Glider Crash
At nearby Parowan airport they fly gliders all summer. We often see these unmotorized aircraft being towed up, soaring overhead, or coming in for a landing. I went up in a glider many years ago— the exhilaration of soaring is unbelievable.
Today we got a reminder that what goes up also must come down— and not always in a controlled manner. A glider crashed in a field about a mile from our home. According to a Sheriff's deputy, the tow plane had trouble and had to let loose the tow rope. The glider, for whatever reason, immediately stalled and came down nose-first. The pilot was killed on impact.
There is debris scattered on the road and through the field. For the time being, the Sheriff's deputies have our road closed.
A similar incident occurred Friday in northern Utah— the tow plane had to release the cable and the glider crashed. In that accident, the pilot suffered minor injuries.
I believe the pilot was my uncle. He was killed today in an accident exactly like this one in Utah. I would be blown away to hear there was more than one accident with this description. I and my family are devastated and anxious to learn more...
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That was my uncle.
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I'm very sorry for your loss.
The Salt Lake Tribune carries this report, though their map has the crash site on the wrong side of I-15. (The addresses out here aren't in the mapping databases.) The Spectrum in St. George has no report. I can see that the Sheriff's deputies are back this morning-- the road is still blocked off and there are three vehicles at the site. SLT indicates that NTSB is expected today, but it doesn't look like they're here yet (8:30 am Tuesday).
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