Narrative:

My aircraft as well as a glider on tow were involved in a near mid-air collision with a boeing 737 approximately 5 miles nne of the solberg VOR (sbj). The tow plane and glider departed somerset airport and flew a standard departure route for the day's conditions; dropping gliders in the vicinity of trump national golf course; nnw of smq. After making a final turn and leveling the wings; I (tow plane) was heading eastbound just north or route 78 over the golf course. The glider released at 3000 ft AGL and proceeded to turn right and climb while I (tow plane) turned left and began my descent. As I (tow plane) came through approximately 90-120 degrees of left turn I noticed a boeing 737 in my immediate area heading directly for me and the glider at our altitude. I initiated immediate evasive maneuvers to avoid the imminent collision; passing within less than a quarter mile of the B737. According to flight tracking data obtained on the internet the boeing 737 was inbound to ewr. The B737; the glider and tow plane were outside of controlled airspace at the time of the near mid-air collision. According to this data the B737 was at an altitude of 2800 ft MSL traveling at 196 kts and in communication with ny TRACON. Once I was clear and out of danger; I immediately called a ny approach air traffic controller and notified him of the near miss and reminded him of the glider activity in the vicinity of smq (my initial call to ATC was ignored). He indicated to me that the jet in question was under his control. I then heard the controller call the B737 and tell the pilot that we were outside of controlled airspace; that I was not under his control; and he apologized to the pilot for the incident. The B737 pilot then acknowledged that he now had the yellow glider in sight. Upon reaching the ground; I immediately called an ATC supervisor at ny TRACON to report the incident. I was told that jets will be coming through at these altitudes on a regular basis and to keep a lookout for them. The ATC supervisor also told me that this B737 was on vectors for the runway 11 ILS into ewr. I was also told I could contact an ATC procedure specialist on to discuss any possible means of addressing this issue as it was over his head. A lineman at smq heard the entire radio exchange as he monitors the frequency while he works. He heard the TCAS of the B737 giving a climb; climb command while the pilot was transmitting to the ATC controller. In this incident; the boeing 737's TCAS and the pilot's reaction likely prevented an imminent mid-air collision. Fortunately; neither the glider or tow plane was caught in the wake turbulence of the jet; which would have certainly caused them to roll and/or crash. In this case; FAA regulations address the right of way issue that occurred; giving right of way to a glider in tow as well as giving right of way to slower and less maneuverable aircraft. While the glider and tow plane both had right of way over the boeing 737; this does not resolve this issue. A collision between the B737 and the much smaller glider and/or tow plane would almost certainly result in the death of the pilot/passengers in the tow plane and glider and possibly in the injury or death of the crew and/or passengers of the B737. Regardless of right of way; it is difficult for a jet moving at 200 kts to see an aircraft moving at 60 kts and vice versa. Historically; the glider operation has attempted to work with ny ATC to obtain a squawk code for the tow plane in order to increase awareness of our operation so the controllers can route traffic appropriately through the area in a safe manner. Many times; it has been difficult to obtain a code due to the workload of the controllers. Potential causes and contributing factors include:1. Fair visibility of approximately 10 miles with haze 2. Routing of jet traffic at less than 3000 ft MSL over 25 miles from ewr in an area with high VFR traffic; some of which are non-transponder equipped 3. High closure rate m

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 glider tow pilot reports airborne conflict with B737 after releasing glider at 3000 ft 25 NM west of EWR.

Narrative: My aircraft as well as a glider on tow were involved in a near mid-air collision with a Boeing 737 approximately 5 miles NNE of the Solberg VOR (SBJ). The tow plane and glider departed Somerset Airport and flew a standard departure route for the day's conditions; dropping gliders in the vicinity of Trump National Golf Course; NNW of SMQ. After making a final turn and leveling the wings; I (tow plane) was heading eastbound just north or Route 78 over the golf course. The glider released at 3000 ft AGL and proceeded to turn right and climb while I (tow plane) turned left and began my descent. As I (tow plane) came through approximately 90-120 degrees of left turn I noticed a Boeing 737 in my immediate area heading directly for me and the glider at our altitude. I initiated immediate evasive maneuvers to avoid the imminent collision; passing within less than a quarter mile of the B737. According to flight tracking data obtained on the internet the Boeing 737 was inbound to EWR. The B737; the glider and tow plane were outside of controlled airspace at the time of the near mid-air collision. According to this data the B737 was at an altitude of 2800 ft MSL traveling at 196 kts and in communication with NY TRACON. Once I was clear and out of danger; I immediately called a NY approach air traffic controller and notified him of the near miss and reminded him of the glider activity in the vicinity of SMQ (my initial call to ATC was ignored). He indicated to me that the jet in question was under his control. I then heard the controller call the B737 and tell the pilot that we were outside of controlled airspace; that I was not under his control; and he apologized to the pilot for the incident. The B737 pilot then acknowledged that he now had the yellow glider in sight. Upon reaching the ground; I immediately called an ATC Supervisor at NY TRACON to report the incident. I was told that jets will be coming through at these altitudes on a regular basis and to keep a lookout for them. The ATC Supervisor also told me that this B737 was on vectors for the Runway 11 ILS into EWR. I was also told I could contact an ATC procedure specialist on to discuss any possible means of addressing this issue as it was over his head. A lineman at SMQ heard the entire radio exchange as he monitors the frequency while he works. He heard the TCAS of the B737 giving a climb; climb command while the pilot was transmitting to the ATC controller. In this incident; the Boeing 737's TCAS and the pilot's reaction likely prevented an imminent mid-air collision. Fortunately; neither the glider or tow plane was caught in the wake turbulence of the jet; which would have certainly caused them to roll and/or crash. In this case; FAA regulations address the right of way issue that occurred; giving right of way to a glider in tow as well as giving right of way to slower and less maneuverable aircraft. While the glider and tow plane both had right of way over the Boeing 737; this does not resolve this issue. A collision between the B737 and the much smaller glider and/or tow plane would almost certainly result in the death of the pilot/passengers in the tow plane and glider and possibly in the injury or death of the crew and/or passengers of the B737. Regardless of right of way; it is difficult for a jet moving at 200 kts to see an aircraft moving at 60 kts and vice versa. Historically; the glider operation has attempted to work with NY ATC to obtain a squawk code for the tow plane in order to increase awareness of our operation so the controllers can route traffic appropriately through the area in a safe manner. Many times; it has been difficult to obtain a code due to the workload of the controllers. Potential causes and contributing factors include:1. Fair visibility of approximately 10 miles with haze 2. Routing of jet traffic at less than 3000 ft MSL over 25 miles from EWR in an area with high VFR traffic; some of which are non-transponder equipped 3. High closure rate m

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.