NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ATL07CA101
Registry · N42CA
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
SCHEMPP-HIRTH DISCUS CS
Year of manufacture
1997 · 10 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20190523
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4F979
Registrant of record
SOARING SOCIETY OF BOULDER INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's inadvertent activation of the tow release handle at a low altitude following an encounter with turbulence.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that the take-off was normal his glider and the tow plane were on the initial climb out. During the climb they began to encounter heavy turbulence. At 200 feet AGL he continued to encounter heavy turbulence and bumped his head twice against the canopy. He inadvertently hit the release cable handle at a low altitude, and disconnected from the tow plane. He attempted to return to the airport and collided with trees after losing lift. The pilot did not report any flight control anomalies with the glider. The pilot stated that the takeoff was normal. His glider and the tow plane were on the initial climb out. During the climb they began to encounter heavy turbulence. At 200 feet AGL he continued to encounter heavy turbulence and bumped his head twice against the canopy. He inadvertently hit the release cable handle at a low altitude, and disconnected from the tow plane. He attempted to return to the airport and collided with trees after losing lift. The pilot did not report any flight control anomalies with the glider. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2007_ATL07CA101.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (turbulence). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
Political Turbulence and Aviation Safety: A Cross-National Analysis of Political Stability's Effects on Aviation Accidents
To what extent does political stability affect aviation safety? This research aims to link domestic political conditions and public safety through the consideration of aviation accident frequency.
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Explainable LiDAR 3D Point Cloud Segmentation and Clustering for Detecting Airplane-Generated Wind Turbulence
Wake vortices - strong, coherent air turbulences created by aircraft - pose a significant risk to aviation safety and therefore require accurate and reliable detection methods.
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
Does small-scale turbulence matter for ice growth in mixed-phase clouds?
Representing the glaciation of mixed-phase clouds in terms of the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process is a challenge for many weather and climate models, which tend to overestimate this process because…
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Effects of electrostatic interaction on clustering and collision of bidispersed inertial particles in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence
In sandstorms and thunderclouds, turbulence-induced collisions between solid particles and ice crystals lead to inevitable triboelectrification.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article
Wake Vortex Turbulence — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary wake vortex turbulence comprehensive article — generation mechanics, dissipation factors, separation standards (ICAO LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY/SUPER + recategorisation RECAT-EU).
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗