Photo: Trevor Batstone
A teenaged member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets was taken to hospital with minor injuries Sunday after his SchweizerSGS 2-33A glider ended up on the roof of a convenience store about a half mile short of the runway at Langley Regional Airport in the Vancouver suburb. It’s not clear if the unidentified pilot, who would be at least 16 but no older than 18, intended to land on the roof but it turned out better than many thought it might.He was very lucky, said Capt. Amelie Leduc, a senior officer with the cadet organization in British Columbia.It was very fortunate the cadet was alive and walked out of the aircraft. He has minor injuries, if anything.
Witnesses said the aircraft hit a tree, narrowly missing power lines, before coming to rest on the roof. The belly wheel punched a hole in the roof and the aircraft’s wings were damaged. The cadet got himself out of the aircraft and was waiting for firefighters when they arrived. Leduc said the teen is an experienced glider pilot and also holds a private pilot’s license. Cadet pilots attend summer camps to earn their wings and when they return to their squadrons they take other cadets on familiarization flights.”This was a normal training flight that occurs that this cadet in particular has done many, many times.” The glider was dismantled and taken off the roof and will be inspected to see if it can be repaired. It’s owned by the cadet organization.
