There was a very serious glider accident Monday morning involving a
glider flying along the Bald Eagle Ridge. The winds were very strong
with gusts as high as 50 Kts and there was lots of rain and snow. The
flight originated at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The pilot was seriously injured with broken leg and arm along with
other injuries. He did have an ELT, and his cell phone did work
briefly until a local cell tower was damaged by the high winds.

The search team was unable to locate the pilot all day and called off
the search Monday evening due to extremely high winds and snow/poor
visibility. They resumed the search this morning and found him. It
took most of Tuesday to retrieve the pilot so a helicopter could take
him to a hospital where it is expected he will recover.

The bottom line is the pilot spent a day and a half alone in the
wilderness even though he had an operating ELT. Without an ELT it
might have been several days before he was found. In some conditions,
the glider might not be found for months.

If you fly - especially cross country - and even more especially if
you fly over hostile terrain, you owe it to those who will search for
you to carry a signaling device in your glider.

New low cost Personal GPS ELT devices are now available, and they are
not so expensive. Check out our web site www.eglider.org. I have
placed on the home page, the Aerofix 406 Personal ELT. It is small and
we sell it for less than anyone I am aware of at $549.95

The pilot must turn on these Personal ELT devices. They do not go off
themselves when you crash. However, most survivable accidents do not
disable the pilot entirely. You should also have an aircraft ELT
installed in your glider. Even these devices may not go off depending
on how the glider crashes. The personal ELT can be attached to your
parachute so the rescue team will find you and not your aircraft.

While you are at it - review your emergency kit items to see if they
are up to date. Don't forget a whistle!

On our home page, near the bottom, click on "news articles" and review
the article about emergency kits. There are suggested items you should
consider carrying in your glider.


Thomas Knauff

phone 814 355 2483
fax 814 355 2633
www.eglider.org
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