Glider pilot, 85, broke neck during 'unsuitable' landing

A coroner ruled that Nicholas Gaunt's death was accidental

A veteran pilot broke his neck landing a glider in an "unsuitable field", an inquest has heard.

Nicholas Gaunt, 85, collapsed after taking a few steps out of his glider when he landed at Winchcombe in Gloucestershire on 27 July 2022.

He was flown by air ambulance to Southmead Hospital but died there 20 days later from pneumonia he contracted having undergone spinal surgery.

Coroner Roland Wooderson recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

The inquest heard Mr Gaunt, of Chapel Close, Helmsley, North Yorkshire, landed in a field that was uphill and rough at about 17:30BST at the end of a flying day.

He was taking part in an annual gliding competition and had taken off from Long Mynd Airfield in Shropshire at 14:48.

Reading out a report from the Air Accident Investigation Board (AAIB), the assistant Gloucestershire coroner said Mr Gaunt had "extensive gliding experience" gained over 70 years, including completing more than 220 field landings and was a regular participant in competitions.

Mr Gaunt broke his neck when he landed in the "unsuitable" field, the AAIB's report said

However, he had not fully appreciated the nature of the field when he committed to landing the DG-300 Elan G-CKJH glider, the report said.

"He landed heavily and bounced," it added. "He felt his neck had been injured.

"The glider ended up embedded in a fence. He got out and took a few steps but lost feeling in his legs and fell to the ground."

The report said Mr Gaunt's choice of landing area was out of character for him, but he might have selected it because of the glare of the sun, the colour of other fields and the fact he might have been dehydrated on a hot day.

He completed his first solo flight in 1952 aged 15

His flight computer with a moving map display had also stopped working some 40 minutes before the crash because of a charging problem.

The GPS failure meant he might have been unable to select better fields to land in - or been unable to reach a gliding club 11 miles away where he could land, the hearing was told.

On touchdown, the aircraft "immediately struck something causing the glider to jerk violently", which caused the neck injury, before coming to rest in a fence, the report said.

It also noted Mr Gaunt's fracture might have been due to his spine being "significantly weaker" than normal.

Glider pilot died 20 days after rough landing

Mr Gaunt was a member of the Yorkshire Gliding Club for decades and took his first solo flight aged 15, the inquest heard.

He went to school at Leighton Park in Reading before studying textile engineering at the University of Leeds where he met his future wife Diana Hotchkin.

They were married for 64 years, and had two children - Patrick and Rachel. He is survived by all three along with his two grandchildren.

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