Small jet and glider collide near Carson City, NV

[feddoc]

at 16,000ft....I thought gliders were altitude restricted.


http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/NEWS18/608280367


The pilot of a glider than collided in mid-air with a charter jet Monday afternoon parachuted to safety and was taken to Minden Airport airport.

Washoe Tribal Police found the pilot, Akihiro Hirao of Japan, at the mouth of Lone Pine Canyon south of Gardnerville.
Hirao was alone in the glider and bailed out after the aircraft collided at 3:10 p.m. 16,000 feet above the Pin Nut Mountains south of Carson City. He said his wristwatch showed 3:15 p.m. when he hit the ground.

The Hawker XP800 pilot landed without wheels at Carson City Airport 8 minutes after the collision. She was slghtly injured but her co-pilot and three passengers were unharmed.

Pieces of the glider were embedded in the nose of the jet.

The jet was headed from Palomar airport north of San Diego, Calif. to Reno. As the plane was making its approach, it collided with the glider at about 16,000 feet, he said.

The jet was made by Raytheon Co. in 1998 and is capable of transporting up to eight passengers at speeds of up to 500 miles an hour, he said. ۩

 

[xmid]

Wouldn't it have been the jet's responsibility to avoid the glider?

 

[FMRAM]

That's a little scary. I have a few hours in a glider out of that same airport... awesome view of Lake Tahoe.

 

[fighterpfeif]

Wouldn't it have been the jet's responsibility to avoid the glider?

Think again and check the FARs. Legally the jet has to give way to the glider. But the glider pilot was an idiot since he was at 16,000 feet. Most likely not in contact with ATC or having a transponder. ATC would have just seen him as a primary contact.

 

[KSUFLY]

Think again and check the FARs. Legally the jet has to give way to the glider. But the glider pilot was an idiot since he was at 16,000 feet. Most likely not in contact with ATC or having a transponder. ATC would have just seen him as a primary contact.

Wouldn't he legally be required to have a transponder above 10,000? I don't understand why you say he's an idiot for flying at 16,000 as long as he had the required equipment. But he probably wasn't talking to ATC and who knows if he had a tronsponder. I've never flown a glider so I don't know what most of them have for avionics.

 

[KSUFLY]

Wouldn't it have been the jet's responsibility to avoid the glider?

Yes, you are right.

 

[Fly Navy]

Wouldn't it have been the jet's responsibility to avoid the glider?

Not the best argument to have AFTER a collision.

 

[squeeze]

But the glider pilot was an idiot since he was at 16,000 feet.

I've flown VFR at 17,500' w/o talking to anyone more than a couple times. Shutup.

 

[Fly Navy]

I've flown VFR at 17,500' w/o talking to anyone more than a couple times. Shutup.

Yep. Feels wierd VFR that high, but it's nothing big.

 

[Lawman]

Not the best argument to have AFTER a collision.

Kinda reminds me of people that yell "Pedestrians have the right of way."

Yeah I used to subscribe to that mantra too.... then I spent 4 hours laying in a parking lot at Embry-Riddle drifting in and out of conciousness.... its not so comforting then.

 

[scoober78]

But the glider pilot was an idiot since he was at 16,000 feet.

Second stupidest thing I've heard on AW...i think we all know who still holds a special, coveted place at the top. Granted...only been here a little while...:sleep_125

Good responses by you guys afterwords...thanks for sticking up for us glider pilots and handling the light work.

FAI Diamond Badge
The FAI Diamond Badge involves 3 required elements. Diamond Altitude is a 5,000-meter (16,404-foot) altitude gain above an in-flight low point; Diamond Goal is a 300-km (186.42-mile) cross country flight using a pre-declared Out and Return or Triangle course; Diamond Distance is a 500-km (310.7-mile) cross country flight. As of January 1, 1996, a total of 818 Diamond Badges have been awarded in the US among a total of 5,846 worldwide.

I guess all 818+ of us who have done the diamond altitude leg are idiots.

Oh...thats right...gliders aren't real aircraft...:sleep_125

 

[scoober78]

Just go do it man...its the best bang for the buck flying there is. Bar none...

Where are you? I can probably hook you up with a club or person.

 

[KSUFLY]

Here's what else happened today in the glider world of aviation...

August 30, 2006 - El Calafate, Argentina:
Wearing NASA spacesuits and flying along the crest of the Andes, pilot Steve Fossett (USA b. 1944) and co-pilot Einar Enevoldson (USA b. 1932) took their 'Perlan' high performance research glider on the world's first stratrospheric glider flight yesterday - surfing the Andean 'mountain wave' to a height of 50,699 feet (15,453 m) * - while breaking the previous record by 1,662 ft (507m) . The old record 49,009 ft (14,940 m) by Robert Harris was set in 1986 in California.

The entire story can be found here


Steve's the man...

 

[scoober78]

Best flight in any aircraft, of any kind, I've ever had (so far... ) was in one of these...

Here are some limitations from the certificate...
Limit manoeuvring load factors- +10.0 -7.5 (entire airspeed range)
Vne - 287 km/hr

Just a taste...plus...every flight you get to do some disimilar platform formation flying...Sorry for the blatant threadjack...

 

[mules83]

I guess since im a glider guy, i will speak up..

As said above, a glider can go up to 18k without any restrictions (talking to atc, transponder, etc.). It is common for gliders to do this especially out west with all the ridge and mountain wave action. If a glider wants to go above 18k, they have to coordinate with ATC and get a 'box' to fly in. All IFR traffic is routed around that 'box'. They don't need a transponder and just need to coordinate with atc when they enter/exit the prescribed box.

Here are pics of the hawker. In the second pic, you can see parts of the glider