A fatal crash at the 15th World Hang Gliding Championships has not deterred the New Zealand contingent although Blenheim's Matt Barlow admitted they would be watching safety even more closely. The death of Norwegian Robin Strid on Sunday cast a pall over the competition. But flying resumes today at Hay
in south-western New South Wales. Barlow met Strid briefly "only to say gidday" and said although the pilots were distressed the event would go on. "It makes you think twice and check what you're doing but it's no reason not to go up again. "We love the sport and it is a safe sport. You just have to be really safety conscious up there. Each day we (the New Zealanders) say it's safety first. "We're pretty good at double checking our gear before we take off ? it will be a case of triple check now," Barlow told NZPA before the pilots held an informal service at the crash site last night. "There's a lot of discussion about the incident and what we can learn from it." The 38-year-old veteran of 609 flights was killed instantly when he plunged to the ground shortly after taking off. Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (HGFA) operations manager Chris Fogg said Strid got into difficulty after being towed airborne. Seeing that Strid was in trouble, the co-pilot activated the tow line release and the glider spiralled into the ground from a height of about 15 metres. Strid, twice the national Norwegian hang gliding champion, suffered massive head injuries. An investigation into the crash is being carried out by the HGFA, and a report would be prepared for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. When the competition resumes New Zealand, who are also represented by Cris Lawry, Dave Austin and John Urlich are ranked 16th of the 23 nations. Austria leads from Australia and France.-NZPA
