Ferndale glider crash victims identified

A man who died in a glider crash near the Ferndale Airfield last week has been identified as Douglas Sameit of Lakeside, and a survivor was identified as Gordon Schmidt, a summer resident of Bigfork.

Sameit, 61, was pronounced dead at the scene of the July 8 crash just south of the airfield. He was a retired airline pilot and held a Federal Aviation Administration glider instruction certificate, according to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

Schmidt, 70, is from Washington and a summer resident of Bigfork. He was transported from the crash site by ALERT helicopter and stabilized at Kalispell Regional Medical Center before being flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for further treatment. He is the owner and operator of Wave Soaring Adventures Inc., a company that was in its first season of operation in the Flathead Valley. He is a glider instructor and a FAA designated pilot examiner for the certification of glider pilots.

The glider went down at around 5 p.m. on Friday, with high winds possibly playing a part in the crash, according to Sheriff Chuck Curry. The crash is being investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Bureau.