Seattle Midair

[Mark Navarre]

Copied from AOPA weekly news:

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GLIDER PILOT DIES IN MIDAIR COLLISION
A Seattle-area glider pilot died on April 1 in a midair collision
involving two gliders about 6 miles northwest of the Arlington Municipal
Airport in Washington state. Killed was Wil Burhen, 40, an expert
glider pilot and mentor to other pilots, according to a story in the
"Seattle Post-Intelligencer." The second pilot, 24-year-old Paul
Adriance, parachuted from his damaged glider and escaped with minor
injuries. Adriance walked six hours to a naval transmitting station
in the cold and dark after freeing himself from his parachute in a
tall tree, according to a Web site maintained by the Evergreen Soaring
Club. Evergreen alerted authorities when the two failed to return
about 7 p.m. The glider pilots were flying together and in radio
contact as they searched for lift.
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Mark Navarre
2/5 black ace
LoCal, USA
remove brain to reply
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[Paul Adriance]

Will was one of the most dedicated cross country pilots here and his
enthusiasm very contagious. He was a dear friend to all of us and mentor to
new cross-country pilots like myself. His loss is devastating to an already
small group of enthusiasts who challenge the rugged and beautiful Western
Cascades under ceilings most pilots won't even rig for. However, the most
significant loss is to the family he leaves behind. My heart goes out to
his wife and young daughters who are surely suffering more than any of us
over his death. .



Will and I had been flying for over an hour together and, as the report
stated, were in radio contact at the time of the collision. We were
approximately 1000 ft over mountainous terrain at close to 5000ft MSL and
had been operating under a cloud street over a ridge top. The time was
around 1700PST and we were within an easy 12nm glide to the airfield. The
investigation is still ongoing but my desire is to put out some sort of
article in the near future so other pilots can avoid similar situations.



Paul Adriance


"Mark Navarre" > wrote in message
...
> Copied from AOPA weekly news:
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> GLIDER PILOT DIES IN MIDAIR COLLISION
> A Seattle-area glider pilot died on April 1 in a midair collision
> involving two gliders about 6 miles northwest of the Arlington Municipal
> Airport in Washington state. Killed was Wil Burhen, 40, an expert
> glider pilot and mentor to other pilots, according to a story in the
> "Seattle Post-Intelligencer." The second pilot, 24-year-old Paul
> Adriance, parachuted from his damaged glider and escaped with minor
> injuries. Adriance walked six hours to a naval transmitting station
> in the cold and dark after freeing himself from his parachute in a
> tall tree, according to a Web site maintained by the Evergreen Soaring
> Club. Evergreen alerted authorities when the two failed to return
> about 7 p.m. The glider pilots were flying together and in radio
> contact as they searched for lift.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> -
> Mark Navarre
> 2/5 black ace
> LoCal, USA
> remove brain to reply
> -