- Date
- January 25, 2024, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Zephyrhills, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1202ZBurkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G103 Twin Astir
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Glider tow event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20240125004159A
- Case key
- 193709
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The glider pilot’s failure to release from the towline after the tow plane experienced a loss of engine power.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The tow plane and glider on tow had just lifted from the runway during takeoff when the tow plane experienced a loss of engine power. The tow plane landed straight-ahead on the runway. The glider continued in flight until it reached the limit of the tow rope and was pulled suddenly to the runway. The glider’s nose was crushed and the empennage separated. Examination of both the tow plane and the glider revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies. A postaccident operational check of the airplane’s engine revealed no anomalies, and the tow release mechanism on the glider functioned normally. According to the FAA Glider Flying Handbook, “Upon losing sight of the towplane, the glider pilot must release immediately.” Further, “…if the towplane loses power after the glider is airborne, the glider pilot should pull the towline release, [and] land ahead…”
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1202Z
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G103 Twin Astir
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3615
- Built
- 1982
- Airframe hours
- 7,317
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Glider tow · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 17, 2023
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- ZPH · Zephyrhills Muni, runway 01/19, 6,201 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 65
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 10,390 total · 3.3 in this make and model · 7,000 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- KLAL, 3 nm away
- METAR
- KLAL 251850Z 15008KT 10SM BKN034 28/19 A3015
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 31, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 15.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.