Mary Neighbour, 81, Was Avoiding House In Downdraft

Mary Neighbour has escaped the last ten British winters to enjoy Australian summers with her husband, Ted, flying gliders. But she's currently recovering from serious injuries in an Australian hospital after a crash thought to have been brought on by an unexpected downdraft.

TheAge.com reports Ms. Neighbour, of Glossop, England, is by all accounts a skilled pilot and well-known among sailplane enthusiasts in the area of Benalla, in eastern Victoria. Gliding Club of Victoria spokesman John Switala tells the Herald Sun that on her Sunday flight, Neighbour apparently got caught in a downdraft, and when it became obvious she wouldn't make her chosen emergency landing site, she veered away from a home in her path at the last moment.

Kylie Martin was reportedly standing on her porch with her kids as the glider just missed her house and hit the ground nearby. She told The Age, "This thing was coming towards us and I was dumbfounded. I probably should have grabbed the kids and ran a lot earlier than I did but I wasn't really thinking.' Martin made a phone call to summon emergency responders.

Neighbour's injuries reportedly include fractured ribs and a punctured lung. Various media sources reported her condition Sunday night as serious but stable.

Peter Gray of the Australian Gliding Federation tells The Age, "She's done a fairly heroic thing to avoid injuring four innocent people. She put her life at risk to save others."

Switala adds, 'She's a highly experienced and competent pilot and all of us would have no hesitation to fly in same sky as Mary.'

Mary Neighbour is reported to have soloed in 1962, and since logged over 2,500 hours in more than 40 gliders.

FMI: www.glidingclub.org.au