WGC Mid-air reported

From Uvalde LiveATC: 15 meter cancelled dut to mid-air. Open and 18
meter class still underway and not cancelled.

On Friday, August 17, 2012 4:37:49 PM UTC-5, Duster wrote:
From Uvalde LiveATC: 15 meter cancelled dut to mid-air. Open and 18

meter class still underway and not cancelled.

Pilots are safe.

On Aug 17, 4:41*pm, "John Godfrey (QT)"
wrote:
On Friday, August 17, 2012 4:37:49 PM UTC-5, Duster wrote:
From Uvalde LiveATC: 15 meter cancelled dut to mid-air. Open and 18

meter class still underway and not cancelled.

Pilots are safe.

"Some of the other 15m pilots were involved in rescue/communications
overwatch/escort for the damaged glider and in the interests of
fairness the task for 15m has been cancelled for the day. We have
recalled Nick through a relay through the Belgian team. Crew is on
the way to the airport."

"One pilot parichuted, the other made it back to Uvalde."

Two 15 Meter class gliders were involved in a midair collision at the World Gliding Contest in Uvalde Texas. Both pilots are reported safe. The 15 Meter task has been cancelled . Further details are unavailable at this time. The contest management are focusing on and working with the appropriate authorities to collect further information.

This statement was released by the WGC2012 Contest Management and I was asked to post it on RAS. Updates will be posted as they become available.

On Aug 17, 4:41*pm, "John Godfrey (QT)"
wrote:
On Friday, August 17, 2012 4:37:49 PM UTC-5, Duster wrote:
From Uvalde LiveATC: 15 meter cancelled dut to mid-air. Open and 18

meter class still underway and not cancelled.

Pilots are safe.

That's great news. By the looks of Spot tracking (albeit delayed) 15
meters were passing about 20 min by drive from where I am in a car.
This is much closer than Uvalde. If you are onsite, let me know if
they need assistance on the ground for anything and where the location
is (Pipe Cree, perhaps?)

A midair collision between two 15-Meter class gliders happened at around 15:30 local approximately 30 km southwest of Uvalde.

Louis Bourderlique of France (glider FB) was able to fly back to Uvalde and land safely. Peter Hartmann of Austria (glider PC) bailed out and rode his parachute safely to a good landing. He was picked up by helicopter, returned to the Uvalde airfield, then taken to a local hospital for precautionary checks.

Ken Sorenson
Contest Director

On Friday, August 17, 2012 8:37:29 PM UTC-4, John Godfrey (QT) wrote:
A midair collision between two 15-Meter class gliders happened at around 15:30 local approximately 30 km southwest of Uvalde. Louis Bourderlique of France (glider FB) was able to fly back to Uvalde and land safely. Peter Hartmann of Austria (glider PC) bailed out and rode his parachute safely to a good landing. He was picked up by helicopter, returned to the Uvalde airfield, then taken to a local hospital for precautionary checks. Ken Sorenson Contest Director

Good to hear that both pilots are safe! Just out of curiosity: were they P-FLARM-equipped (portable or installed)? Are the IGC-files available?
'GM'

Glad that everyone is okay. Has there been any reporting of the sequence of events which led up to the mid-air? Considering that these were two of the best pilots in the world and they collided it would seem that we could all learn something from their unfortunate encounter.

Walt

On Aug 17, 6:37*pm, "John Godfrey (QT)"
wrote:
A midair collision between two 15-Meter class gliders happened at around 15:30 local approximately 30 km southwest of Uvalde.

Louis Bourderlique of France (glider FB) was able to fly back to Uvalde and land safely. Peter Hartmann of Austria (glider PC) bailed out and rode his parachute safely to a good landing. He was picked up by helicopter, returned to the Uvalde airfield, then taken to a local hospital for precautionary checks.

Ken Sorenson
Contest Director

Flarms?

At 02:31 19 August 2012, Mike C wrote:
On Aug 17, 6:37=A0pm, "John Godfrey (QT)"
wrote:
A midair collision between two 15-Meter class gliders happened at
around
=
15:30 local approximately 30 km southwest of Uvalde.

Louis Bourderlique of France (glider FB) was able to fly back to Uvalde
a=
nd land safely. Peter Hartmann of Austria (glider PC) bailed out and rode
h=
is parachute safely to a good landing. He was picked up by helicopter,
retu=
rned to the Uvalde airfield, then taken to a local hospital for
precautiona=
ry checks.

Ken Sorenson
Contest Director

Flarms?

More to the point, were they (as is likely) in a gaggle. In which case
Flarm is not really relevant.