A pilot in his late 70s or early 80s was killed this afternoon when it crashed near Interstate 25 north of Fort Collins, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department said.
The man’s name has not been released, and National Transportation Safety Board investigators are enroute to examine the wreckage and determine a cause, said sheriff’s spokesman John Schulz.
He was flying alone when the glider crashed into a hillside and came to rest in a ravine near Aldridge Road and North Larimer County Road 7 at about 2:15 p.m.
The man had taken off from the Owl Canyon Gliderport about a mile and a half away, but it wasn’t obvious whether he was leaving or returning to the facility at the time of the crash, Schulz said.
The gliderport is owned and operated by the Colorado Soaring Association.
According to NTSB records, there have been three other incidents since 2000 involving aircraft associated with the gliderport. None of the others have resulted in injuries, according to the NTSB.
The soaring forecast issued by the National Weather Service this morning rated conditions as good, but becoming poor in the afternoon.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
