ASW 19 B spins in after the tug pilot releases it from a low, out-of-position tow
On the pilot's first flight on the ASW 19 B, an aerotow behind an ultralight tug at Havlíčkův Brod went wrong on the ground run; after the tug pilot released at about 50 m, the glider spun in; its pilot was fatally injured and the glider destroyed. The glider swung from side to side, and the pilot did not release on his instructor's radio call. Airborne, it ballooned; the pilot pushed forward and it flew far below the tug on a slack rope. Believing the glider was off tow, the tug pilot turned right; the rope's pull held the tug's tail down. Seeing the glider in a steep left bank, he released it.
- First flight on a new type: After a morning of ground instruction on the ASW 19 B, the pilot took an aerotow behind an ultralight tug, his instructor watching from the runway with a radio.
- Swinging on the ground run: The glider swung from side to side across the grass and its tail touched the ground. The instructor called for a release; the pilot answered that he had not managed it in time.
- Balloon and slack rope: Airborne before the tug, the glider ballooned; the pilot pushed forward and it gained speed. The rope went slack and the tug pilot lost sight of the glider in his mirror.
- Tug pilot assumes a release: Feeling the rope unload, the tug pilot believed the glider had released and turned slightly right to clear the runway, without checking. Told by radio it was still on tow, he tried to level off.
- Tug held nose-up by the rope: With the glider flying far below, its pull on the rope held the tug's tail down; the tug climbed steeply and slowed to about 50 km/h at 60 m while the glider rocked from wing to wing.
- Released, spins from 50 m: Seeing the glider in a steep left bank, the tug pilot released the rope. The glider stalled into a left spin from about 50 m and struck the ground almost vertically; the tug recovered and landed.