ARNHEM, NETHERLANDS – A 57-year-old woman died Sunday afternoon in a crash with a glider near Terlet Airfield, just north of the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands, NOS reports. The woman was the only person on board the aircraft.

Zweefvliegtuig neergestort bij Arnhem, één persoon omgekomen: Laatst bijgewerkt: zondag 15:37 uurARNHEM – Door een ongeluk met een zweefvliegtuigje bij Zweefvliegveld Terlet in de buurt van Arnhem is zondag een persoon om het leven gekomen. Volgens de […] https://t.co/urYoJttyZb

— 112Arnhem (@112Arnhem) April 30, 2023

The accident occured around 1:45 p.m. local time near Terlet Airfield, about 7 miles north of the city of Arnhem. Terlet Airfield is known as the national gliding center of the Netherlands. There are gliders in the air around Terlet almost every day, especially in spring and summer time.

“How the accident could have happened is still a big mystery, but it went wrong during the last part of the flight during the landing,” airfield master Robin van Maarschalkerweerd said to NOS. “It has never happened before here at Terlet, that things go so wrong during the landing with a fatal outcome,” he added.

Many local emergency services were present – ambulances, the fire brigade, police and an emergency helicopter rushed to the scene of the accident.

Image: Omroep Gelderland

The glider allegedly hit one or more trees when it crashed, Omroep Gelderland reports. However, this has not been confirmed yet by local authorities. According to Van Maarschalkerweerd, the weather conditions were ideal for gliding: “There are no strong gusts or windshear in this weather.” According to the police the Dutch aviation authorities will investigate the cause of the crash.

After Sunday’s crash, all aircraft on Terlet remained grounded.

Second fatal crash in one year

This was the second fatal crash involving a glider near Terlet in less than a year. Last year, on June 29, a 69-year-old man was killed when his glider went down after takeoff.

The past weeks there were also other accidents in the Netherlands involving gliders. Yesterday a glider had to make a precautionary landing in a meadow near Dalfsen. The pilot and a passenger were unhurt, RTV Oost reports. Two weeks ago, a glider crashed in Lemelerveld, not far from Dalfsen. The pilot was slightly injured.

☆☆☆

Head photo: 112arnhem.nl