TWO people have died in a glider crash in Ararat yesterday afternoon following reports the aircraft prematurely disconnected from the plane it was being towed behind.
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Emergency services were called to the Ararat Airfield about 3.20pm after they received calls about an aircraft that had gone down in the area.
The glider, which had two people on board, crashed approximately 100 metres east of the runway, which runs east-west.
Police on-scene said the glider was being towed into the air by another aircraft, when at approximately 70 metres, it disconnected “for unknown reasons” and crashed.
A man in his 50s, a pilot also believed to be an instructor, and a 21-year-old woman believed to be his student, both died at the scene.
The woman was killed instantly, while paramedics spent more than an hour trying to resuscitate the man before he too died.
A witness said the glider had been towed by an aircraft and there was no obvious reason for the crash.
“We were watching them take off and there’s nothing that we could identify that is the cause of the accident,” said the man, who did not wish to be identified.
“It’s a mystery.”
A second witness, associated with the Grampians Soaring Club, said the plane nose-dived shortly after take off.
“The aircraft is demolished.
“It would take a lot of people to pick up the pieces.
“It’s very devastating,” he said.
Some witnesses reportedly heard an explosion-type sound from the aircraft although the cause of the crash is still a mystery.
Emergency services including police, ambulance, fire and rescue units attended the scene.
Police said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau would also join the investigation.
Other glider accidents in Benalla earlier this year saw two men taken to hospital with back and pelvis injuries.
In a separate crash, an 80-year-old woman was seriously injured when her glider was dragged 30 metres.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
