309 wrote: "I did hear a story of a lost glider pilot whose skeleton
was found in a very narrow crevice near Tehachapi. So "landout"
glider pilots have perished."

Just to clarify -- this story probably was about the paraglider pilot
who was last seen flying normally near the launch site in 2003. His
remains were found over 20 months later by some hikers. I have not
read the coroner's report on this tragedy nor have I heard anything
definitive on the cause. I personally flew my paraglider over this
site many times at low altitude after his disappearance and never saw
him - and I was looking! Apparently, his body and gear were hidden by
the scrub brush common in the area. I have read that this location was
"isolated" but it actually is near a very active an populated area.
The exact location was a steep and extreme hillside but it was very
close to a very active state highway.
Steve