Elderly glider pilot died after choosing wrong field to land in, report finds
He was 85 years old
A report has been released into a glider crash in Gloucestershire, in which an 85 year old man died. It happened during hot weather on the 7 July 2022.
The unnamed individual, who had over 70 years gliding experience, had been taking part in a gliding competition that started in Shropshire.
As he approached the Cheltenham area, he chose a field that thought was suitable to land in. As he approached the field, he realised that the field was rough and steeply sloped, but he couldn't abort the landing.
As soon as he landed, the glider immediately struck something, causing it to move violently, and for him to sustain an injury to his neck.
It eventually came to rest on a fence, and the pilot managed to stagger out before collapsing.
He was rushed to hospital with a fracture in his spine and internal bleeding, but died 20 days later.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) found that hot weather would have made the cockpit warm, and had lack of ventillation. Whilst there was water in the cockpit, they could not find out how much the pilot would have drank at the time.
The AAIB concluded that dehydration, flight computer issues, and sun glare all contributed to the pilot choosing to land in an unsuitable field.