Grant Bruce Jarden, 71, dies after glider crashed into Hawke’s Bay Golf Club

• Grant Bruce Jarden has been named as the victim of the glider crash in Hastings.
• The 71-year-old’s glider crashed onto the Hawke’s Bay Golf Club course.
• Several people were golfing when they witnessed the accident.

Police have released the name of the man who died after a glider crashed into a Hastings golf course on Sunday.

He was Grant Bruce Jarden, 71, of Hastings.

“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” a police spokesperson said.

“The incident has been referred to the Civil Aviation Authority.”

Emergency services were called to the crash about 12.15pm on Valentine Rd, next to the Hastings Aerodrome.

The glider crashed near the boundary of the Hawke’s Bay Golf Club, with debris strewn across the grass and a section of the golf course cordoned off with police tape.

Shortly after 3pm, police confirmed the sole occupant of the aircraft died at the scene.

A witness who had been golfing near the No. 10 fairway when the glider crashed said it had just taken off and was being towed by another plane.

“We looked up and the plane was just struggling with its engine, it skipped a beat and another and you could feel something was wrong,” he said.

The witness said the glider was by that point well above the light plane, so much so that the rope between them was almost vertical.

The rope then came apart – it wasn’t clear if this was by accident or design – and the glider then plunged into a fast descent on to the fairway, the witness said.

The witness said the light plane that had been towing the glider then circled the crash scene repeatedly for a number of minutes.

“We thought maybe they wanted to land to help but weren’t allowed to.”

A light aircraft crashed on to the Hawke's Bay Golf Club course. Photo / Chris Hyde

The witness said the course was well known for having planes coming in close to it, because of the closeness of the aerodrome.

“There’s signs all over the course saying not to hit a shot when a plane is coming in to land but it’s fine, no one ever wants to hit a shot when one is that close anyway.”

The witness said several golfers saw the crash but because of how common planes were, he wasn’t sure if anyone other than he and his playing partner saw the lead-up to it.

“It just didn’t seem right, we both know our engines and right from the start something felt off.”

A board outside the club had said it was closed on Sunday for a tournament.