73-year-old glider pilot dies after aircraft falls during take-off at Pruszcz Gdański

What happened

On Saturday, 17 October, a glider crashed near the aeroclub at Pruszcz Gdański in the Pomeranian voivodeship, killing the 73-year-old man flying it. Fire service crews were alerted at about 17:45 and reached the wreck, where the man was still inside the aircraft. Rescuers pulled him out and began resuscitation, but the outcome was fatal. A doctor from the Emergency Medical Service pronounced him dead at the scene.

“Unfortunately, despite the rescue efforts, the man's life could not be saved. A doctor from the Emergency Medical Service pronounced him dead.”

Cause under investigation

Police say the glider fell from a height of about 50 metres during take-off after the pilot lost control of it. Police spokesman asp. Karol Kościuk of the Pruszcz Gdański county police said the 73-year-old died as a result of the fall. The exact causes are not yet known. Officers are working at the site under the supervision of a prosecutor, securing traces and establishing what happened in the final moments before the glider came down.

Response and oversight

Four fire brigade crews took part in the rescue operation at the airfield. The Państwowa Komisja Badania Wypadków Lotniczych, Poland's state commission for investigating air accidents, has also been notified and will establish the circumstances of the incident and what may have led to the pilot's death. The prosecutor's office and the commission will examine the accident.

Fire service account

In a conversation with polsatnews.pl, Dawid Westrych of the Gdańsk provincial fire service offered a tentative view of the flight itself.

“Perhaps these were some kind of exercises, everything happened near the aeroclub.”

No official explanation of the flight's purpose has been given in the sources, and the investigation remains at an early stage.