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| Date: | Wednesday 8 November 2023 |
| Time: | 14:00 |
| Type: | Grob G103A Twin II |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Omarama -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA NZ |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
During a winch launch, a simulated cable break was conducted at 500 feet AGL as part of the instructor training program. The P1 (instructor-trainer) handled the immediate action of pushing the nose down into a recovery attitude, but then held that attitud e for a prolonged time (4 seconds) while the trainee instructor in the rear seat first prompted "airspeed" and then "I have control" as he took over and began to raise the nose/recover to a normal attitude and speed. During this recovery phase the airspeed increased to almost 100kts and the aircraft contacted the winch cable, which was invisible to the pilots. The cable contacted under the left wing, went over the canopy, then under the right wing. The winch driver had cut the throttle immediately, the glider was seen to release, and the drogue initially deflated and fell away 'normally'. It was then seen from the ground to re-inflate and "behave strangely" when the aircraft contacted the cable and towed the drogue along behind it. As the cable tightened it moved well inboard and ran over the rear canopy. It wore a deep groove and also worked its way into the wing/fuselage gaps on both sides. The (trainee) instructor in the rear called "you have control" to the P1 Instructor/assessor in the front seat, who landed the aircraft straight ahead on the grass runway.
Sources:
CAA NZ Occurrence 23/8155
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-May-2025 18:10 | ASN | Added |
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