According to an article in the Denver Post, last Saturday was a great day for flying...scattered clouds and greater than 5 miles visibility in light haze. Several pilots took advantage of that weather, but unfortunately the results were tragic for three of them. At about 1:30 pm, a Cirrus SR-20 collided with a Piper Pawnee that was towing a Schweizer 2-32 near Boulder, Colorado.

The pilot of the glider was able to safely release from tow just before impact. He flew through burning debris and landed safely. Sadly, the three people aboard the other aircraft were all killed.

Colorado's 9 News has some more details about the accident. Several people saw the collision happen and several even recorded video of the event. (Video and pictures can easily be found on Google, but I don't care to post it here.) There was nothing any bystanders could do for the victims as the avgas in both aircraft ignited as they fell to the ground. That made for a sad sight with the SR-20 since it's airframe parachute deployed, keeping the burning aircraft in the air for several seconds.

This is truly a sad accident and the staff at AviationBull wishes the families and friends of the victims peace and comfort.

There are several important things to think about with an accident like this. While I think it's important for the rest of us to look at ways to stay safe in the air, please know that I'm not placing blame on any party and I don't presume to know what specific factors contributed to this accident.

1. Anyone who's done it will agree that glider towing is a demanding task with a lot of potential to get channelized and dangerous. Between fighting to maintain airspeed, monitoring ground track, watching out for traffic and birds, searching for lift and checking back occasionally to make sure the glider is doing ok, it's easy it get into trouble. All of us glider tow pilots need to make sure we're doing our best to watch out for other traffic.
2. Glider pilots are vulnerable to a version of what I call copilot or wingman syndrome while on tow. It's easy to focus on staying in position and not worrying about anything else. If the pilot of the 2-32 had been suffering from this syndrome last week, he and his passengers would not be alive today. Be careful out there glider pilots and keep your situational awareness up!
3. Boulder is a busy airport and gliderport. The accident occurred at 8500'...just over 3000' AGL. This doesn't feel like "immediate vicinity" to an airport, but for glider operations it's still a high-traffic area. Powered pilots definitely need to know if they're in an area with glider ops and use extra vigilance. (They're marked on sectionals.)
4. At 3000' AGL the SR-20 was probably in a "cruise" mindset. They may not have been as focused outside the plane. They could potentially have even been distracted by the extensive glass panel avionics in their plane. We powered pilots need to be sure we don't get complacent when we're cruising or working with our on board computers.

That's what strikes me as I look at this accident. What else can we learn from this to help keep each other safe?