A gliding flight over the Karawanks ended in tragedy on Saturday. At around 4:40 p.m., Austro Control suddenly received an emergency signal.
A 56-year-old from Klagenfurt wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather on the Pentecost weekend and set off on a gliding flight from Klagenfurt Airport around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. “The pilot was alone in his glider. At around 4:40 p.m. he sent out an emergency signal,” reports the police. “Since the pilot could not be reached despite several attempts, a search operation was started.”Crash site at 1,700 meters above sea levelSeveral police patrols from the Klagenfurt Land district police command, the Libelle police helicopter and the ÖAMTC rescue helicopter C11 went on the search. “At around 8 p.m., the crew of the C11 was able to discover the crashed glider in a cirque on the north side of the Weinasch,” the police continued. The crash site is at an altitude of a good 1,700 meters above sea level in Bärental. Rescue had to be aborted “The 56-year-old pilot was killed in the crash,” confirms the police. “According to the current status of the investigation, the man flew from Klagenfurt Airport over the Karawanken Mountains into Slovenian airspace and crashed on the return flight on Austrian territory on the north side of the Weinasch for reasons unknown.” Because it was getting darker and darker and strong downdrafts prevailed, rescue and investigation were carried out canceled for the time being on Saturday evening. “Together with the aircraft accident commission, the operation will continue today during daylight hours,” said the police. In addition to the police forces and the two helicopters, the Ferlach mountain rescue service was also on duty with ten members.
source site-12