Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lebanon, Ohio 45036
Sunday, October 20, 1996 13:27 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The purpose of flight (flt) was to demonstrate tow release failure of a glider from a tow plane & to land under tow. The flt instructor (CFI) in the glider said the standard procedure for the tow plane was to depart with 10 deg of flaps & to turn left after takeoff. He said the tow pilot took off with 20 deg of flaps & made a right turn, then entered a steep turn to the left. Also, he said that during the steep turn, slack developed in the tow rope. The CFI tried to disconnect the tow rope, but was unable. The student said the rope became 'taught pulling up on the tow plane's tail.' The student then actuated the release; this time the rope released. The tow plane continued the left turn, nosed down, & struck the ground. The glider was landed uneventfully. Neither the tow plane nor the glider was equipped with a radio. Exam of the wreckage revealed no preimpact failure of the tow plane's flt controls or engine; 30 feet of tow rope was found attached to the tow plane, which had failed under tension. Two witnesses reported that the tow plt's hands always shook. One witness said his hands were shaking 'excessively' on the day of the accident. During toxicology tests, an undetermined amount of metoprolol was detected in the tow plt's blood & urine. Metoprolol is a medication that is frequently approved by the FAA for use by pilots with high blood pressure; drugs like metoprolol may also be used to treat a tremor.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
improper aircraft handling by the tow pilot and/or the glider pilots, which allowed the tow plane and glider to get out of position with one another; and failure of the aircrews (in both aircraft) to ensure a timely release of the glider tow rope.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/20/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1327 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | LEBANON |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 45036 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1251 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DAY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 894 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 8 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1854 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 20 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1525 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:24AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9890T |
| NTSB Number | IAD97LA009 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 172A |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 47690 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2075 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 6275 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | LANES LEBANON AIR SERVICES INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2460 GREENTREE RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | LEBANON |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 45036 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | I68 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |