Excessive pressure here Tow ring Pilot can not override excessive pressure with cockpit release handle. Tow hook pulled up Glider excessively high on tow Figure 8-11  A Schweizer tow hitch. once the descent has started to the gliderport/airport. The  glider pilot needs to use spoilers/dive brakes to maintain  the low tow position and to avoid overtaking the towplane.  The tow pilot should plan the approach to avoid obstacles.  The approach should be shallow enough for the glider to  touch down first. The glider pilot should use the spoilers/ dive brakes to stay on the runway, and use the wheel brake  as necessary to avoid overtaking the towplane. Excessive use  of the glider wheel brake may result in a hard landing for  the towplane because the towline could slow the towplane  below flying speed. Another valid method would be to stay on  tow until well within gliding distance of the airport and then  breaking the towline. The best experience to date suggests the  procedure to break the towline would be by climbing above  and diving down to develop slackline, then fully extending the  dive brakes and/or spoilers to set up the overload condition  as the towplane begins to accelerate without the load of the  glider and the glider is decelerating due to the increase in  drag. Once the towline breaks, the glider lands using the  procedures of having the line attached, in case the line did  not break at the gliders weak link.  include rising high above the towplane during takeoff and  climb or leaving air brakes open during takeoff and climb. The glider pilot may choose to deliberately terminate the  tow/launch anytime it may appear to be a safer course of  action. For example, the pilot discovers control binding once  air pressure builds on the surfaces, releasing the towline is  the better alternative than getting too high to stop and too  low to bailout. Premature terminations of the tow have been a leading cause  of glider accidents and incidents according to the Soaring  Safety Foundation. Towing failure incidents related to  rope breaks are not as common as other distractions in the  glider cockpit. Extension of spoilers/dive brakes, unlocked  canopies, and other distractions are major causes of the tow  failure incidents leading to a towline break. Prevention is  achieved with the proper use checklists and proper prelaunch  discipline. There are five planning situations regarding in- motion towline breaks, uncommanded release, or power loss  of the towplane and are listed below. While the best course  of action depends on many variables, such as runway length,  airport environment, density altitude, and wind, all tow  failures or emergency release have one thing in common:  the need to maintain control of the glider. Two possibilities  are stalling the glider or dragging a wingtip on the ground  during a low altitude turn.  Environmental factors for terminating the tow include  encountering clouds, mountain rotors (area of turbulence  created by wind and mountainous terrain), or restricted  visibility. Any of these factors may require the glider pilot  to release from the aerotow. During the aerotow, each pilot  is responsible for avoiding situations that would place the  other pilot at risk. For the towplane pilot, examples of pilot error include  deliberately starting the takeoff before the glider pilot has  signaled the glider is ready for launch, using steep banks  during the aerotow without prior consent of the glider  pilot, or frivolous use of aerotow signals, such as “release  immediately!” For the glider pilot, examples of pilot error  On takeoff, all towplanes may plan to drift downwind if there  is a wind present. If there is no wind or traffic, then the tow  pilot should select an area on the take path/profile that has the  fewest obstacles for both the towplane and glider. The tow  pilot should plan to drift in that direction. This downwind  drift does a few things for the glider pilot, the most important  of which is that it ensures the glider has maneuverability if a  8-10 Towing Failures