The pilot of a tow plane that carried Daniel “D.J.” Tengdin’s glider into the skies over Boulder County on April 1 told National Transportation Safety Board investigators that air conditions were “bumpy with updrafts of 1,000 feet per minute” before the glider crashed, killing Tengdin.
According to a preliminary report of the fatal glider crash released this morning, several eyewitnesses to the crash reported seeing the glider in a spiral turn heading toward the ground and make a steep bank angle. One witness saw the glider level off momentarily, according to the report, before the nose of the glider pitched up and then down into a descent.
The pilot who towed Tengdin’s glider from Boulder Municipal Airport at 4:20 p.m. that day told investigators that he released the glider at 13,900 feet. After witnesses saw the aircraft spiraling out of control, it collided with “phase three high voltage transmission wires,” according to the report.
Minutes before the crash, a weather update reported winds at 17 knots gusting to 21 knots — or about 24 mph — with visibility of up to 10 miles and clear skies, according to the report.
Today’s report did not include the NTSB’s conclusion on what caused the crashed. A final report on the accident is expected within a year.
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