A Tukwila man was killed Thursday when a glider he was piloting crashed at Cle Elum Municipal Airport during a film shoot, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office.
The glider's only occupant, 53-year-old pilot William Weller of Tukwila, died shortly after the accident.
An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety.
According to a news release issued by the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office, the glider was being towed down a runway by another vehicle in preparation for takeoff when the accident occurred shortly before 4 p.m.
The aircraft was being used to shoot a Cadillac television commercial, according to investigators on scene and FAA spokesman Mike Fergus, and a helicopter filmed the accident from overhead. A Los Angeles-based production company had been working on the commercial in the Cle Elum area for a couple of days, according to reports from the sheriff's office. A glider could be seen flying low over Cle Elum earlier Thursday afternoon.
The glider was registered to Northwest Eagle Soaring LLC based in Tukwila, according to the FAA registry.
Airport closed
The airport is closed until further notice, said Kittitas County Sheriff's Commander Bob Gubser. Investigators with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were there this morning conducting their investigation.
Gubser said the cause of the crash and the cause of death are unknown at this point.
Emergency crews responded from multiple local agencies, and investigators from the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office remained on scene until after 7 p.m. Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment