Benalla gliding accident; one dead

[Time Out]

Pilot killed after two gliders collide

A glider pilot in his sixties has died after two gliders collided in north-eastern Victoria this afternoon.

The incident at Dookie North was seen by fellow glider pilots from the Benalla Gliding Club, who raised the alarm.

It is reported the pilot of the other glider, a man in his fifties, managed to parachute to the ground.

He suffered a broken arm and was taken to the Goulburn Valley Hospital.

Both aircraft crashed about 600 metres from each other near Boundary road.
source (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1332231.htm)

[maxgrad]

condolences to the family

[SmoothCriminal]

Condolences to all involved

[CAR256]

Heard about it on the news last night, searched and only found info above...

If anyone has any more info about the people involved, please let me know....

Condolences to all concerned...

[TheStormyPetrel]

A man died and another man was injured when the gliders they were flying crashed in central north Victoria.

Police said the gliders had taken off in Benalla and crashed at Dookie North, near Shepparton, yesterday afternoon.

The accident, which was reported to police about 4pm (AEST), killed a man aged in his 60s, a police spokesman said.

He said a second man, aged in his 50s, who managed to parachute to safety, suffered a broken arm in the collision.

The gliders had come down 600 metres apart in a paddock, near the corner of Proctors and Boundary roads, the spokesman said.

Police were investigating the incident last night and a report would be prepared for the coroner, he said.

The injured man was reportedly in a satisfactory condition in the Goulburn Valley Base Hospital, a Rural Ambulance spokesman said. AAP
source (http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Glider-pilot-dead-in-midair-collision/2005/03/27/1111862252591.html?oneclick=true)

and

State Coroner Graeme Johnstone was expected to visit a crash site east of Dookie last night to lead an investigation into a fatal mid-air collision.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was notified of the accident but will rely on the findings of the coronial inquest.

The surviving pilot had not been able to give a detailed account of the collision before being taken to hospital with a broken arm.

Police expect to today interview the man - who is a registered gliding instructor - in Goulburn Valley Base Hospital.

The instructor was injured as he crashed heavily to the ground about 200 m from his glider.

It is compulsory for glider pilots to carry emergency parachutes on crosscountry flights.

Remarkably, the glider he escaped from landed the right way up and appeared to have suffered little damage.

"There is a bit of visible damage to the nose but it looks more superficial than structural," Shepparton police Senior Sergeant Ian Bull said.

Two other glider pilots on the crosscountry exercise are believed to have witnessed the crash and raised the alarm.

A tow plane from the Gliding Club of Victoria landed at the crash scene but the surviving pilot had already used his mobile telephone to call for help.

The dead pilot was on a compulsory training flight performed by pilots every six to 12 months in order to keep their licence current.

The instructor was observing the student pilot from the air when they collided.

Gliding Club of Victoria general committee member Vivienne Drew said both men involved in the incident were experienced and had been gliding for between five and seven years.

"We are quite a tight-knit community. We know each other quite well," Mrs Drew said.

She said the accident had shaken the club's members, but said they would work through it.

"It is always a shock, but we continue because we love it. We will take stock with what's happened," Mrs Drew said.

The club's instructors' panel and the sport's governing body The Gliding Federation Australia are expected to investigate the tragedy separately.
source includes photographs which some may find distressing (http://news.mcmedia.com.au/story.asp?TakeNo=200503284891912)