KEY POINTS:
A former German gliding champion died after his glider crashed about 55km north of Wanaka yesterday.
Herbert Weiss, a 59-year-old economics teacher from the small town of Friedrichsurhe in southwest Germany, was taking part in the FAI World GP Gliding Championships in Omarama when he crashed on a hillside above the Wilkins River.
Though his ASG 29 glider was being tracked with a GPS transponder for animated "real-time" coverage of the race on the internet, race organisers were reported not to have alerted the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) until about 6.20pm, nearly two hours after the race had finished.
A spokeswoman for the organisers, Victoria Murray-Orr, told NZPA another pilot's transponder had failed halfway around the course during Thursday's racing.
"The telemetry, like lots of modern technology isn't 100 per cent failsafe," she said.
"So when a pilot drops off the radar, so to speak, it's normally no cause for concern. The telemetry isn't there for safety reasons, but purely for animation research".
The championships began on Wednesday with 18 pilots from 11 countries competing over six days.
It had been put on hold out of respect for Mr Weiss and would resume tomorrow weather permitting, Ms Murray-Orr said.
International Gliding Commission president Bob Henderson said Mr Weiss' death was a huge tragedy for the gliding community and an untimely end for a passionate pilot.
"Herbert was enjoying the event. He saw it as a challenge and a chance to fly with the world's elite pilots."
He had come to New Zealand early to prepare for the event and was really enjoying his time here, Mr Henderson said.
Mr Weiss began gliding in 1969. He was twice German national champion, and had clocked up more than 8600 flying hours.
He was a district training officer and examiner of the Ohringen Aviation Group. He qualified for the World Championships by winning the Slovakian qualifying grand prix in Nitra, April 2006.
He is survived by his wife, Barbarba, and two children, Felix, 19, and Lisa 18.
The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the crash.
- NZPA
