# NTSB investigations: Glider tow event

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB WPR26LA263](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26LA263.md): Schleicher ASW-27 · Montague, CA · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Jul 15, 2026 · N920KB · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s inability to see and avoid a piece of loose wire in a field during an off-airport landing in a glider, which resulted in a ground loop. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inability to maintain a safe position behind the tow airplane…
- [NTSB CEN26LA231](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN26LA231.md): Bailey-Moyes Dragonfly · Whitewater, WI · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report · Jun 23, 2026 · N3849A · No damage
  > On June 22, 2026, about 1915 central daylight time, a Bailey-Moyes Dragonfly, N3849A, was involved in an accident near Whitewater, Wisconsin. The pilot of the Dragonfly was not injured. The pilot of the hang glider in tow was fatally injured. The tow…
- [NTSB CEN25FA248](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25FA248.md): Piper PA-25 · Hot Springs, SD · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report · Jul 12, 2025 · N8186K · Substantial damage
  > On July 12, 2025, about 1322 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-25, N8186K, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Hot Springs, South Dakota. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal…
- [NTSB ERA24LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA098.md): Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G103 Twin Astir · Zephyrhills, FL · Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Jan 25, 2024 · N1202Z · Substantial damage
  > 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.md): Robin DR400 · Lienz, Austria · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 5 · Foreign · Jun 25, 2023 · D-EWLA · Substantial damage
- [NTSB ERA21LA330](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA330.md): Schweizer SGS 2-33A · North Springfield, VT · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Aug 15, 2021 · N2805H · Substantial damage
  > 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.md): Grob G103 · San Antonio, TX · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Aug 22, 2019 · N901BG · Substantial damage
  > 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.md): Schweizer SGS233 · Churchville, MD · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 5, 2018 · N2832H · Substantial damage
  > 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 the glider flight instructor's decision to discontinue the…
- [NTSB GAA18CA222](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA222.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Saratoga Springs, NY · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Apr 22, 2018 · N7247Z · Substantial damage
  > 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.md): S.Z.D. SZD 48 Jantar STD 2 · LaBelle, FL · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Apr 14, 2018 · N456RM · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain control of the glider for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
- [NTSB CEN17LA305](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA305.md): Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G102 Club Astir Iiib · Marion, OH · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 5, 2017 · N102BK · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to follow the before takeoff checklist, which resulted in an improper takeoff configuration and subsequent uncontrolled descent into terrain during a departure climb.
- [NTSB GAA17CA466](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA466.md): AB Sportine Aviacija LAK 17 · Uvalde, TX · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Aug 2, 2017 · N128LA · Destroyed
  > The ground crewmember’s failure to fully engage the tow hook release arm during preflight, which resulted in the premature release of the glider at insufficient altitude to complete a safe landing.
- [NTSB GAA15CA177](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA177.md): Centrair 101A · Hartford, WI · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · Jul 3, 2015 · N39KG · Substantial damage
  > The glider pilot's failure to connect the elevator to the elevator control rod during the assembly process, resulting in a loss of control, and a collision with terrain during takeoff.
- [NTSB WPR14LA367](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14LA367.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Warner Springs, CA · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Sep 6, 2014 · N7117Z · Substantial damage
  > The glider pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the initial climb while being towed, which led to the tow plane's unstable flight and its subsequent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the tow pilot's delayed release of the…
- [NTSB WPR12CA084](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12CA084.md): Schweizer SGS 2-33A · Peoria, AZ · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · Jan 28, 2012 · N17873 · Substantial damage
  > The glider pilot released from the tow airplane at a lower altitude than the planned altitude, which resulted in an off-airport landing.
- [NTSB ERA11FA401](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA11FA401.md): Slingsby Capstan Type 49B · Hollywood, MD · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Jul 15, 2011 · N7475 · Substantial damage
  > The glider pilot’s improper response to the “check spoilers” signal from the tow pilot. Contributing to the accident was the glider pilot’s failure to confirm that the spoilers were closed and locked before takeoff, and the glider copilot’s improper crew…
- [NTSB CEN10FA115](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN10FA115.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Boulder, CO · Accident · 3 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Feb 6, 2010 · N8718L · 3 aircraft · Substantial damage
  > The failure of both pilots to see and avoid the other resulting in a midair collision. Contributing to the accident was the lack of perceived visual relative motion of the Piper and the Cirrus to the pilot of each airplane, the terrain background, and the…
- [NTSB WPR09LA449](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09LA449.md): Schweizer SGS 1-34 · Lake Elsinore, CA · Accident · 1 fatal · Limited investigation · Final report · Sep 12, 2009 · N7656 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain control of the glider after the tow line released during the initial climb.
- [NTSB CEN09CA577](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09CA577.md): Ketonen Schreder · Ionia, MI · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Sep 5, 2009 · N161HP · Substantial damage
  > The pilot failed to maintain control of the glider during the aero-tow launch.
- [NTSB WPR09LA381](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09LA381.md): Schempp Hirth Discus CS · Williams, CA · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 2, 2009 · N7HV · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain after intentionally releasing from the tow plane at a low altitude during the initial climb.
- [NTSB WPR09CA368](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09CA368.md): Schweizer SGU 2-22CK · Ephrata, WA · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · Jul 24, 2009 · N3907A · Substantial damage
  > The premature launch signal given by the wing walker.
- [NTSB CEN09LA278](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09LA278.md): Glasflugel H201B · Meadow Lake Airport, CO · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · May 4, 2009 · N17TD · Substantial damage
  > A programming anomaly within the winch's computer aided launch control system, which incorrectly limited the maximum winch speed during launch of the glider.
- [NTSB CEN09CA007](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09CA007.md): Let Blanik · Gardner, KS · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Oct 4, 2008 · N48026 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's decision to attempt a takeoff when the climb performance of the tow plane and the glider were inadequate. Contributing to the accident were the high density altitude and the terrain-induced turbulence.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT e.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' e WHERE e."isDefiningEvent" AND e."tier2Number" = '510')
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/510/cases

---
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.