Glider crash kills 1 in Ferndale
<p>Sheriff Chuck Curry and Undersheriff Jordan White stand next to a glider that crashed Friday evening just south of the Ferndale Airfield. A man in his 60s was pronounced dead at the scene while another man of about the same age was airlifted for treatment, Curry said.</p>
One man was killed and another was in critical condition at Kalispell Regional Medical Center Friday night after a glider crashed near the Ferndale Airfield.
Emergency responders rushed to the crash in a home’s front yard off of Aero Lane just south of the grassy runway after the incident was initially reported at about 5 p.m.
A man in his 60s was pronounced dead at the scene, while another man of about the same age was airlifted by an ALERT helicopter for treatment of a head injury and bone fractures, Sheriff Chuck Curry said.
The men both had out-of-state identification, but Curry said it appears they are summer residents of the area. Their names were not released, as authorities were attempting to notify the victims’ families Friday night.
The motorless yellow-and-red aircraft was being towed by a cable connected to a Piper PA-25 Pawnee airplane shortly before the crash occurred, Curry said.
The pilot of the plane told investigators that the occupants of the glider were planning to execute a 180-degree maneuver after disconnecting from the tow plane.
“Something obviously happened during that maneuver,” Curry said while still at the scene Friday evening.
No one saw the glider come down, he said, but impact marks could be seen only feet away from the aircraft. The marks appeared to show that the plane had been approaching the airfield from the south when it crashed shy of the runway.
The pilot of the tow plane didn’t see the impact.
“He doesn’t really know exactly what happened,” Curry said.
The tip of the glider’s right wing was broken, and there was severe damage to the entire front portion of the aircraft.
Volunteer firefighters, an evidence technician and Flathead County Sheriff’s Office officials were still investigating the crash Friday night in the yard of the rural Ferndale home.
Gliders rely on warm currents of rising air to stay airborne. They’re normally towed to higher altitudes by airplanes and released.
On Aug. 17, 2010, a glider made an emergency landing in a construction zone near the U.S. 93 Alternate Route in Kalispell. Both occupants of that aircraft walked away unharmed.
Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.