Glider lands on bypass

A glider made an emergency landing in a construction zone Tuesday afternoon at the new U.S. 93 Alternate Route in Kalispell.

Both occupants of the aircraft walked away unharmed after the landing at about 2 p.m. near Foy’s Lake Road, according to emergency responders.

“Airplanes run out of fuel and I think they might have ran out of air,” Smith Valley Fire Chief Doug Scarff said.

Kalispell City Airport Manager Fred Leistiko confirmed the pilot and passenger were forced to use the graveled, open space of the bypass construction zone after losing control of the aircraft.

Gliders rely on warm currents of rising air to stay airborne. They’re normally towed to higher altitudes by airplanes and released.

“They had the nice, long bypass there so they just landed right there in the middle of it,” Leistiko said.

Leistiko said the glider is owned privately and based at the airport. It had been returned to the airport without damage by late afternoon, he said.

“That’s the beauty of the glider,” Leistiko said. “You can put them down just about anywhere.”

Chris Zarcone said he was at his property adjacent to the construction when he spotted the glider about 100 feet above the ground. He said it made a sharp turn before disappearing from view.

“All I heard was ‘bam, bam, bam,’” said Zarcone, who shot several photographs of the scene. “I thought he crashed so I called 911 real fast.”

The Kalispell Police Department, Kalispell Fire Department and Flathead County’s Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The Federal Aviation Administration also was contacted.