Details on Mike Wills.
A Spring Valley man was killed in a glider crash in Utah on Saturday,
authorities said.
The 52-year-old pilot, whose name was not released, went flying with
three friends Saturday but never returned, said Piute County Sheriff
Marty Gleave.
The pilot was last heard from about 4:30 p.m. when he called airport
authorities asking for directions to the airstrip in Junction, Utah. He
reported his altitude at 9,000 feet, too low to make it over some of the
peaks in the area, Gleave said.
The friends reported him missing late that night. Search and rescue
crews found the wreckage on the side of a mountain near Marysvale about 9
a.m. Sunday. It appeared as though his wing might have clipped a tree
before crashing, Gleave said.
“He was probably at too low an altitude and was flying near the
mountain to catch an updraft,” Gleave said.
An autopsy will be conducted by the medical examiner in Salt Lake
City.
The Federal
Aviation Administration and National
Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
On Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 10:57 AM, Tracy Crook <tracy@rotaryaviation.com> wrote:
Sorry to report that we lost a fine friend and fellow rotor-head yesterday.
Mike Wills was doing what he loved (flying, this time in a glider) when apparently he ran out of thermal lift and couldn't find more before having to make an off field landing. Very few facts in yet but sounds like a wing clipped a tree before he went in. He will be missed.
Tracy
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