Mid-air south of Calgary, two fatalities - July 26, 2019
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golden hawk
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Re: Mid-air south of Calgary, two fatalities - July 26, 2019
Terrible tragedy. Experienced folks there and tow pilots are high time military and airline guys.
Re: Mid-air south of Calgary, two fatalities - July 26, 2019
RIP Allan.Allan Wood, 68, and Adam Leinweber, 18, were both members of the Cu Nim Gliding Club.
Shocked he was involved.
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RatherBeFlying
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Re: Mid-air south of Calgary, two fatalities - July 26, 2019
"C-FPZE, a Cu Nim Gliding Club Cessna 182N, was conducting tow operations at the Black
Diamond/Cu Nim airstrip (CEH2), AB. C-FLTY, a Cu Nim Gliding Club Schleicher ASK 21 dual
seat glider, was operating at CEH2 with an instructor and student on board. C-FPZE departed
Runway 07 with C-FLTY in tow and proceeded to climb to 2000 feet above the aerodrome at which
time C-FLTY released from the tow plane. Shortly after release, C-FLTY and C-FPZE collided 0.5
nm southwest of the threshold of Runway 07. The collision resulted in the vertical and horizontal
stabilizers being separated from the glider. The glider entered a dive from which it did not recover.
The tow plane sustained damage to the propeller and right wing; however, the pilot managed to
perform a successful forced landing with idle power onto Runway 14. The student and instructor
were fatally injured; the tow pilot was not injured."
Used to tow gliders myself. Upon release, the towplane would turn left and start descending while the glider turned right and typically for a high performance glider, they would be climbing in a thermal the towpilot was nice enough to find for him. This one seems odd.
Diamond/Cu Nim airstrip (CEH2), AB. C-FLTY, a Cu Nim Gliding Club Schleicher ASK 21 dual
seat glider, was operating at CEH2 with an instructor and student on board. C-FPZE departed
Runway 07 with C-FLTY in tow and proceeded to climb to 2000 feet above the aerodrome at which
time C-FLTY released from the tow plane. Shortly after release, C-FLTY and C-FPZE collided 0.5
nm southwest of the threshold of Runway 07. The collision resulted in the vertical and horizontal
stabilizers being separated from the glider. The glider entered a dive from which it did not recover.
The tow plane sustained damage to the propeller and right wing; however, the pilot managed to
perform a successful forced landing with idle power onto Runway 14. The student and instructor
were fatally injured; the tow pilot was not injured."
Used to tow gliders myself. Upon release, the towplane would turn left and start descending while the glider turned right and typically for a high performance glider, they would be climbing in a thermal the towpilot was nice enough to find for him. This one seems odd.
Re: Mid-air south of Calgary, two fatalities - July 26, 2019
"Carelessness and overconfidence are more dangerous than deliberately accepted risk." -Wilbur Wright
Re: Mid-air south of Calgary, two fatalities - July 26, 2019
Used to tow gliders. They would go right and the towplane goes left. You could see them in the rear view mirror breaking off to the right as confirmation that it is not a conflict on your left side. Of course, one doesn't always look in the rear view mirror while flying but you could usually feel the release and then you check the mirror. On occasion, you don't feel the release and the aircraft is gone.
If there is any doubt such as in this case where the glider released in a right turn and its direction was not seen, best to continue straight ahead for a while and then eventually turn in the desired direction. It is highly unlikely that the glider will be catching up to you or even keeping pace with you. Gliders don't descend quickly, so a descent straight ahead will almost certainly increase separation horizontally and vertically. Typically, the glider is circling in the area where they released or turning to be able to remain fairly close to the airport if it is a trainer, so straight ahead for a while will almost always keep you clear while you lose altitude for the descent.
If there is any doubt such as in this case where the glider released in a right turn and its direction was not seen, best to continue straight ahead for a while and then eventually turn in the desired direction. It is highly unlikely that the glider will be catching up to you or even keeping pace with you. Gliders don't descend quickly, so a descent straight ahead will almost certainly increase separation horizontally and vertically. Typically, the glider is circling in the area where they released or turning to be able to remain fairly close to the airport if it is a trainer, so straight ahead for a while will almost always keep you clear while you lose altitude for the descent.
