A commercial tandem hang glider has plunged to the ground at a resort near Queenstown, killing the pilot and his volunteer firefighter passenger this morning.
The 300 metre fall happened in front of the firefighter’s wife and colleagues, who were at the resort for a firefighter’s conference.
An eyewitness said the pilot was making a steep turn when the wings just appeared to fold back and collapse.
The firefighter, Andrew Scotland, and a friend had decided to take the flight as a final adventure before heading home. The other man was a professional pilot from overseas.
It is believed Mr Scotland another firefighter took off on separate commercial tandem hang-glider at about 10:15am and that the occupants of one watched on from the air as the other fell to the ground.
“Four persons went out on this journey this morning. Two flew initially and the second two took off but sadly one of those flights ended in tragedy,” said Detective Sergeant Grahame Bartlett of Queenstown Police.
It appears the pilot attempted to deploy the emergency parachute but it did not work.
The bodies of the two mean were taken away this afternoon. The witness said they both died on impact.
Northland Regional Fire Commander Trevor Andrew paid tribute to his fallen colleague.
“[He was] larger than life. It is a tragedy to lose any one of Andrew’s contributions to the community but someone of his calibre and character is a double tragedy.”
The Queenstown Fire Station flag was flying at half mast today.
Sky Trek, the hang-gliding company involved, is believed to be the same company responsible for the death of a Greek tourist six years ago.
This incident, and a spate of others, resulted in tough new compulsory safety measures being introduced for commercial hang-gliding operators.
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