JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 66-year-old man was found dead in his glider plane at the Herlong Airport.
Police say he was an experienced glider pilot.
“He was flying. He released the lever to let go of the tow rope of the airplane. Immediately the glider appeared to be in some sort of distress and crashed into the ground," said Lt. Mike Silcox with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office.
The pilot released the lever at about 150 feet in the air.
“Just off from the top of my head, if he released the tow rope and it simply dove into the ground then there was some type of mechanical problem," said James Goolsby, who is very experienced with planes.
Goolsby has been flying planes for decades, he says glider aircrafts are assembled and put together just before every flight.
“If he forgot something or if something wasn’t attached or failed that would explain the diving right away into the ground,” said Goolsby.
Goolsby says these glider aircrafts are very efficient, but you do have to plan ahead for flights.
“It’s a very nice way to go. I mean there’s no noise. you have to be very conscious of what the weather is around you and where the thermals might be and at one point you are going to have to come down," said Goolsby.
Police are asking if anyone knows any information from the crash to contact them.
