Two paragliders were killed after colliding mid-air and plummeting about 75 feet into a cliffside Saturday at Torrey Pines Gliderport in northern San Diego County. (FOX5)
Two paragliders were killed Saturday after colliding mid-air and plummeting about 75 feet into a California cliffside as stunned onlookers watched below.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Lt. Rich Stropsky said at a news conference the "tragic incident" happened around 2:40 p.m. at Torrey Pines Gliderport in the northern coastal part of San Diego County.
"Apparently what happened was the student individual was heading southbound and made a turn, a hard-right turn, right in this area where the flag is and ended up running into the other flyer that was in the northbound direction," he told reporters. "They became entwined, and they started to fall."
One of the men was an experienced pilot who was certified to fly on his own, while the other one was working on getting his advanced certification, according to Stropsky.
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Madeline Henderson told KGTV she was stunned when she saw the collision take place.
"I initially heard the collapse of the chute," she told the television station. "I heard a collision and some kind of sound, and looked over and saw two people falling from the sky."
Stunned witnesses said the paragliders were "falling out of the sky" after colliding. (FOX5)
Stropsky said the two men, who have not yet been identified, were not flying together and were pronounced dead at the scene.
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Another witness told FOX5 San Diego it was "very traumatizing" to witness.
"We've seen the hang gliders, paragliders around but we've never seen anything like this," Tommy King told the television station.
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San Diego Fire-Rescue had to use a helicopter to recover the bodies because of their position on the cliff, according to officials.
The gliderport where the collision took place is a spot not meant for beginners, with intermediate pilots and advanced pilots needing to check in and show a license before taking to the air, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The last fatal crash at the site took place in 2012 when a woman from South Carolina crashed into a cliff about 200 feet above Black's Beach, according to the newspaper.
“I don’t recall the last time 2 gliders became entwined,” Stropsky told reporters.
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