Tue, Jan 03, 2012
Mary Neighbour, 81, Was Avoiding House In Downdraft
Mary Neighbour has escaped the last ten British winters to enjoy
Australian summers with her husband, Ted, flying gliders. But she's
currently recovering from serious injuries in an Australian
hospital after a crash thought to have been brought on by an
unexpected downdraft.
TheAge.com reports Ms. Neighbour, of Glossop, England, is by all
accounts a skilled pilot and well-known among sailplane enthusiasts
in the area of Benalla, in eastern Victoria. Gliding Club of
Victoria spokesman John Switala tells the Herald Sun that on her
Sunday flight, Neighbour apparently got caught in a downdraft, and
when it became obvious she wouldn't make her chosen emergency
landing site, she veered away from a home in her path at the last
moment.
Kylie Martin was reportedly standing on her porch with her kids
as the glider just missed her house and hit the ground nearby. She
told The Age, "This thing was coming towards us and I was
dumbfounded. I probably should have grabbed the kids and ran a lot
earlier than I did but I wasn't really thinking.' Martin made a
phone call to summon emergency responders.
Neighbour's injuries reportedly include fractured ribs and a
punctured lung. Various media sources reported her condition Sunday
night as serious but stable.
Peter Gray of the Australian Gliding Federation tells The Age,
"She's done a fairly heroic thing to avoid injuring four innocent
people. She put her life at risk to save others."
Switala adds, 'She's a highly experienced and competent pilot
and all of us would have no hesitation to fly in same sky as
Mary.'
Mary Neighbour is reported to have soloed in 1962, and since
logged over 2,500 hours in more than 40 gliders.
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