "mayday mayday" call over the radio. The glider's turn lasts a few seconds before impacting the ground and sending a very small cloud of dust into the air. Pilot indicated that he flew a normal left traffic pattern before taxiing to a stop and momentarily suspending operations while ground crew move to help the glider?s pilot. He immediately rushed to inspect the tow rope to determine if there was a rope break on takeoff, but no damage was found to the tow rope.

On an email provided by another pilot that was in the area he indicated that he heard about the accident, flew over then landed and went to help with recovery. He was the person that cut the cables and tubes to make easier the relocation of the glider. He said that he didn?t see the event, but once he heard that it happened, he landed to help the glider?s pilot.

He indicated that the fiberglass tail boom was broken a few feet forward of the vertical fin. The elevator pushrod was broken when the tail boom broke. The hoses and cables from the forward fuselage to the fin were all intact. After receiving permission to move the glider he cut all the cables and hoses to separate the fin from the rest of the fuselage.

On August 10, 2022, the reporting inspector examined the glider. The wings were removed and stored with the fuselage in an enclosed trailer. The empennage was detached and stored