Details on Mike Wills.


A Spring Valley man was killed in a glider crash in Utah on
Saturday, authorities said.
The 52-year-old pilot, whose name was not released, went flying
with three friends Saturday but never returned, said Piute
County Sheriff Marty Gleave.

The pilot was last heard from about 4:30 p.m. when he called
airport authorities asking for directions to the airstrip in
Junction, Utah. He reported his altitude at 9,000 feet, too low
to make it over some of the peaks in the area, Gleave said.
The friends reported him missing late that night. Search and
rescue crews found the wreckage on the side of a mountain near
Marysvale about 9 a.m. Sunday. It appeared as though his wing
might have clipped a tree before crashing, Gleave said.
He was probably at too low an altitude and was flying near the
mountain to catch an updraft, Gleave said.
An autopsy will be conducted by the medical examiner in Salt
Lake City.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation
Safety Board are investigating.
A Spring Valley man was killed in a glider crash in Utah on
Saturday, authorities said.
The 52-year-old pilot, whose name was not released, went flying
with three friends Saturday but never returned, said Piute
County Sheriff Marty Gleave.

The pilot was last heard from about 4:30 p.m. when he called
airport authorities asking for directions to the airstrip in
Junction, Utah. He reported his altitude at 9,000 feet, too low
to make it over some of the peaks in the area, Gleave said.
The friends reported him missing late that night. Search and
rescue crews found the wreckage on the side of a mountain near
Marysvale about 9 a.m. Sunday. It appeared as though his wing
might have clipped a tree before crashing, Gleave said.
He was probably at too low an altitude and was flying near the
mountain to catch an updraft, Gleave said.
An autopsy will be conducted by the medical examiner in Salt
Lake City.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation
Safety Board are investigating.


On Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 10:57 AM, Tracy Crook <tracy@rotaryaviation.com> wrote:

Sorry to report that we lost a fine friend and fellow rotor-head yesterday.

Mike Wills was doing what he loved (flying, this time in a glider)
when apparently he ran out of thermal lift and couldn't find more
before having to make an off field landing.  Very few facts in
yet but sounds like a wing clipped a tree before he went in.
He will be missed.

Tracy