Why would the tow plane descend other than to land? I'm guessing to keep his wake out of the path of the glider?
tony does the cable just hang from the tow plane after the release or does it wind up in some kind of spool. Dragging that long cable could have some serious consequences.
Clearly there's see & avoid problems all around.
But it also seems clear that the towpilot *should* have dived to go under the other plane.
Looks like there's plenty of blame to go around, really.
So what happened to the towplane? If the tow line got caught in the UL's prop, is it designed to break-away from the towplane?
after release the standard right of way rules apply, so for convergence at the same altitude, the aircraft to the right has the right of way.
this collision really isnt about right of way though. obviously there was serious lack of see and avoid on both pilots accounts.
I can't see where the tow plane operator has even one smidge of responsibility above what he's already done. He missed the UL by taking decisive action, and the UL was oblivious until he HIT the cable of the tow plane. Under 'see and avoid', the towplane did exactly that, the UL was clueless until hitting the cable.
Also, having towed a few gliders and banners in my day, I would say that any aircraft that has a tow line would have the ROW regardless if there was something attached to it or not. I know back in Sandy Eggo I was alway "glider tow 279er" or "Banner tow 279er" regardless of whether I had anything attached or not. As long as the cable is there, it's a hazard.