Towing Accidents 1998-2013
The following extracts come from multiple years of SSF(Soaring Safety Foundation) Safety Reviews covering the United States.
See the reports for more details on each of the annual summaries below.
http://www.soaringsafety.org/accidentprev/ssfreports.html
ACCIDENTS INVOLVING TOW PLANES in the US
2013
During the FY13, there was one accident involving a tow-plane that occurred resulting in no injuries to a tow-pilot.
2012
During the FY12, there was one accident involving a tow-plane that occurred resulting in no injuries to a tow-pilot.
2011
During the FY11, there was one accident involving tow aircraft that resulted in a fatal injury to a tow-pilot. Three other accidents occurred while a glider was being aero-towed.
2010
During the FY10 reporting period five accidents involving tow aircraft occurred resulting in two fatal injuries to 2 of the pilots. Both of these accidents were midair collisions. One collision involved the glider and the tow-plane just after release and the other involved a collision with an airplane while towing a glider. Two of the accidents occurred while the tow-plane was landing, while the remaining accident occurred during the take-off phase of flight.
2009
During FY09, one accident involving tow aircraft occurred resulting in fatal injuries to the pilot. The tow-plane was towing a Schweizer glider when it crashed shortly after takeoff.
2008
During FY08, one accident involving tow aircraft occurred resulting in no injuries to the pilot. As noted above, tow-plane was involved in a mid-air collision with the glider it had just released.
2007
During FY07, one accident involving tow aircraft occurred resulting in fatal injuries to the pilot. As noted above, the glider released after noticing a problem with the towplane. The towplane departed the right side of the runway and crashed while attempting to avoid trees. [Note by Jamie Shore - this accident occurred at the club that I learned at when I was a kid. After talking to multiple members of the club, it seems that there may have been a serious medical issue with the tow pilot that caused the accident.]
2006
During FY06 only a single accident directly involved a towplane. As noted below, the towplane was preparing to launch when it was struck by a landing glider. The pilot of a Piper Pawnee (PA-25-235) was uninjured when the airplane was struck by a landing Grob 103 glider. The glider pilot received minor injuries while the passenger was uninjured. NTSB SEA06LA163A and SEA06LA163B.
2005
During 2005, three accidents involving tow aircraft occurred during the landing phase of flight. One commercially rated and two privately rated pilots received no injuries as a result of these accidents, but all three airplanes were substantially damaged during the event.
2004
During 2004, five accidents involving tow aircraft occurred during the take-off phase of flight. As a result of these accidents, two pilots were fatally injured, two pilots received no injuries, and one pilot and one passenger received minor injuries. Additionally, two tow aircraft were destroyed and three were substantially damaged during these events.
2000-2003
Not available on the above link.
1999
During 1999, four accidents involving tow aircraft were reported to the National Transportation Safety Board. Two of these accidents occurred in-flight while the remaining events were divided between the takeoff and landing phases of flight. As a result of these accidents, two pilots were fatally injured and two aircraft were destroyed.
1998
During 1998, three accidents involving tow aircraft occurred during the takeoff phase of flight. As a result of these accidents, one pilot was fatally injured and two pilots received minor injuries. Additionally, two tow aircraft were substantially damaged and a third was destroyed.