Crash report warning to gliders

The wreckage of one glider was found after a search by the RAF

Accident investigators warned glider pilots to check modifications made to their aircraft, in a report into the death of a Northamptonshire man.

Glider pilot Peter Heywood, 48, from Finedon, near Wellingborough, died in a mid-air crash with another glider.

The report said Mr Heywood's glider had been fitted with electronic equipment attached to the glare shield and frame.

These modifications could have stopped the pilot leaving the aircraft, the report into the 2 October crash said.

Mr Heywood's glider collided with one flown by 50-year-old Steve Algeo, from Corby, Northamptonshire.

Jettison procedure

He managed to get through a hole in his badly-damaged glider canopy, deploy his parachute and land safely after the crash at 1,500ft.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report into the crash above Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire, said that in an emergency a glider canopy can be jettisoned so the pilot can get out.

The jettison procedure on Mr Heywood's glider had been started but not completed.

Mr Heywood suffered fatal injuries and his parachute had not been operated.

The report said: "Had the jettison sequence been completed, it is probable that the wiring to the components installed on the canopy frame and glare shield would have prevented the canopy from being successfully jettisoned and the pilot would not have been able to leave the glider."