# Glider tow event

- Type: NTSB defining event
- NTSB code: 510
- CICTT category: Glider Towing
- Defining event in: 23 cases
- In the sequence of: 45 cases
- Fatal cases: 7
- All cases: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/510/cases.md
- Cases with it anywhere in the sequence: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/510/sequence.md
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/510

## Cases per year (defining / in the sequence)

- 2008: 1 / 1
- 2009: 5 / 7
- 2010: 1 / 1
- 2011: 1 / 5
- 2012: 1 / 5
- 2013: 0 / 1
- 2014: 1 / 4
- 2015: 1 / 3
- 2017: 2 / 3
- 2018: 3 / 4
- 2019: 1 / 1
- 2021: 1 / 2
- 2023: 1 / 1
- 2024: 1 / 2
- 2025: 1 / 2
- 2026: 2 / 3

## Phase of flight

- Initial climb: 11 cases
- Takeoff: 8 cases
- Enroute-climb to cruise: 3 cases
- Enroute: 1 cases

## In the probable cause of these cases

- [Aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040) (Personnel issues): 6 cases
- [Decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520) (Personnel issues): 3 cases
- [Performance/control parameters, general](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000) (Aircraft): 3 cases
- [Aerial tow equipment section](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035301) (Aircraft): 3 cases
- [Use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015) (Personnel issues): 2 cases
- [Incorrect action performance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015) (Personnel issues): 2 cases
- [Climb rate](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062035) (Aircraft): 2 cases
- [Altitude](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012) (Aircraft): 2 cases
- [Spoilers](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01035755) (Aircraft): 2 cases
- [Terrain induced turbulence](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032010) (Environmental issues): 1 cases

## Aircraft models (registry)

- [Schweizer SGS 2-33A](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-2-33a): 3 cases
- [Piper PA-25-235](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-25-235): 2 cases
- [S.Z.D. SZD-48 JANTAR STD 2](https://openairdocs.org/model/s-z-d-szd-48-jantar-std-2): 1 cases
- [Slingsby CAPSTAN TYPE 49B](https://openairdocs.org/model/slingsby-capstan-type-49b): 1 cases
- [Schweizer SGU 2-22CK](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgu-2-22ck): 1 cases
- [Schweizer SGS 2-32](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-2-32): 1 cases
- [Schweizer SGS 1-34](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-1-34): 1 cases
- [Piper PA-25](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-25): 1 cases
- [Schempp-Hirth DISCUS CS](https://openairdocs.org/model/schempp-hirth-discus-cs): 1 cases
- [Schleicher ASW-27](https://openairdocs.org/model/schleicher-asw-27): 1 cases

## Newest cases

- [NTSB WPR26LA263](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26LA263), Jul 15, 2026: Schleicher ASW-27 (N920KB), Montague, CA, substantial damage, investigation ongoing
- [NTSB CEN26LA231](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN26LA231), Jun 23, 2026: Bailey-Moyes Dragonfly (N3849A), Whitewater, WI, no damage, 1 fatal, investigation ongoing
- [NTSB CEN25FA248](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25FA248), Jul 12, 2025: Piper PA-25 (N8186K), Hot Springs, SD, substantial damage, 1 fatal, investigation ongoing
- [NTSB ERA24LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA098), Jan 25, 2024: Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G103 Twin Astir (N1202Z), Zephyrhills, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The glider pilot’s failure to release from the towline after the tow plane experienced a loss of engine power.
- [NTSB GAA23WA182](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA23WA182), Jun 25, 2023: Robin DR400 (D-EWLA), Lienz, Austria, substantial damage, 1 fatal
- [NTSB ERA21LA330](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA330), Aug 15, 2021: Schweizer SGS 2-33A (N2805H), North Springfield, VT, substantial damage. Probable cause: The check pilot's failure to account for the extended departure distance from the airport during a simulated tow rope break and recovery.
- [NTSB GAA19CA506](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA19CA506), Aug 22, 2019: Grob G103 (N901BG), San Antonio, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the glider tow rope, which lodged in the glider's rudder and resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to properly secure the glider's aft canopy.
- [NTSB ERA18LA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18LA211), Aug 5, 2018: Schweizer SGS233 (N2832H), Churchville, MD, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilots' decision to take off from a wet, upsloping turf runway with a quartering tailwind and elevated density altitude conditions, which degraded takeoff and climb performance and resulted in…
- [NTSB GAA18CA222](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA222), Apr 22, 2018: Piper PA 25-235 (N7247Z), Saratoga Springs, NY, substantial damage. Probable cause: The glider pilot’s failure to maintain pitch during a CG aerotow, which resulted in the loss of control of the tow airplane.
- [NTSB ERA18FA128](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18FA128), Apr 14, 2018: S.Z.D. SZD 48 Jantar STD 2 (N456RM), LaBelle, FL, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the glider for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

NTSB has coded findings and defining events since 2008; earlier cases used its older occurrence and cause codes and aren't counted.

Findings: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings.md. Defining events: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events.md. Phases of flight: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases.md. Every investigation, filtered by finding, event, phase, state, year or model: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb.md (for example ?state=MI&fatal=1).

NTSB's definitions: Accident and incident, 49 CFR 830.2 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-VIII/part-830/subpart-A/section-830.2), CICTT occurrence categories (PDF) (https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/data/Documents/datafiles/OccurrenceCategoryDefinitions.pdf), CICTT phases of flight (PDF) (https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/data/Documents/datafiles/PhaseofFlightDefinitions.pdf), and NTSB coding manual, before 2008 (PDF) (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). NTSB publishes no definitions for its findings, only their names.

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