Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Man rescued after hang glider crash in Qld
A man who crashed his hang glider soon after take-off in the Gold Coast hinterland has been rescued at Tamborine Mountain and taken to a hospital.
July 28, 2018
A man has been rescued after he crashed a hang glider into a mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Specialist emergency services units used ropes to rescue the 57-year-old man, who crashed soon after take-off from Tamborine Mountain on Saturday.
Hang gliding enthusiast Walt Nielsen witnessed the crash and says the man’s launch run wasn’t long enough, causing his airspeed to be too low when he took off.
“It’s a bit like an airplane taking off without enough runway at half-power,” he told AAP.
Mr Nielsen said the accident was pilot error.
“It’s something he will look back on and say geez, why didn’t I run a bit harder and put a bit more effort into my launch,” he said.
Conditions on the mountain were perfect with westerly six knots winds, Mr Nielsen said.
The man was taken to the Gold Coast Hospital in a stable condition, a Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said
“He wasn’t laughing, he’s certainly bruised up a bit. He might have broken a couple of ribs,” Mr Nielsen said.
“He was pretty lucky to get away with just that because it drops off pretty steeply.”