Tuesday, June 4, 2002
Two Killed as Skydiver Smashes Through Glider
LONDON (Reuters) - Two people were killed in a freak air
collision over central England on Saturday, when a skydiver
smashed through the wing of a glider sending it crashing to
earth, police and investigators said.
"A freefall parachutist crashed into a glider, ripping its
wing off and there were two fatalities," a spokesman for the
Air Accident Investigation Board told Reuters.
The collision at over 2,000 feet (610 meters) occurred on a
sunny afternoon at the Hinton-in-the-Hedges private airfield in
Northamptonshire, he said.
Northamptonshire police said the one man glider had come
down in a field alongside the airstrip and a police helicopter
was currently scouring the surrounding area for any wreckage
which might give clues as to how the accident occurred.
Despite being considered a dangerous sport, skydiving has a
relatively good safety record.