Pilot And Passenger Of One Glider Managed To Land Safely; The Pilot Of A Second Glider Bails Out

When glider pilots join up for competition, they not only compete with each other for the best performance, they also compete to find the best lift. As pilots begin to see where the most productive lift can be found, that little piece of airspace can get pretty busy.

Such was the case during a glider competition taking place near the British town of Gransden last weekend. We had heard that there was a midair collision during this competition and we found some of the details on BBC.com.

BBC reported that 2 gliders collided; one glider was a single place type and the other glider had 2 people on board. The 2 place glider was damage but managed to land in a field and its occupants were uninjured, but they declined to comment on what happened. The pilot of the single place glider hit the silk and ended up draped over the top of a farmhouse with minor injuries.

It’s reported that the collision occurred at about 3,000 feet and it was observed by numerous people on the ground. The pilot who bailed out was reported to be Gerrard Dale, and he did provide some information about the accident.

Dale is quoted in the BBC report as saying in an interview the next day, "I'm slightly battered, bruised and a bit disheveled, but I'm all right. I remember stabilizing the glider after the aircraft touched and thinking I could maybe fly away, but then the thing went right out of control."

He said that when he decided to bail out he was thrown from the cockpit as soon as he released his safety straps. He continued, "I looked down to my left and I could see the glider upside down and quite close, but then I realized it was falling faster than I was. I saw the woods and the railway line and the main road, so I had to learn to fly the 'chute pretty quickly”.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the British Gliding Association are investigating the collision.

Dale added, "I'm really annoyed because I did a lot of work on that aircraft, and seeing it hanging in the tree is deeply irritating. So I've got to get it down and send it to the repairers now."

FMI: www.gliding.co.uk