Tuesday, June 19, 2012

3 killed, including toddler, in Texas glider crash

By James Eng, msnbc.com

Federal investigators are trying to determine what led to the crash of a glider that killed three people, including a 3-year-old boy, in southeast Texas.

The accident happened about 5 p.m. Sunday near the GHSA-Wallis Glideport Gliderport near Wallis, about 40 miles west of Houston, the Fort Bend County Sheriff?s Office said. The aircraft crashed nose-first into the ground after being towed airborne and released.


The three killed were Fred Blair, 68, of Wallis, and Matilda Blair, 32, and 3-year-old Andrew Blair of Houston, according to The Houston Chronicle.

An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board was on scene Monday gathering facts and examining the wreckage, said Keith Holloway, an NTSB spokesman in Washington.

Federal records show the Romanian I.C.A-Brasov glider was registered to the Greater Houston Soaring Association, a group of local glider enthusiasts who fly on weekends and holidays from the GHSA Glideport.

A glider is an engine-less aircraft that flies by riding air currents. It is launched by a separate aircraft, which tows it 2,000 feet into the sky and then releases it to soar.

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