The Civil Aviation Authority will today continue examining the Queenstown scene of a tandem hang-gliding crash which caused the death of a Queenstown pilot and his passenger yesterday morning.
The pilot, Gerado Bean (27), of Argentina, and passenger Andrew Michael Scotland (34), of Waipu, Northland, died on impact. Police were called at 10.15am after the two men, on a Skytrek Hang Gliding flight, crashed in Boyds Paddock, on Boyds Rd between Kelvin Heights and The Remarkables turn-off, on State Highway 6.
One tandem hang-gliding trip took off from the area and landed without incident before yesterday's "tragic" trip, Detective Sergeant Grahme Bartlett said.
The red and white hang-glider was "extensively damaged" and a reserve chute was found nearby.
The cause of the incident had not yet been determined, despite power lines being very close to where the pair landed. Det Sgt Bartlett said there was no indication the men had come into contact with them.
Skytrek Hang Gliding owner Ian Clark said the company, which has been operating since 1992, acknowledged the incident "with deepest regret".
Another hang-glider pilot, also employed by Skytrek, saw the incident happen, after landing in a designated landing area.
He and the Skytrek staff were "devastated" by what had happened.
"My very deepest sympathies and those of my staff are extended to the family, friends and colleagues of the firefighter [Mr Scotland]. On a personal level, we have also lost a colleague and friend and are struggling to come to terms with that loss."
Mr Bean was an experienced tandem hang-gliding pilot and also an experienced competition pilot, he said. The company immediately suspended operations and Mr Clark said the company was co-operating fully with police and CAA investigators.
It was too early to speculate on the cause of the fatal incident, but the company had been operating within normal parameters using standard launch and landing sites, Mr Clark said.
