A paragliding instructor died in a tragic accident during a mid-air collision with a hang glider in Utah on Tuesday, police said.
The two planes crashed about 5 p.m. near Salt Lake County Flight Park, a popular spot for unpowered planes to take off from a mountainside and take advantage of updrafts in the southern suburban city of Draper. from Salt Lake City.
The tandem paragliders and a single hang glider took off from the park and landed hard in the same nearby area, Draper police Lt. Mike Elkins said Tuesday.
The paraglider’s pilot, Joshua Ellison, 44, died before he could be taken to hospital.
A passenger who was flying tandem with Ellison was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, while the hang glider pilot emerged from the accident with minor injuries.
None of their identities were revealed.
Ellison had launched the two-seater paraglider from Salt Lake County Flight Park.Facebook
The cause of the accident is still under investigation – police said conditions at the time were clear and mild and that Ellison was an experienced paragliding pilot with strong ties to the local sporting community.
“Losing friends in the paragliding community is one of the hardest things that comes with this sport,” fellow paragliding instructor JD Cutler wrote on Facebook.
“He was a salt of the earth guy, and our community will never be the same without him. As my eyes swell and tears run down my face tonight, I look back and revisit all the great moments we shared soaring into the sky and flying in tandem together. I miss you so much, my friend. Flying will never be the same without you.”
Other friends referred to Ellison as their “beloved Captain Avery.”
According to one paraglider, Ellison became a tandem paraglider pilot so he could take his wife, children and friends on trips through the sky.
Ellison was an experienced paragliding pilot and instructor.Facebook
“We know the risk we run in paragliding, but the call burns in our soul so deeply that we must take flight to feel complete. Those who have this obsession understand and share a common bond. Still, losing a friend, a close friend, is always difficult,” Korey Curtis said.
“You have earned your wings brother, fly with angels and continue your mission. Until we meet again, my brother.”
The hang glider’s level of experience was not immediately known.
Ellison learned to tandem paraglide so he could take his family and friends on trips, according to a fellow glider.Facebook
A hang glider is a triangular, kite-like aircraft flown by a pilot who is suspended horizontally below.
A paraglider is an elongated parachute designed for gliding with a pilot suspended in a seated position.
According to the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, five people died while paragliding last year, while three deaths were reported in hang gliding.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn