Convector
Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association

In my Naval Aviator days we used to openly discuss what each aircrewman believed would be the next aircraft mishap in the squadron. Even though P-3's had an envious safety record, it was a technique for surfacing unsafe trends to avoid complacency, and for keeping us aviators and our record alive.

This mishap report is fictitious. I've put together a series of both obvious and subtle events that contributed to the fatal accident. While untrue in its entirety, I have either witnessed or been told of each of the contributing factors during the 2003 soaring season. It isn't much of a stretch to believe that it could happen.

You may find the account sobering, but through concentration on forming an accurate collective awareness of the "big picture" around us at the airport, this accident can be avoided.

NTSB Identification: IAD02LA999. The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number DMS.

14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Saturday, March 12, 2005 in Fairfield, PA

Aircraft: Rolladen-Schneider LS-3a, registration: N7734H

Injuries: 1 Fatal.

BACKGROUND

On March 12, 2005 at 1450 Eastern Standard Time, a Rolladen-Schneider LS-3a glider, registration: N7734H collided with terrain at the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Center (W73) near Fairfield, Pennsylvania, while on final approach to landing on runway 33 right. The owner/pilot was operating the glider under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant of the single place glider, sustained fatal injuries. The glider was destroyed.

HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT

The personal cross-country flight departed W73 at 1405. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. One witness observed the aircraft to perform "a normal downwind entry to a right pattern for runway 33 right". On short final approach to landing on the grass runway, the aircraft was seen to execute a rapid right turn, spin and impact the terrain on the airport near 100 feet south of the towplane hangar. Several witnesses stated that it appeared to maneuver to avoid the departing towplane.

Members of the volunteer launch team and other observers were interviewed to determine who may have seen the LS-3 in the pattern. Neither the Signalman, Towpilot, Wingrunner, or the pilot of the Pilatus B-4 being towed had noticed the glider in the right-hand pattern. The Operations Director, in charge of club operations at the airport, did not observe the accident glider prior to the impact with the terrain.

The Towpilot said he had "been concentrating on the signals given by the Signalman and was distracted somewhat by the non-standard signals used to take up slack." He stated that he had usually depended on the Signalman to check the launch path for conflicting traffic. He estimated the winds at takeoff to be steady at 240 degrees at 12 knots.

The Signalman, required by M-ASA club rules, stated that he "had a difficult time seeing other aircraft in the traffic patterns due to the moderate haze", but had conducted his usual '360' checking for gliders and saw none.

The B-4 pilot stated that he was initially concerned about the steadily increasing crosswind from what he estimated to be 260 at 10-12 knots. Witnesses said that the windsock had alternated between limp and 8-10 knots with gusts to 15 knots all morning. He hadn't flown the B-4 since August of the previous year, but had refamiliarized himself just prior to launch. Asked if he routinely scanned the traffic patterns at W73 prior to launch; he replied that he usually does, but that it's "not on his memorized checklist". He stated that he had delayed the launch after being connected to the towplane to wait for calmer winds and didn't remember checking for traffic, but admitted he was "somewhat fixated on the windsock". He also said that he could not find a charged battery in the clubhouse and chose to fly without an operating radio since it wasn't required and therefore "didn't monitor the glider frequency".

The Wingrunner stated that he had not noticed any conflicting traffic, but that his "attention was diverted by the B-4 pilot's delay of the launch" due to changing crosswind conditions. After he gave the final launch signal he observed a club Grob 103 entering the left pattern just east of the established IP. He stated that he then lowered the wing and then gave an emergency stop signal. The Signalman did not see the emergency stop signal. He stated that he forgot to recheck glider and Wingrunner prior to giving the final launch signal and "felt a bit 'rusty' being early in the soaring season".

The B-4 pilot felt the right wing lower to the ground as the Towpilot applied power. He stated that he quickly, but unsuccessfully, searched for the release knob. He located it just as the glider became airborne. Once airborne, he felt that "whatever problem caused the Wingrunner to lower the wing had passed". He continued the launch and initial climb.

A witness observed the accident from the outside clubhouse and was monitoring a personal handheld radio. He stated he "heard the LS-3 make an announcement that he was entering a right downwind and heard him make a second call turning base leg." He did not hear calls from the Grob pilot. He stated "the field was busy. Wave conditions had been predicted, but few pilots were finding lift and were landing soon after launch. After hearing the LS-3 make traffic calls, I was shocked to see the towplane begin its takeoff role."

The Operations Director was interviewed and stated that he was not in the habit of "lugging the club base radio to the flight line and did not own a handheld radio". There were no club-owned or personal radios being monitored near the takeoff position on runway 15. No member of the launch team or other club members reported hearing the radio calls made by the LS-3 pilot.

The Towpilot stated in a subsequent interview that he "just missed" the call from the LS-3 pilot possibly because he had conferred verbally with the Signalman about delays in the launch. He also stated that neither he nor other Towpilots routinely make departure transmissions at W73 even though he acknowledged "they might actually be required". He said "I know we routinely make them at Frederick (FDK)". The Towpilot also reported in this interview "the right crosswind had caused him to rapidly drift to the left about 40-50 feet after liftoff. I saw the LS-3 as he began a rapid evasive maneuver to prevent a collision".

The Grob pilot stated that, because of the distraction of moderate turbulence on downwind and of being blown a "bit too close to the runway", he left the radio microphone in the side pocket and entered the landing pattern and did not transmit his location in the traffic pattern. He stated "only a small fraction of glider pilots make traffic announcements; many gliders have no radios". He also stated "I went 'nose-to-nose' with the LS-3 on base leg. I saw the towplane begin its takeoff roll and realized I had only one landing option...runway 33 left."

PILOT INFORMATION

The pilot of the accident aircraft held a private pilot certificate for glider aero tow. He held no medical certificate. His logbooks indicated a total of 14 hours in gliders during past year and a total of 250 hours over the past six years. His wife indicated that he was in good spirits on the morning of the accident. She was not aware of any medical issues for several days prior to the accident.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The Rolladen-Schneider LS-3a glider was examined by an FAA inspector at the accident site. It was found to have continuity in all control channels. Examination of the airplane's records revealed the airworthiness certificate was issued in 1987, and the airplane had accrued 444 hours of total time. It had accrued a total of 4.2 hours since its last annual inspection completed June 18, 2004.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Medical Examiners Office, State of Pennsylvania, conducted an autopsy on the pilot on March 13, 2005. The toxicological testing report from the FAA Toxicology Accident Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was negative for drugs and alcohol for the pilot.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Procedures for aeronautical operations at airports without operating control towers such as W73 are well documented in FAA, SAA and in the local M-ASA club Operations Manual. Documents, such as the AIM and Advisory Circulars, detail the responsibility of pilots operating at non-towered airports.

FAA Advisory Circular 90-66a dated 8/26/93:

"The use of any traffic pattern procedure does not alter the responsibility of each pilot to see and avoid other aircraft."

"Pilots of inbound nonradio-equipped aircraft should determine the runway in use prior to entering the traffic pattern by observing the landing direction indicator or by other means. Pilots should be aware that procedures at airports without operating control towers generally do not require the use of two-way radios; therefore, pilots should be especially vigilant for other aircraft while operating in the traffic pattern."

FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, Section 4-1-9, Traffic Advisory Practices at Airports without Operating Control Towers:

"There is no substitute for alertness while in the vicinity of an airport. It is essential that pilots be alert and look for other traffic and exchange information when approaching or departing an airport without an operating control tower. This is of particular importance since other aircraft may not have communication capability or, in some cases, pilots may not communicate their presence or intentions when operating into or out of such airports."

"Departing aircraft should always be alert for arrival aircraft coming from the opposite direction."

FAA Advisory Circular 90-42F dated 5/21/90:

"All inbound traffic should continuously monitor and communicate, as appropriate, on the designated CTAF from a point 10 miles from the airport until clear of the movement area. Departing aircraft should continuously monitor/communicate on the appropriate frequency from startup, during taxi, and until 10 miles from the airport unless the Federal Aviation Regulations or local procedures require otherwise."

SSA Soaring Flight Manual:

Takeoff Procedures: "Just prior to takeoff, both pilots should make a final check of the area for conflicting traffic."

M-ASA Operations Manual:

Signalman: "When the takeoff signal is given by the wing-runner, carefully look around for ALL possible sources of interfering traffic, pedestrian, automotive, powered aircraft, including those landing, ready for takeoff, or making instrument approaches. Look especially for gliders in or about to enter the landing pattern."

Wingrunner: "When it is evident that some hazardous condition exists that is not observed by the signal-man, the wing-runner should terminate the takeoff procedure."

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The launch team's failure to observe the approaching aircraft in the landing pattern causing the near collision between the glider and the launching towplane and the glider's subsequent low altitude stall/spin. Factors in the accident were the rapidly changing crosswind conditions and the infrequent use of radios by pilots and the launch team at an uncontrolled airport.

Question: Can this happen at M-ASA? It's a sobering thought to think so. Recall that each element of this mishap was observed at least once during the past soaring season. Therefore, I believe it's not only possible but likely unless we make some significant changes in the way we operate.

Only the club's improvement in our collective situational awareness on the launch grid can prevent an accident like this. If we concentrate on the fundamentals highlighted by Gene Wilburn in the December Convector and resolve to make the new launch team organization work as described by Glenn Collin, M-ASA can avoid this accident waiting to happen.

By the time you read this, 2003 will have passed and preparations will be underway to begin the 2004 soaring season. The kids have finished opening their presents and Sue and I are completing the final packing for a trip to Chicago to visit her parents. I have not heard the tally from yesterday's rain but even if we do not surpass the annual rainfall record, most of us will remember 2003 as a very wet year. Flight operations for M-ASA saw a significant decline last year. Some of this can possibly be attributed to the uncertainty regarding the Presidential TFR surrounding P-40, but the major impact was the weather. Figure 1 shows the M-ASA operations for the last three years. We need to reverse the trend and begin to grow the operation this year.

Along the same lines we have discussed before, the utilization of the club fleet is still well below capacity. Furthermore, we are not generating the revenue needed to cover expenses for most of the gliders. Early this year, I thought we were on track to improve this area particularly with the single seat gliders. In the end, however, we are still far short in most cases. Figure 2 (see next page) shows the mix of club gliders and their usage for 2003. The ASK-13 is gone and this is reflected in the increased Grob 103 usage. The third 2-33 is still out of service but should return next season.

Hopefully next year brings with it better flying weather. We then need to dust off our desire to fly and get back to the enjoyment of soaring. I feel many of us have lost some of the spark that drove us to spend weekends at the airport. This was partially caused be the TFR and the weather, providing us enough doubt about the weekends that we found ourselves committing to other plans. Once we got into this habit it became hard to break away to go fly when the waiver was granted and the weather improved. Better luck next year I guess.

I don't have a lot of new news to report regarding the housing development and Save Our Liberty. The club's original position was to attempt to work with the developer to put in place deed language to document the existence of the airport and our right to operate. A number of milestones were missed toward this end and when the issues were brought before the Township Supervisors, M-ASA was obligated to make a stand against the proposed development. Everyone should have received a letter from Chris O'Callaghan describing his effort to raise funds in support of Save Our Liberty. Hopefully many of you have supported this. If you have not, money is still needed to cover the on-going expenses required to fight this development. If these homes are built, our right to use our property will be severely affected. All M-ASA members will feel this burden regardless of whether you fly from Frederick or Fairfield. Those of you with e-mail accounts should have also received a position statement which we requested everyone to sign and fax to Bob Jackson. This was intended to capitalize on M-ASA's size and stress upon the Supervisors the solidarity within M-ASA opposing this development. The next public hearing on this topic is January 14. Shortly after that, we anticipate the Supervisors voting on the matter.

Another change coming for the 2004 season is a slight increase in our annual dues. Many of you have probably noticed the enhancements we have made such as the cleaning of the clubhouses and the addition of the dumpsters. This along with increased insurance costs has taken a bite into our finances. To help offset this, the board has decided to make a slight adjustment to the dues structure. The increase is minimal. The annual fee will change from $275 to $300. The $25 per member increase will almost cover the added services. Additional cost savings will complete the task. Most notable is the transition from a printed Convector to an on-line version. For many months, Carlos has been posting a full color PDF version on the website. We have not done a good job in soliciting feedback; however it is a direction we should get serious about. I know I have discussed this for years since the printing and postage costs M-ASA close to $5000 each year. I would like the March 2004 issue to be the last issue disseminated through the mail. Now for you folks without computers or preferring to receive a copy through the mail, all will not be lost. It would be unreasonable to only do this through the Internet. We will collect the names for those requiring postal delivery and continue to support you. The key is to transition the majority of the workload and costs not all of them.

Each year M-ASA holds an annual banquet. This year will not be different. We are still working the details but the plan is to hold the banquet in late February. The final date should be available shortly and I will get the word out via e-mail and post it in the clubhouses. We are again shooting for an early Sunday meal so we can wrap everything up and get home at a reasonable hour.

The annual March meeting will be on Friday March 12, 2004. As always this will be our season kickoff and will be mandatory. The weekend that follows it will be the working weekend that will also require mandatory participation. The focus of this weekend will be two days of meetings and limited flying for instructors and tow pilots. Everyone else will participate in one day of operations review and general cleanup at each location. We are working on punch out lists for each field. Scheduling will most likely use your field of preference from your duty assignment form. There will be some flexibility with this right up to the annual meeting as long as we can get the needed work accomplished. Work will begin at 9 am each day and a cookout will provide the food to keep us going. It will be real nice to start the season with clean hangars and a fresh coat of paint in the clubhouses.

As a final note for this long-winded message, we need to fill a number of positions within the club. Two new directors will need to be elected at the annual meeting. This is a very important task and we need nominations for folks willing to perform a service for the club. We also have a number of members who have been serving a long time in various roles. Many of these would love to have someone step forward and relieve them. Maintenance officers, godfathers and facilities managers are all jobs which make the club work. Anyone willing to pitch in and perform any of these roles should contact me.

Glenn

The by-laws specify that nominations may be made in person at the February club meeting, or by mail (e-mail) within a week of that meeting. That means this year mail-in nominations may be made between Friday, February 6 and Friday February 20 or at the February 13 meeting. No supporting statement is necessary but prior permission must be obtained from the nominee.

By-laws also specify that nominations must be made to an officer, defined as President (Glenn Collins), Vice President (Jim Trygg), Secretary (Bill Whelan), and Treasurer (Hans Jorgensen). Secretary is preferred simply because he is the one who will prepare and send out the ballots, to all full members. We will elect two directors, ballots to be counted at the March annual meeting.

Provisional members are not eligible to run for office, nor to vote.

The 2003 Soaring Season officially ended the last weekend of November and not a weekend too soon! The next weekend, the airport (and everywhere else) was blanketed by snow. Still, it was characteristic of the season with the rain in the spring, cold weather in the summer, and weak soaring conditions in the fall making flying for the task day pilots a challenge.

This year ends with the victor, Baude Litt (LBL) on top with 9944 points, followed closely by his rival Jonathan Gere (34) with 9895 points, who has been battling him all year. Michael Higgins rounds out the top three (as he has been doing) with 9813 points. Besides the November 8 task reported on in the last Convector, no other tasks were flown in November. Here's hoping next year is a better year for the task day pilots!

By the time you read this article, the holidays should be winding down, thereby enabling you to start some serious planning for the upcoming soaring season. The 2004 R4N Contest will be held from May 29 (Practice Day) through June 5, 2004. Participating in the 2004 R4N will be a great way for you to show that the terrorists and the federal bureaucrats can't kill soaring in our country! A strong regional contest under the nose of our President and his protectors will send a strong message throughout the soaring community and general aviation. The M-ASA waiver to the Camp David TFR became a reality last September (after much hard work by our club president, Glenn Collins), and so far it has served as a model of cooperation and practicality between M-ASA, FAA, Secret Service, and DoD (probably TSA or DHS also belong on this list).

I mailed contest invitations to competition pilots in 14 states on December 10; if I missed you it was because you were not on the mailing list provided to me by the SSA. This list was based on the most recently available competition pilot ranking list. However, you don't need the letter to enter the contest; all qualified pilots are welcome to fly. You can register online via the SSA web site, or send me an e-mail (pburch@hst.nasa.gov) and I'll mail you an application. The M-ASA web site has been updated for information about the 2004 R4N (thanks to Alan Meyer).

I'm starting to get contest applications AND the all-important personal information necessary to get pilots cleared for the Secret Service Approved Pilots List. If you want to fly at the 2004 R4N during a TFR, you'll need to be on this list. For further details, please see Contest Update in last month's (i.e., December 2003) Convector or visit the R4N page on our M-ASA web site. If neither of those work for you, call me (410-489-7063) and I'll mail you the contest letter which provides some insight on this subject. In order for me to get you on the Approved Pilots List, I need 3 things: your full name (including middle initial), date of birth, and Social Security Number. All personal information will be held in strictest confidence. The approval process is lengthy and uncertain, so please DO IT NOW and don't wait until March. The cost and obligation to you is zero, and you can use your approval anytime during the year when you fly as a M-ASA guest member at Fairfield during a TFR.

So keep those applications and SS/APL info coming in, folks. Remember, although the R4N is five months away, we'll all be wondering in May where the time went!

It has been suggested I pen some end-of-year thoughts, so I will. Not only end-of-the-year, but fin-de-siecle thoughts, geriatric and Polonial, grumpy with gravitas.

My Gazebo friends were reminiscing recently and regretting that as their seventies progressed, or rather regressed, they were losing their eagerness to take on the rigors of the soaring life. One mentioned that lifting his wings alone was difficult; another that off-field landings were now to be avoided at all costs. Of course our fellow members would never abandon any old duffer who landed out, and there always seems to be a helping hand to put the wings on, but one hates to be a burden and sink into dependency. And we all agreed that 2 1/2-3 hour tasks are quite long enough and look forward on final glide to a nice cup of tea at four and cocktails at five.

Last weekend, for instance, I knew very well that to turn in a good average speed on a ridge running task with a two hour minimum I should start early and roar along the ridges as long as possible before that last climb to final glide back to Fairfield 33 miles downwind. But I didn't. Instead I enjoyed a leisurely bowl of chili with the lads, started at 1:30 and landed back at 4, while the gung-ho types were still milking the ridge for every mile they could get.

Growing old these days is eased by a plethora of prosthetic devices, most of which we now take for granted: specs to focus near and far, hearing aids, and pills for every ailment. Only last year I installed my first p-tube, which has changed my life, much as indoor sanitation changed civilization. Why do we laud Leonardo and Newton and Galileo and Edison, inventors all, and ignore the genius who invented the flush toilet? But I digress. I consider my p-tube a prosthetic device, because I never worried about 6-hour flights a few years back.

Some years ago I wrote an article in Soaring, "The Graying of Gliding," about the problems of aging relating to the gliding fraternity. It was inspired by an incident in which an older tow pilot flew around the sky aimlessly before landing safely, but seemed dazed and confused and thereafter disappeared and has not been seen since. I suggested that we should all keep an eye out for each other and be aware of any loss of ability in ourselves or others. This article resulted in a torrent of abuse from oldsters who protested there was nothing geriatric about them. I had earlier, in another Soaring article, "The 400 Blows," examined accident reports published in Sailplane and Gliding and concluded that there was no evidence that older pilots were statistically at greater risk than younger ones.

So I am well aware that aging is a raw nerve with many oldsters, a "third rail" issue that would-be do-gooders touch at their peril. But I am not concerned with safety right now, but with the waning of enthusiasm and capacity of older pilots like me. Most of us are retired, in that we no longer work full-time, and the issue for us is how we are gradually being retired by circumstance from the sport. Can we "grow old gracefully," by adopting a reduced role, becoming emeritus, or whatever?

One of our older members recently traded in his LS-6 for an LS-8 turbo, specifically to avoid landout problems. Another speaks of trading his 15 meter racer for one of the new superlight gliders whose wings he can lift more easily. But most of these discussions remain talk and in practice we just continue to cope. What is clear, though, is that our younger pilots - now themselves on the threshold of middle age - have replaced us and far exceeded all our accomplishments. We're no longer leaders, if we ever were, even in our local fishpond, and that really doesn't matter to anyone else but ourselves.

I've never attended the popular Seniors meets at Orlando, Florida, which have now evolved into something close to national contests, because I'm still teaching in the middle of the spring semester. But our oldsters who attend tell me they gain in camaraderie what they lack in cut-throat competition, and pilots often just fly together and assist each other on tasks. In fact, some say the real satisfaction of the Seniors is the weeks before the contest begins, which are not competitive at all - when looking down during an informal task one sees Zulu Zulu beneath and thinks not "Damn, the bastard's catching up on me!" but "Great, he's making it too! That's a beautiful glider."

Aging does have its compensations.

Copyright (c) 2004 by the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved