Narrative:

On nov/sat/05 at approximately XA00; I was attempting to land on runway 25. I had a passenger with me who is also a licensed pilot. (Although mr X is a licensed pilot; it was my aircraft; and I was PIC; not he.) the radio was tuned to 123.0; the local CTAF-unicom (which is shared by a number of other airports in the area). We weren't wearing any headsets; but the volume was set to high and we heard the standard traffic chatter. As always; my rotating beacon on the tail and the wingtip strobes were on. As we were returning; I was having difficulty seeing from the glare and I also turned on my headlight and my taxi lights. Since I was experiencing limited visibility; I was trying to be as visible as possible to someone else. At approximately XA00 on this november day; the setting sun was blinding. Because of that; I had a few problems finding the local airport and we flew around a bit at 2500 ft looking for it. The airport has a paved runway (runway 25/07) with a grass area to the left of runway 25 that is used for glider operations. When I found the airport; I headed east; dropped down to the 1400 ft pattern altitude; slowed down; extended the undercarriage; entered the pattern upwind at 1400 ft at around 110 mph; a few mi east of runway 25. Then I went around the whole pattern. I announced my position at downwind and base. As I made my turn to final; I announced my position again; and realized that I wasn't lined up properly for runway 25. I was further to the right then I wanted to be; and I was higher than I would have liked. I corrected my position; but to continue the landing; I would have had to land beyond the first 1/3 of the runway; which I've been taught is an unsafe practice -- so at about 100+ ft off the ground; I decided to go around. I announced my go around intentions; pushed in the throttle; and as airspeed increased; I reduced my flaps and increased my climb. While I was climbing; before I turned (left) upwind; a glider appeared dangerously close; and immediately below my left side window. I'm guessing we were less than 500 ft AGL at this time. We were so close that I could see the top of the person's head. I don't think we were more than 10-20 ft above the glider or 10 ft to the right of its cockpit (I didn't exactly stop to measure). It shocked the hell out of me. I screamed 'whoa' and my passenger had no idea what was going on. I couldn't understand where this glider came from; what it was doing next to me; or what it was going to do next. I also didn't want to do anything that might disrupt it; so I increased my climb slowly and began a gentle turn to the right. At that moment; I saw the reflection from the sun on the tow line from the glider's nose; which appeared to be underneath my nose. I then realized that there was a tow plane attached to the front of the glider; probably directly in front of me. Out of fright; I screamed again and took emergency evasive action -- making a very hard right climbing turn. I never saw the tow plane; just the tow line and the glider. I also don't know how close the tow plane was to me (I'm sure it can be computed mathematically; length of tow line less a couple of ft). My passenger; who was sitting on the right; never saw anything. He just heard me scream twice and felt the hard climbing right. From the time that I saw the glider to the time that I took the final evasive action couldn't have been more than 2 seconds. After we were far enough away; I turned back and spotted the tow plane. I then returned to the pattern and landed. That incident scared the crap out of me. Later that evening; while I was still shaking; someone called who said that they were from the airport and he wanted to know what happened. I explained to him that 'I didn't see the glider nor the tow plane; in fact the sun was burning our eyes so bad and that we could barely see anything.' he stated that the glider pilot had announced his departure; that they 'had heard us announce final; that it appeared that we were going to make the landing; and they couldn't understand why we were going around.' based on this conversation; and the location of the near midair collision; it's obvious that they decided not towait for us to land; but instead decided to depart while we were on final. I'm not sure who he is. Based on the conversation; I think that he may have been in the glider. He wanted to know if I heard their departure call; I responded with 'no.' he wanted to know if I had working radios; I responded with 'yes.' he wanted to know why we didn't see him -- I explained that we had the sun in our eyes and that we really couldn't see much of anything. He recited the rules a few times; how aircraft below have the right-of-way; how gliders and tow planes have the right of way (which I explained that I knew since I've been operating out of there for 10 yrs); and how I need to have more situational awareness. I explained to him that I couldn't exactly provide a right-of-way if I didn't know that they were there. He also explained that this was the closest he ever got to dying from an near midair collision and I agreed with him that it was the closest that I ever got to dying from an near midair collision as well. I explained how I always give way to the gliders and tow planes -- this time I didn't know they were there. I'm not trying to shrug my responsibilities in this matter. I was above them and didn't see them -- for one reason or another couldn't see them. The truth of the matter is that because the 3 of us had nose high attitudes and I was slightly behind and above the tow plane and glider; none of us saw the other one until we came dangerously close. He said that they made their departure announcement -- since we didn't hear it; we have no way of knowing if they did; or if they got distraction; forgot to; and believe they did. Bottom line; neither my passenger nor I heard it. It's possible that their announcement came while I was doing the final check (visually confirmed gear down; green light on; fuel in; propeller in; fuel selector -- both). If we had heard the call; I'd like to think that the results would have been different -- that I would have been able to spot them. But with the sun burning in our eyes; I still don't know if we would have been able to see them -- and that really scares the crap out of me even more. I consider myself a safe; careful (maybe too careful); low-time; fair WX pilot; who only goes out on very nice days. I do shallow ascents and shallow dscnts to be able to see other aircraft. I'm aware that things happening in the patterns; and in the past; aircraft have descended on me a number of times without the other pilot knowing I was there. Because of that; I spend a lot of time looking up; maybe too much time looking up. Now; I'll have to spend some of that time looking down as well.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C177 PLT EXPERIENCED AN NMAC WITH A TOW ACFT AND GLIDER AFTER EXECUTING A GAR. RPTR CITES VISUAL OBSTRUCTION OF THE SUN AS CONTRIBUTORY.

Narrative: ON NOV/SAT/05 AT APPROX XA00; I WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON RWY 25. I HAD A PAX WITH ME WHO IS ALSO A LICENSED PLT. (ALTHOUGH MR X IS A LICENSED PLT; IT WAS MY ACFT; AND I WAS PIC; NOT HE.) THE RADIO WAS TUNED TO 123.0; THE LCL CTAF-UNICOM (WHICH IS SHARED BY A NUMBER OF OTHER ARPTS IN THE AREA). WE WEREN'T WEARING ANY HEADSETS; BUT THE VOLUME WAS SET TO HIGH AND WE HEARD THE STANDARD TFC CHATTER. AS ALWAYS; MY ROTATING BEACON ON THE TAIL AND THE WINGTIP STROBES WERE ON. AS WE WERE RETURNING; I WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY SEEING FROM THE GLARE AND I ALSO TURNED ON MY HEADLIGHT AND MY TAXI LIGHTS. SINCE I WAS EXPERIENCING LIMITED VISIBILITY; I WAS TRYING TO BE AS VISIBLE AS POSSIBLE TO SOMEONE ELSE. AT APPROX XA00 ON THIS NOVEMBER DAY; THE SETTING SUN WAS BLINDING. BECAUSE OF THAT; I HAD A FEW PROBS FINDING THE LCL ARPT AND WE FLEW AROUND A BIT AT 2500 FT LOOKING FOR IT. THE ARPT HAS A PAVED RWY (RWY 25/07) WITH A GRASS AREA TO THE L OF RWY 25 THAT IS USED FOR GLIDER OPS. WHEN I FOUND THE ARPT; I HEADED E; DROPPED DOWN TO THE 1400 FT PATTERN ALT; SLOWED DOWN; EXTENDED THE UNDERCARRIAGE; ENTERED THE PATTERN UPWIND AT 1400 FT AT AROUND 110 MPH; A FEW MI E OF RWY 25. THEN I WENT AROUND THE WHOLE PATTERN. I ANNOUNCED MY POS AT DOWNWIND AND BASE. AS I MADE MY TURN TO FINAL; I ANNOUNCED MY POS AGAIN; AND REALIZED THAT I WASN'T LINED UP PROPERLY FOR RWY 25. I WAS FURTHER TO THE R THEN I WANTED TO BE; AND I WAS HIGHER THAN I WOULD HAVE LIKED. I CORRECTED MY POS; BUT TO CONTINUE THE LNDG; I WOULD HAVE HAD TO LAND BEYOND THE FIRST 1/3 OF THE RWY; WHICH I'VE BEEN TAUGHT IS AN UNSAFE PRACTICE -- SO AT ABOUT 100+ FT OFF THE GND; I DECIDED TO GO AROUND. I ANNOUNCED MY GAR INTENTIONS; PUSHED IN THE THROTTLE; AND AS AIRSPD INCREASED; I REDUCED MY FLAPS AND INCREASED MY CLB. WHILE I WAS CLBING; BEFORE I TURNED (L) UPWIND; A GLIDER APPEARED DANGEROUSLY CLOSE; AND IMMEDIATELY BELOW MY L SIDE WINDOW. I'M GUESSING WE WERE LESS THAN 500 FT AGL AT THIS TIME. WE WERE SO CLOSE THAT I COULD SEE THE TOP OF THE PERSON'S HEAD. I DON'T THINK WE WERE MORE THAN 10-20 FT ABOVE THE GLIDER OR 10 FT TO THE R OF ITS COCKPIT (I DIDN'T EXACTLY STOP TO MEASURE). IT SHOCKED THE HELL OUT OF ME. I SCREAMED 'WHOA' AND MY PAX HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON. I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHERE THIS GLIDER CAME FROM; WHAT IT WAS DOING NEXT TO ME; OR WHAT IT WAS GOING TO DO NEXT. I ALSO DIDN'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING THAT MIGHT DISRUPT IT; SO I INCREASED MY CLB SLOWLY AND BEGAN A GENTLE TURN TO THE R. AT THAT MOMENT; I SAW THE REFLECTION FROM THE SUN ON THE TOW LINE FROM THE GLIDER'S NOSE; WHICH APPEARED TO BE UNDERNEATH MY NOSE. I THEN REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A TOW PLANE ATTACHED TO THE FRONT OF THE GLIDER; PROBABLY DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME. OUT OF FRIGHT; I SCREAMED AGAIN AND TOOK EMER EVASIVE ACTION -- MAKING A VERY HARD R CLBING TURN. I NEVER SAW THE TOW PLANE; JUST THE TOW LINE AND THE GLIDER. I ALSO DON'T KNOW HOW CLOSE THE TOW PLANE WAS TO ME (I'M SURE IT CAN BE COMPUTED MATHEMATICALLY; LENGTH OF TOW LINE LESS A COUPLE OF FT). MY PAX; WHO WAS SITTING ON THE R; NEVER SAW ANYTHING. HE JUST HEARD ME SCREAM TWICE AND FELT THE HARD CLBING R. FROM THE TIME THAT I SAW THE GLIDER TO THE TIME THAT I TOOK THE FINAL EVASIVE ACTION COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 2 SECONDS. AFTER WE WERE FAR ENOUGH AWAY; I TURNED BACK AND SPOTTED THE TOW PLANE. I THEN RETURNED TO THE PATTERN AND LANDED. THAT INCIDENT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. LATER THAT EVENING; WHILE I WAS STILL SHAKING; SOMEONE CALLED WHO SAID THAT THEY WERE FROM THE ARPT AND HE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. I EXPLAINED TO HIM THAT 'I DIDN'T SEE THE GLIDER NOR THE TOW PLANE; IN FACT THE SUN WAS BURNING OUR EYES SO BAD AND THAT WE COULD BARELY SEE ANYTHING.' HE STATED THAT THE GLIDER PLT HAD ANNOUNCED HIS DEP; THAT THEY 'HAD HEARD US ANNOUNCE FINAL; THAT IT APPEARED THAT WE WERE GOING TO MAKE THE LNDG; AND THEY COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE WERE GOING AROUND.' BASED ON THIS CONVERSATION; AND THE LOCATION OF THE NMAC; IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THEY DECIDED NOT TOWAIT FOR US TO LAND; BUT INSTEAD DECIDED TO DEPART WHILE WE WERE ON FINAL. I'M NOT SURE WHO HE IS. BASED ON THE CONVERSATION; I THINK THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE GLIDER. HE WANTED TO KNOW IF I HEARD THEIR DEP CALL; I RESPONDED WITH 'NO.' HE WANTED TO KNOW IF I HAD WORKING RADIOS; I RESPONDED WITH 'YES.' HE WANTED TO KNOW WHY WE DIDN'T SEE HIM -- I EXPLAINED THAT WE HAD THE SUN IN OUR EYES AND THAT WE REALLY COULDN'T SEE MUCH OF ANYTHING. HE RECITED THE RULES A FEW TIMES; HOW ACFT BELOW HAVE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY; HOW GLIDERS AND TOW PLANES HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY (WHICH I EXPLAINED THAT I KNEW SINCE I'VE BEEN OPERATING OUT OF THERE FOR 10 YRS); AND HOW I NEED TO HAVE MORE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. I EXPLAINED TO HIM THAT I COULDN'T EXACTLY PROVIDE A RIGHT-OF-WAY IF I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY WERE THERE. HE ALSO EXPLAINED THAT THIS WAS THE CLOSEST HE EVER GOT TO DYING FROM AN NMAC AND I AGREED WITH HIM THAT IT WAS THE CLOSEST THAT I EVER GOT TO DYING FROM AN NMAC AS WELL. I EXPLAINED HOW I ALWAYS GIVE WAY TO THE GLIDERS AND TOW PLANES -- THIS TIME I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE THERE. I'M NOT TRYING TO SHRUG MY RESPONSIBILITIES IN THIS MATTER. I WAS ABOVE THEM AND DIDN'T SEE THEM -- FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER COULDN'T SEE THEM. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT BECAUSE THE 3 OF US HAD NOSE HIGH ATTITUDES AND I WAS SLIGHTLY BEHIND AND ABOVE THE TOW PLANE AND GLIDER; NONE OF US SAW THE OTHER ONE UNTIL WE CAME DANGEROUSLY CLOSE. HE SAID THAT THEY MADE THEIR DEP ANNOUNCEMENT -- SINCE WE DIDN'T HEAR IT; WE HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING IF THEY DID; OR IF THEY GOT DISTR; FORGOT TO; AND BELIEVE THEY DID. BOTTOM LINE; NEITHER MY PAX NOR I HEARD IT. IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THEIR ANNOUNCEMENT CAME WHILE I WAS DOING THE FINAL CHK (VISUALLY CONFIRMED GEAR DOWN; GREEN LIGHT ON; FUEL IN; PROP IN; FUEL SELECTOR -- BOTH). IF WE HAD HEARD THE CALL; I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT THE RESULTS WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT -- THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SPOT THEM. BUT WITH THE SUN BURNING IN OUR EYES; I STILL DON'T KNOW IF WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE THEM -- AND THAT REALLY SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME EVEN MORE. I CONSIDER MYSELF A SAFE; CAREFUL (MAYBE TOO CAREFUL); LOW-TIME; FAIR WX PLT; WHO ONLY GOES OUT ON VERY NICE DAYS. I DO SHALLOW ASCENTS AND SHALLOW DSCNTS TO BE ABLE TO SEE OTHER ACFT. I'M AWARE THAT THINGS HAPPENING IN THE PATTERNS; AND IN THE PAST; ACFT HAVE DSNDED ON ME A NUMBER OF TIMES WITHOUT THE OTHER PLT KNOWING I WAS THERE. BECAUSE OF THAT; I SPEND A LOT OF TIME LOOKING UP; MAYBE TOO MUCH TIME LOOKING UP. NOW; I'LL HAVE TO SPEND SOME OF THAT TIME LOOKING DOWN AS WELL.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.