Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Kutztown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530
Wednesday, June 2, 2004 10:17 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The student glider pilot was being towed by the accident tow plane for a local flight. Shortly after takeoff, the student glider pilot noticed that the tow rope had "some slack" in it, and that the tow plane did not appear to be climbing "at the rate he should have been." The student glider pilot made slight control adjustments to tighten the tow rope; however, the tow rope "went slack" again at 200-300 feet above the ground, and the airplane began to descend below the glider. The glider pilot then decided to release from the tow plane, and he turned back to the airport. During the turn, he observed the airplane drop its left wing slightly, and then begin a turn to the right. The airplane then impacted a quarry, and a post-crash fire ensued. Examination of the airplane and engine revealed no pre-flight mechanical deficiencies. During a previous training flight with the student glider pilot and accident tow pilot, the airplane began to descend during a climb, when the tow pilot failed to realize that the throttle had vibrated back to a lower power setting when he took his hand off it. According to the operator of the airplane, the tow pilot had performed approximately 70 tows during the past year; however, he had been "signed off" to fly without an instructor less than a month prior to the accident. The student glider pilot had accumulated approximately 50 hours of total flight experience. The FAA Glider Flying Handbook, states in part that "One of the most dangerous occurrences during the aerotow is allowing the glider to rise high above and losing sight of the towplane. The tension on the towrope by the glider pulls the towplane tail up, lowering its nose. If the glider continues to rise pulling the towplane tail higher, the towpilot may not be able to raise the nose. Ultimately, the towpilot may run out of up elevator authority. This situation can be critical if it occurs at altitudes below 500 feet AGL. Upon losing sight of the towplane, the glider pilot must release immediately."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The towplane pilot's failure to maintain a climb while towing a glider for undetermined reasons, which resulted in the early release of the glider and the tow plane's subsequent impact with trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/2/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1017 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Kutztown |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 19530 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 402958N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0754658W |
| Event Location Airport | Kutztown Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | N31 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 360 |
| Airport Elevation | 512 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 951 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 40 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ABE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 394 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.82 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 18331 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Eastern Region Ops Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 2 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1045 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 13 2005 12:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Allentown FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8681T |
| NTSB Number | NYC04FA137 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 182C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 52581 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3100 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 77 |
| Airframe Hours | 5340 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Granite Sales Inc DBA |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 15130 Kutztown Rd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Kutztown |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19530 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Kutztown Airport |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 15130 Kutztown Rd. |
| Operator City | Kutztown |
| Operator State | PA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 19530 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | N31 |
| Departure City | Kutztown |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1016 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | N31 |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 28 2005 10:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MUZD |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |