The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released the results of its investigation into the crash of a glider on May 29, 2024, that claimed the life of a Calgary man.
Sixty-five-year-old Kerry Stevenson was killed when his glider crashed while he was taking part in the Canadian National Soaring Championships, hosted by the Cu Nim Gliding Club south of Highway 7 between Diamond Valley and Okotoks.
The TSB says Stevenson had been gliding for almost 30 years, had acquired approximately 750 flight hours on gliders and provided glider instruction to other club members.
The report says conditions for gliding on the day of the crash were “poor” and a number of gliders returned to the competition airstrip (aerodome) after flying for less than 20 minutes.
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After he attempted, unsuccessfully, for 23 minutes to gain altitude, Stevenson also turned back toward the aerodome, but his glider eventually went into a spin and lost more than 60 metres (200 feet) in altitude.
He was able to recover the aircraft from spinning, but the TSB says, a short time later, witnesses report seeing “something fall from the glider and realized it was the canopy, followed shortly by the pilot bailing out of the glider with no visible parachute canopy. The glider then pitched up and entered a spin to the left and collided with terrain, resulting in substantial damage.”
The report says, “the pilot, who was wearing a parachute, impacted the ground and was fatally injured.”
An examination of the glider, following the crash, showed there were no issues with the aircraft’s flight controls or other systems and Stevenson had the proper license and medical certificates to operate it.
The TSB investigation did identify two problems with the parachute, noting that it was 26 years old at the time of the crash, exceeding its service life of 20 years and it had not been repacked as required in January 2024.
The report says Stevenson had also practiced ejecting from the glider, but only while it was stationary on the ground and there was no record of him having ever skydived.
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