Walker said he watched as Lowen took off with the glider towing behind and everything “looked normal” to him. At the end of the takeoff he thought the plane was flying a bit lower than normal. When the tow plane turned right, the glider did not immediately mimic the movement of the plane as it was supposed to. When he saw the plane crash behind some trees “all kinds of shock and horror” went through his mind. His first thought was to rush over to help Lowen. On Monday a friend supporting Lowen’s wife, Elisabeth, in court told the inquest Lowen could be described in one word: “Big”. He was a big man physically, he was loud, and he was fun to have around.