Fatal Hang Gliding Mishap During Idaho Air Show

On June 2, 2018, about 1338 mountain daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built North Wing Pulse 10M hang glider, N62073, collided with the ground while participating in an airshow at Mountain Home Air Force Base (KMUO), Mountain Home, Idaho. The commercial pilot sustained fatal injuries and the hang glider sustained substantial damage. The hang glider was registered to and operated by the pilot as a Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which departed KMUO about 1332.

The premise of the pilot's airshow routine was a comedy act in which he would simulate inadvertently flying the hang glider into an active airshow, interrupting another airplane that was performing an aerobatic routine. The plan was for the hang glider, which was equipped with smoke canisters and a series of trailing streamers, to be towed past show center while the aerobatic airplane made a series of close passes, eventually cutting the streamers. Throughout the routine, the rehearsed radio interactions between the hang glider pilot, aerobatic pilot, and the show announcer were transmitted over the public address system.

During a typical airshow, the hang glider was launched by a moving tow-launch system composed of a winch trailer pulled by a truck. The truck and trailer then travelled back and forth down the runway spinning out the tow line while the winch operator maintained line tension as the hang glider climbed to the desired altitude (usually 1,500 ft). The pilot typically released the line once the truck had turned around after the third pass. The pilot would then begin to perform a series of gliding maneuvers down to the ground, while the line, which was equipped with a parachute, was rewound back into the winch spool as it descended.

On the day of the accident, the performance began and progressed uneventfully until the end of the truck and winch trailer's second runway pass. After being given the all-clear by the hang glider pilot, the truck and winch trailer turned around as planned and began to accelerate along runway 12 in anticipation of the pilot releasing the line. The winch operator stated that, a few seconds after the turn, he looked up and noticed that the hang glider was about 500 ft below the altitude at which he would typically expect to see it. The hang glider then performed an aggressive turning maneuver and descended another 500 ft. The winch operator then released the winch pressure to supply the hang glider with more slack and prevent it from being impeded by line tension. The hang glider then entered a climb, rolled to the left, descended, and impacted the ground in a nose-down attitude.

Neither the air boss nor the winch operator saw the line parachute deploy. Multiple airshow attendees reported to news media that the tow line was cut by the aerobatic airplane during the routine, however, examination revealed that the line was intact and undamaged.

The 62-year-old pilot had broken his neck in a hang-gliding accident in 1981 and had been a T7 paraplegic since.

Two witnesses provided statements regarding the weather conditions over the area at the time of the accident. The first was a working volunteer who was also a hang glider pilot, and the second was a pilot who had just been flying a P-51 Mustang in the airshow, and was located immediately east of the accident site, and still in his airplane. Both witnesses described seeing dust devils over the area before and immediately after the accident. The first witness described a dust devil with a well-defined vortex extending to about 200 ft above the ground. He stated that only a small amount of dust outlined the vortex's shape, and that he pointed out the dust devil to a friend who also witnessed the event.

The second witness saw several large dust devils over the airport area during the accident period. He indicated that the winds were light and variable until the pyrotechnic display and related fire started, after which strong vertical wind flows followed. Immediately after the accident, he noticed a dust devil to the south of his position travel across the audience. He described it as a large "lumbering" dust devil with a diameter of 40 to 80 ft that extended from 300 to 1,000 ft high. He noticed it blowing dust and disturbing papers, and people in the audience were holding their hats due to the sudden winds. He was able to observe the dust devil for about 5 to 10 minutes before he lost sight of it. Based on the movement and location of the dust devil, he extrapolated that it was likely over the area of the accident at the time of the event.

Per the USPA dust devils are considered major hazards among skydivers and paragliding pilots, as they can cause a parachute or a glider to collapse with little to no warning at altitudes too low to cut away; they contribute to the serious injury or death of many parachutists.

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