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Local pilot reported observing a glider tow plane hit power lines which resulted in a power loss at the airport. Tow operations were then resumed without an apparent safety evaluation by the towing company.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1538627 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201804 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-25 Pawnee |
| Flight Phase | Final Approach |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Other / Unknown |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 80 Flight Crew Total 900 Flight Crew Type 220 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter Object |
Narrative:
Witnessed the pilot of a glider tow plane contact the three phase electrical lines with the glider tow line on short final to ZZZ. The contact resulted in a fire ball and loss of electrical power to the airport. The tow line was severed at the point of contact.the airport manager was contacted and the utility company was dispatched to restore power.the tow plane pilot repaired the tow line and resumed glider tow operations within 30 minutes.my background and experience led me to assume that they would suspend glider tow operations until they could perform a safety evaluation/stand down and determine how future operations could be safely conducted without contacting the high voltage feed to the airport.that did not happen and airport manager involvement appeared to be focused on restoration of electrical power when towing operations resumed approximately 30 minutes later.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Local pilot reported observing a glider tow plane hit power lines which resulted in a power loss at the airport. Tow operations were then resumed without an apparent safety evaluation by the towing company.
Narrative: Witnessed the pilot of a glider tow plane contact the three phase electrical lines with the glider tow line on short final to ZZZ. The contact resulted in a fire ball and loss of electrical power to the airport. The tow line was severed at the point of contact.The airport manager was contacted and the utility company was dispatched to restore power.The tow plane pilot repaired the tow line and resumed glider tow operations within 30 minutes.My background and experience led me to assume that they would suspend glider tow operations until they could perform a safety evaluation/stand down and determine how future operations could be safely conducted without contacting the high voltage feed to the airport.That did not happen and airport manager involvement appeared to be focused on restoration of electrical power when towing operations resumed approximately 30 minutes later.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.