NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DEN93LA085
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE FAILURE OF THE TOW PLANE PILOT TO WARN THE GLIDER PILOT THAT HE WAS RELEASING THE TOW LINE. A FACTOR WAS: AN INADVERTENT STALL BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND.
Factual narrative
BOTH THE GLIDER AND TOW PLANE PILOTS AGREED THAT IF THE GLIDER WAS AIRBORNE BY MIDFIELD, THE GLIDER PILOT WOULD RELEASE THE TOW. TAKEOFF WAS NORMAL AND THE GLIDER WAS AIRBORNE BEFORE MIDFIELD. THE TOW PLANE PILOT, HOWEVER, ENCOUNTERED A WIND GUST OR SHEAR THAT LIFTED THE TOW PLANE, THEN CAUSED IT TO SETTLE TO THE GROUND. HE SENSED HE WAS NOT ACCELERATING AND GAINING ALTITUDE AS HE SHOULD. HE RELEASED THE TOW LINE. THE GLIDER PILOT FOLLOWED THE TOW PLANE TO MAINTAIN PROPER TOW POSITION. AS THE TOW PLANE CLIMBED OUT, HE REALIZED HE HAD BEEN RELEASED AND SAW HIS AIRSPEED DETERIORATING. THE RIGHT WING BEGAN TO STALL AND DROP. HE ATTEMPTED TO LAND IN AN EMPTY PARKING LOT, BUT THE RIGHT WING STRUCK THE RAILING OF AN OBSERVATION DECK. THE TOW PLANE PILOT SAID HE FAILED TO WARN THE GLIDER PILOT ABOUT THE TOW RELEASE BECAUSE HE ASSUMED HE WOULD SEE AND FEEL THE RELEASE, AND HE DID NOT WANT TO DISTRACT HIM FROM FLYING AND GLIDER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1993_DEN93LA085.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 (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
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