A British hang glider pilot has died in Australia following a fatal accident at Mount Beauty in Victoria. He was Andrew Hurst, a 29-year-old pilot from Sheffield, UK. His family has been informed.
According to police reports the accident happened at around 5 pm local time on Wednesday 26 January while on approach to a landing .
A local newspaper, the Border Mail, reported that he might have hit a tree on final approach:
The 29-year-old man crashed on landing near the Mount Beauty airfield just before 5pm after he took off from Mount Emu, a popular hang-gliding launch site.
Leading Sen-Constable Peter Johns, of Mount Beauty police, said the man had fallen about 50 metres and clipped a tree after reportedly losing control of the craft.
He said ambulance crews and witnesses performed CPR on the man for more than an hour but he was pronounced dead just after 6pm by a doctor at the scene.
An air ambulance had been called in from Melbourne but was turned back.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Andrew died after going into cardiac arrest following serious head injuries. They also interviewed local police:
Leading Senior Constable Peter Johns, from Mount Beauty police, said Mr Hurst had about three years’ hang-gliding experience and was a member of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.
“There was a group here yesterday from the Melbourne Hang-gliding club, and he has attached himself to that group. He knew that they had an exercise here and has sort of tagged along with them,” Leading Senior Constable Johns said.
“They all went up there together to take off from Mount Emu, which is about 10 kilometres east of the township of Mount Beauty. There is a launching place there for hang-gliders and then they all come in to land at the Mt Beauty airfield.
“He has crash landed while attempting to land and it’s still unknown the cause of the accident, whether it’s pilot error or something different.”
Andrew had travelled to Australia to take part in the Australian comp season. He had flown at the Forbes Flatlands and at the Bogong Cup, which ran 16-22 January.
Davis Straub from the hang gliding website the Oz Report was at both comps and reported on Andrew’s accident. He said:
Andy had been flying for only three years and it was great flying with him at Forbes and at the Bogong Cup. I reported on his flying during the Bogong Cup in previous articles. His Moyes Litespeed had been damaged in transport to Forbes and he was on a borrowed Litesport.
If he indeed hit a tree it is most likely to be the one in the southwest corner of the airfield next to the pond. It is not 50 metres high.
Victoria police are preparing a report for the coroner.
Cross Country extends sincere condolences to Andy’s family and those who knew and flew with him.
• Got news? Send it to us at news@xccontent.local
Subscribe to the world’s favourite hang gliding and paragliding magazine
