Glider crash lands on ski run at Heavenly Mountain Resort; pilot and passenger OK
UPDATE 5:32PM: A glider crash landed near Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe this afternoon. The pilot and passenger walked away from the crash, which happened at 1:26 p.m. near the front of the First Run area of the California Lodge.
A spokesman for Minden-Tahoe Airport based Soaring NV, said the pilot was flying a Duo Discus aircraft and lost altitude and was forced to land. The pilot is experienced and was doing a flight review, the spokesman said. The pilot and passenger were unhurt, he said.
"They were descending, lost air and were forced to come down on this side of the mountain and looked for a suitable place to put it down and explored their options, believing it would be the safest location," said Greg Almos, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office deputy.
El Dorado County Sheriff's Office personnel and fire and rescue teams were dispatched to the scene.
Though the glider came down there was reportedly not much damage to it. It may be up and running again this week, the spokesman said. The aircraft is near the First Run. A glider trailer has arrived at the recovery area to retrieve the aircraft.
Winds around South Lake Tahoe have been reportedly calm.
According to a witness, a snowboarder dove to avoid the wings clipping him. And another witness, Kouri Penn said that it looked as if the pilot was performing a stunt.
"He was so low over our heads we thought it was supposed to be that way," Penn said. "He went really low into the hill, took the incline with the left wing into the hill and immediately did a 180 degree turn, and came to a complete stop...after it happened, I watched everyone get out and knew it wasn't a stunt."
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