Sad News from the Pacific NW

Received via the Seattle Glider Club e-mail list from John Gilbert:

(I am forwarding this email from the Evergreen Soaring president -
both Wil
and Paul were Evergreen members at the time of the accident - John)


Evergreen Members,

By now most of you have heard about the mid-air collision that
occurred
Thursday between Paul Adriance and Wil Burhen. Paul managed to use
his
parachute in time and survived with minor injuries. Unfortunately Wil
did
not get out of his glider before it crashed.

Everyone knew that something was wrong when the sun started to set and
neither Paul nor Wil had landed. By about 7:00 PM Search and Rescue
was
alerted. At about 12:30 AM Paul finished about a 10-mile walk to the
Jim
Creek Transmitter Station. Paul had walked for about 6 hours in the
cold
and in the dark after freeing himself from his parachute in a tall
tree.
Search and Rescue had a helicopter looking for Wil before 6:00 am and
had a
team in crash area by about 8:00 PM. Snohomish County Search & Rescue
recovered Wil's body at the crash site on top of Wheeler Mtn. late
this
morning. The FAA and the NTSB were taken by helicopter to the crash
site
at around 2:00 PM.

The Snohomish County Search and Rescue folks and the Snohomish County
Sheriff's Department (with their great helicopter team) did a
wonderful job.

Mark Nyberg

From the Seattle Times, Friday, April 3, 2004:

1 pilot dies, 1 survives when gliders collide
Full story: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsourc...&date=20040403

By Peyton Whitely
Times Snohomish County bureau



ARLINGTON — The weather was ideal, so Paul Adriance, who has
loved flying
since he was in high school, decided to go soaring with a friend
Thursday afternoon.

But something went wrong in the sky east of Arlington, and the two
gliders flown by the men collided. The man flying with Adriance was
killed when his glider crashed,and Adriance was forced to parachute
from his damaged glider before it plummeted to the ground.

The name of the man who was killed has not been released.

Adriance survived the jump but had to walk several miles to find
help.

The collision occurred between 3 and 5 p.m. Thursday near Wheeler
Mountain, about six miles east of the Arlington airport, according to
the Washington State Aviation Division.

"It happened fast," said Bruce Bulloch, an officer of Evergreen
Soaring,
an Arlington glider club to which both men belonged. Bulloch said the
fliers were doing what's called "ridge soaring," where they fly fairly
close to ridges
to take advantage of air currents.

"Suddenly, he had a shattered canopy," said Bulloch, recounting
Adriance's
description of the crash. "He had seconds to get out."

Adriance, a Marysville resident, was able to parachute out of his
glider and walk about six hours to reach help, Bulloch said. Adriance,
who works for the State Patrol in an administrative role, reached a
phone near the Jim Creek Naval Radio Station east of Arlington and
reported the crash about 1 a.m. yesterday, Bulloch said.

Search-and-rescue crews found the wreckage of the gliders yesterday
morning and recovered the body of the second pilot. His identification
was being withheld by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office
pending notification of next of kin.

Bulloch said the victim was a Seattle real-estate developer who was
flying a Glaser-Dirks DG-400 glider, a type that has a small motor
mounted behind the cockpit that can be used for launching.

Bulloch said Adriance was flying a nonpowered Libelle glider. Most
gliders are towed into the air by a tow plane, but it was unclear how
Adriance's glider got into the air Thursday.

Both men were certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
Bulloch said.

The crash is under investigation by various agencies, including the
State Aviation Division, the Federal Aviation Administration and the
Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

Adriance, 25, could not be reached for comment. But his father, Reid
Adriance, said his son had a longtime love of flying.

Adriance said he'd been able to talk to his son about the accident but
said he didn't feel comfortable discussing the circumstances at
length.

"He's described some things," Adriance said. "I don't want to give out
secondhand information."

The senior Adriance said he learned there was a problem when club
officials called to tell him two gliders were overdue.

Adriance said his son grew up in Marysville, became interested in
aviation in high school and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol. "He
first started flying in high school," Adriance said.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or

That is a real shame.

I spoke to Wil a number of times over the phone a month or 2 ago when I
bought the second hand S-Nav he had advertised. Seemed like a really nice
bloke and was obviously a very keen glider pilot.

Nick Gilbert
Sydney, Australia.


"Roy Clark" wrote in message
om...
Received via the Seattle Glider Club e-mail list from John Gilbert:

(I am forwarding this email from the Evergreen Soaring president -
both Wil
and Paul were Evergreen members at the time of the accident - John)


Evergreen Members,

By now most of you have heard about the mid-air collision that
occurred
Thursday between Paul Adriance and Wil Burhen. Paul managed to use
his
parachute in time and survived with minor injuries. Unfortunately Wil
did
not get out of his glider before it crashed.

Everyone knew that something was wrong when the sun started to set and
neither Paul nor Wil had landed. By about 7:00 PM Search and Rescue
was
alerted. At about 12:30 AM Paul finished about a 10-mile walk to the
Jim
Creek Transmitter Station. Paul had walked for about 6 hours in the
cold
and in the dark after freeing himself from his parachute in a tall
tree.
Search and Rescue had a helicopter looking for Wil before 6:00 am and
had a
team in crash area by about 8:00 PM. Snohomish County Search & Rescue
recovered Wil's body at the crash site on top of Wheeler Mtn. late
this
morning. The FAA and the NTSB were taken by helicopter to the crash
site
at around 2:00 PM.

The Snohomish County Search and Rescue folks and the Snohomish County
Sheriff's Department (with their great helicopter team) did a
wonderful job.

Mark Nyberg

From the Seattle Times, Friday, April 3, 2004:

1 pilot dies, 1 survives when gliders collide
Full story:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsourc...&date=20040403

By Peyton Whitely
Times Snohomish County bureau



ARLINGTON — The weather was ideal, so Paul Adriance, who has
loved flying
since he was in high school, decided to go soaring with a friend
Thursday afternoon.

But something went wrong in the sky east of Arlington, and the two
gliders flown by the men collided. The man flying with Adriance was
killed when his glider crashed,and Adriance was forced to parachute
from his damaged glider before it plummeted to the ground.

The name of the man who was killed has not been released.

Adriance survived the jump but had to walk several miles to find
help.

The collision occurred between 3 and 5 p.m. Thursday near Wheeler
Mountain, about six miles east of the Arlington airport, according to
the Washington State Aviation Division.

"It happened fast," said Bruce Bulloch, an officer of Evergreen
Soaring,
an Arlington glider club to which both men belonged. Bulloch said the
fliers were doing what's called "ridge soaring," where they fly fairly
close to ridges
to take advantage of air currents.

"Suddenly, he had a shattered canopy," said Bulloch, recounting
Adriance's
description of the crash. "He had seconds to get out."

Adriance, a Marysville resident, was able to parachute out of his
glider and walk about six hours to reach help, Bulloch said. Adriance,
who works for the State Patrol in an administrative role, reached a
phone near the Jim Creek Naval Radio Station east of Arlington and
reported the crash about 1 a.m. yesterday, Bulloch said.

Search-and-rescue crews found the wreckage of the gliders yesterday
morning and recovered the body of the second pilot. His identification
was being withheld by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office
pending notification of next of kin.

Bulloch said the victim was a Seattle real-estate developer who was
flying a Glaser-Dirks DG-400 glider, a type that has a small motor
mounted behind the cockpit that can be used for launching.

Bulloch said Adriance was flying a nonpowered Libelle glider. Most
gliders are towed into the air by a tow plane, but it was unclear how
Adriance's glider got into the air Thursday.

Both men were certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
Bulloch said.

The crash is under investigation by various agencies, including the
State Aviation Division, the Federal Aviation Administration and the
Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

Adriance, 25, could not be reached for comment. But his father, Reid
Adriance, said his son had a longtime love of flying.

Adriance said he'd been able to talk to his son about the accident but
said he didn't feel comfortable discussing the circumstances at
length.

"He's described some things," Adriance said. "I don't want to give out
secondhand information."

The senior Adriance said he learned there was a problem when club
officials called to tell him two gliders were overdue.

Adriance said his son grew up in Marysville, became interested in
aviation in high school and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol. "He
first started flying in high school," Adriance said.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or