Incident Overview
A glider completed two 360-degree turns on base leg before turning final, due to traffic that had not cleared the runway. It was then cleared to land. Ground control instructed the pilot to immediately remove the glider off the north side of the runway upon rollout. At that time, the glider was being flown by a student pilot.
Sequence of Events
After landing, the tow pilot entered the runway in front of the glider and motioned for the glider to turn off the runway. The glider flight instructor began giving instructions to the student to lower the left wing to initiate the turn, but realized they were moving too fast to safely turn without hitting the tow pilot. The instructor then took over the controls and attempted to make a right turn away from the tow pilot and tow plane, but the turn was directed toward the runway. During this maneuver, the glider's wing tip struck the tow plane's propeller, causing damage to the underside of the glider's wing.
Perspectives
The tow pilot stated that he assumed the tower would have relayed the same instructions to the glider pilot that he had received. He expected the glider pilot to be prepared for his hand signals directing the glider off the runway. The tow pilot believed that, because the glider pilot had not been briefed by the tower, the glider landed longer and faster than usual to accommodate the flight instruction required by the student.
The instructor noted that while the instructions from the tower were distracting and caused the glider to be low on final, he said: "I think the communication to the tow pilot (and not the glider) caused the tow pilot to enter the runway and caused the evasive maneuver that contributed to the accident. Despite the confusion a safe landing was underway until that time; I should have rolled out straight ahead and made the tow pilot jump clear and then the collision would have never occurred."
Damage
The glider sustained damage to the underside of its wing. The tow plane's propeller was struck by the glider's wing tip.
Probable Cause
No probable cause was stated in the source.