Grob G103 N916G

Summary

On 9 July 2005 at about 18:47 local time, a Grob G103 registered N916G was involved in an accident near Moriarty, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 July 2005 at 18:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Moriarty, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Moriarty Airport (0E0)

Coordinates

34.9869, -106.0158

Aircraft

Grob G103

Registration

N916G

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Glider Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moriarty → Moriarty

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN05LA108

Nobody was injured.

the glider pilot's intentional tow release at too low an altitude when he erroneously perceived the tow plane was about to crash. A contributing factor was the unsuitable terrain on which to make a landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The tow plane pilot said that the winds were 5 to 15 knots "from the west or northwest" and that "25 knot gusts were not uncommon." During the takeoff roll, he saw an "extreme dust devil right in front [of the airplane]" and "paper-sized pieces of cardboard spinning sharply." He momentarily lost control of the tow plane, then noticed the glider was no longer in tow. He flew an abbreviated traffic pattern and landed. It was then that he noticed his propeller had sustained a ground strike. The glider pilot said that after an uneventful aero tow, the tow plane started "pulling up and then touched back down." He said the "left wing [was] low and [the] tail high and right.." He then saw a "puff of smoke" and "couldn't tell if the tow plane had crashed, or was about to crash." He elected to release and perform an emergency landing from an altitude of 75 to 100 feet. After turning 90 degrees to the right, the glider was "close to the ground" so the pilot "leveled the wings and tried to flare." The glider impacted terrain and ground looped, causing substantial damage. Both pilots agreed that the "puff of smoke" seen by the glider pilot was actually dust thrown in the air during the tow plane's propeller strike.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.