Blenheim doctor Jim Vause intends keeping his feet firmly on the ground for a few weeks after crash landing his glider at Molesworth.
The enthusiastic glider pilot, with 100 hours' experience, took off from Lake Station Airstrip, near Nelson, on Tuesday afternoon and flew to Molesworth, 114km southwest of Blenheim.
"Coming back
I ran out of lift," said Dr Vause. "You're reliant on the weather and the winds, and I probably made a wrong decision at one stage and paid the price."
He was forced to glide down the Acheron Valley and chose what he thought was a "nice" place to land.
"Unfortunately, it was a bit rough - there were a few boulders - and I twisted a bit on landing."
The glider suffered a bent undercarriage and a broken tail.
Dr Vause said the incident had not put him off gliding.
"You're always thinking about it - you're always looking and thinking, 'OK, I might have to land in that area'," he said.
"But they don't plough their paddocks in the Molesworth."
After emerging from the glider unscathed, Dr Vause made his way on foot to the Molesworth Station homestead.
With the glider out of action, Dr Vause will stay firmly on the ground - "for now".
- NZPA
