Pilot Dies As Gliders Collide In Flight

[RotorPilot]

Pilot dies as gliders collide in flight

 

HAWKESBURY, Ontario, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Canadian aviation officials were investigating a rare, fatal mid-flight collision of two gliders, reports said.

A 37-year-old Montreal man was killed in the crash Sunday afternoon, the Montreal Gazette said Monday.

 

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Full story:

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/2003...82119-7118r.htm

[Guest graunch1]

This one of those "great" headlines RP...What was rare? The mid air? The fatal aspect of the incident or that the collision was between two gliders?

[RotorPilot]

Well, as you know, I didn't wrote it , but my guess is:

 

- Mid air collision

- Between gliders

 

Their are not that common, fortunately...

[Guest graunch1]

I am sure you didn't write the headlines RP. I guess I was trying to make the point about how poor they were written by whomever. Many media headlines make a scramble out of the context of the article as they are written to maximize the selling power of the article vs accurracy or good gammer.

[RotorPilot]

graunch1

 

Just remember that a journalist writes everyday and just about anything and most of the times he knows nothing about what he or she is writing about...

 

That is the way the media is... They cannot have experts in every field

[Swingline]

I must be obtuse, but I don't see what the problem is.

 

Fatal mid-air collisions between gliders are rare, relatively speaking at least. The last mid-air collision in Canada that I can recall occurred at the 1997 national championships, and there were (thankfully) no fatalities.

 

I still wear a parachute whenever I fly a single seat glider, because it's cheap insurance, and you never know. I would also wear a chute in airplanes, except that the spam cans are not designed for quick egress.

 

Whether a mid-air is more likely between two gliders or two airplanes is something I can't really say. Gliders often thermal in close proximity, which increases the risk. On the other hand, they usually have much better visibility than most airplanes.

 

Of course, we all know that some pilots (glider and airplane) fly along with their heads in the cockpits, monitoring the variometer, fine-tuning the GPS, or whatever.