A glider pilot was killed on May 8 following a crash on the runway of the Beauvechain military air base in Wallonia.
The crash occurred during a civilian aviation event at the military airfield held by the Avia Airsports Club. The military air base is homed to the 1st Wing of the Belgian Armed Forces, as well as military flight schools and civilian training centres.
The pilot, a man in his sixties from Antwerp, lost control of his glider shortly before 16:00, crashing into the runway. Reports indicate that the aircraft was an unpowered, light aircraft, likely a glider.
“The aircraft was towed by the cable of a vehicle on the ground. According to some testimonies, it was at this time that the accident occured. While the glider was at an altitude of 10 or 20 metres, its wing tipped over. The lack of lift therefore caused the aircraft to fall,” the commander of the Beauvechain military base told Belga news agency.
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The civilian air event has now been suspended.
In 2021, a similar incident at the Cerfontaine aerodrome near Namur, Wallonia hospitalised two pilots. Their glider, while being towed to altitude by a powered aircraft, suffered a technical issue and nosedived from an unknown height into the runway.
