Pictured: Experienced pilot, 67, who died after two gliders collided in mid-air horror crash
Pictured: Experienced pilot, 67, who died after two gliders collided in mid-air horror crash
- Phil Dolan, 67, was competing in a Challenge Cup event when killed in the crash
A pilot killed after two gliders collided in mid-air and plunged to the ground in a devastating accident has been pictured.
Experienced flyer Phil Dolan, 67, was competing in a Challenge Cup event when tragedy struck yesterday afternoon, witnessed by dozens of people.
The victim from Edinburgh[2] was the popular and respected chairman of the Scottish Gliding Centre.
Pete Stratton, CEO of the British Gliding Association which organised the regional contest, said today: ‘Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
‘Whilst I didn’t know him personally, a death like this is indeed a rare occurrence and we are very keen to find out what went wrong.’
Experienced flyer Phil Dolan, 67, (second to right) was competing in a Challenge Cup event when tragedy struck yesterday afternoon
Wreckage of one of the gliders involved in a mid-air collision in the skies over Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Horrified locals have told of their shock after his single seat glider – a G-KADS is a Schempp-Hirth Ventus-2cxt – crashed above a field in front of their homes with the wreckage landing just feet away from a busy road.
The crash yesterday afternoon was seen by many residents living on a new build housing estate residents in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
Mr Dolan was taking part in the Husbands Bosworth Challenge Cup. The competition, which runs until Sunday, was suspended today due to poor weather conditions.
Mr Stratton, speaking to MailOnline, said: ‘We are reviewing whether the competition will continue in light if the pilot’s death but we did not compete today because weather precluded it.’
He said it was too early to say how the accident had happened, adding: ‘We will know more at a later date, and it is in the hands of the police and air investigators.’
The Scottish Gliding Centre, based at Portmoak in Kinross, had posted a best wishes message to pilots before news the shocking crash.
It stated: ‘Good luck to all Portmoak pilots that are competing in the Hus Bos Challenge Cup this week!
Police examine the wreckage of the glider in which the pilot was killed
‘Over 50 glider pilots will take part in the competition completing cross country tasks across the 9 days.
‘We wish all our pilots the best of luck! ‘
A Gliding Centre post, following the tragedy, states: ‘Thursday 17th August at approximately 1500hrs a single-seater glider participating in the British Gliding Association Regional competition being held at Husbands Bosworth Airfield, Leicestershire, crashed into a field near Melton Mowbray.
‘The incident is currently under investigation by the Police, the British Gliding Association, the Air Accident Investigation Board and the Civil Aviation Authority.
‘At the present time there is no indication as to the cause of the accident but a full statement will be issued in due course.’
Amanda Coombs, whose home is close to the crash site, said: ‘Our hearts go out to the person who has lost his life right on our doorsteps.
‘But it could have been so much worse. He narrowly missed the houses and the main road, although he clipped the roof of one house. That would have been unthinkable.’
Witness David Leach, who lives on the outskirts of Melton Mowbray, told MailOnline: ‘There were four gliders flying as a group over our house.
‘We watched them for a few minutes as they flew around just below cloud level.
‘Then one collided with another. It looked like the front end of one clipped the rear end of the other.
‘Then it immediately began spiraling down. The second one came down too but a bit more slowly.
‘They came down a long way very fast. It was shocking and disturbing to see.’
A major incident was declared with emergency services still at the scene after the ‘freak accident’ yesterday afternoon, with householders hearing ‘huge loud bangs’ and one seeing part of a broken glider flying past his home.
The pilot of the second non-engined glider is understood to have had a miracle escape, surviving the reported mid-air clipping of wings.
Debris from the two single-seater crafts are scattered over a half mile radius at three scenes.
One onlooker said: ‘One of the gliders has been completely obliterated. It would be a miracle if anyone has survived it.
‘They collided mid-air. There were a few in the sky at the time. One of the gliders looks ok, but the other span out and was left in multiple pieces across the field.
‘It’s a shocking scene to say the least. They narrowly avoided the town.’
The main hub of one and the body of the piloted remain covered in an unused field yesterday evening on a new-build housing development, bordering the A607 Leicester Road.
One onlooker said: ‘One of the gliders has been completely obliterated. It would be a miracle if anyone has survived it’
A second glider with damage to its right wing lies abandoned in the middle of a field on the outskirts of Melton Mowbray
Half of the broken white wing rests in another spot of the grass with other debris.
A shaken Mrs Coombs, an HR director, told MailOnline: ‘We are really shocked, saddened and sickened by what has happened on our doorsteps. It appears to a freak accident.
‘We feel for the family who has lost a loved one, and the emergency services are treating the scene with much respect.
‘It is right outside our lounge window.’
Mrs Coombs moved into her home five months ago, overlooking a field, set to be re-wilded and landscaped, on the Roundhouse Park estate, with joint developers Ashberry Homes and Bellway.
She said: ‘I came home from work early because my dog was ill and there were emergency services everywhere, and I though ‘Oh my God’ what is happening.
‘The streets were sealed off but police let me through the barrier.
‘We found out a glider had crashed in the field right outside our front door and the pilot had tragically died. You don’t expect that to happen on your doorstep.
‘We heard that two gliders had crashed very high up in mid air, with one pilot surviving and the other sadly not.’
Her chef husband Guy Coombs said: ‘There is real empathy and sadness here for what has happened and our thoughts go out to the family of the victim.’
Leicestershire Police, the county’s Fire and Rescue Service, East Midlands Ambulance Service, and Air Ambulance raced to the scene after reports of the crash shortly 3pm.
One resident whose home overlooks the main crash site said: ‘I was at home working when I heard a large bang, which at first I thought nothing of because it’s a new build estate with a lot of noisy work still ongoing.
‘The I heard people shouting and came out of the door to see the tail of the glider floating in the air. It came crashing down in a different spot to the body of the craft and its two broken wings.’
The young man, a light aircraft pilot, who chose not be be named, told MailOnline: ‘We believe the two gliders had been out for for a joy ride and spiralling around.
‘Somehow they clipped wings which damaged the craft with devastating consequence.
‘It is a big shock being so close to my house. I can see the debris, and where the pilot fell, may he rest in peace.’
Single father and tree surgeon Josh told how he had been enjoying a barbecue in his back garden when he suddenly heard ‘an unusual noise, a whistling sound and then a big bang’.
He explained: ‘I came out of my house and there were lots of sirens going off and all the emergency services were on the estate.
‘We were told two gliders had clipped wings and crashed at different places, and that one had died.
Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to the Roundhouse Park housing estate, near Leicester Road, in Melton Mowbray, at around 3pm yesterday
‘It is a terrible tragedy and everyone here is in a bit of shock.’
Josh, 23, father of a toddler daughter, added: ‘The fatality happened on the field, just a few feet from the road and many homes. It could have been so much worse.
‘The grassy area isn’t used, it is going to be developed, but if it was a park with kids playing the outcome could have been even more shocking.’
Mum-of-four Kirsty Williams told how one of the stricken gliders clipped the roof of her home, and admitting: ‘We had a lucky escape.’
She told MailOnline: ‘I was at home in the afternoon with the kids and suddenly heard a really loud bang. My son shouted that something had hit our house and then crashed into the field outside.
‘It was so scary. The glider struck our aerial and damaged it, not the roof, but that’s nothing baring in mind someone has lost their life.
‘It could have been worse, so for that we are thankful. We feel sorry for the person who has died outside our homes, and we can see all the debris from our window.’
Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) confirmed it had also deployed ‘a field team to investigate’ the scene.
A spokesperson for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘We received a mobilisation message at 15:03 to a report of a glider that has crashed.
MP for Rutland and Melton Alicia Kearns said: ‘Very saddened to see that gliders crashed in Melton today. My thoughts are with all the families and loved ones of those hurt in the crash.
‘I know everyone in our communities will be wishing a full recovery to all, and will be waiting for news. My thanks to the emergency services who are responding to this heartbreaking accident.’
A Leicestershire Police spokesman said: ‘We received a call shortly before 3pm yesterday to a report that a glider had crashed after it had been involved in a mid-air collision with a second glider.
‘The glider was found in a field in Alderman Way and the pilot was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene.
‘The second glider landed safely nearby. The pilot sustained minor injuries.
‘Officers attended the scene and were assisted by colleagues from East Midlands Ambulance Service and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue, who also attended.
‘Leicestershire Police is continuing to support the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) who will be leading on the investigation into the incident.’
References
- ^ Tracey Kandohla (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Edinburgh (www.dailymail.co.uk)