Glider crash lands

A GLIDER pilot is in intensive care after her aircraft crashed into a house and tree before landing in a garden.

The 35-year-old Thame woman, who has not yet been named, was yesterday in a critical but stable condition at Wycombe Hospital.

Emergency services raced to the crash scene, at Clay Lane, Booker, near Wycombe Air Park, after they were alerted on Wednesday afternoon.

Pensioner Vivian Buckland, 61, told of the moment the plane hit her house: "I thought the tree had fallen on my roof and then I stood up and saw the glider wrapped around the tree.

"I phoned 999 and then called out to her that the ambulance was on its way," added the pensioner.

Police and air accident investigators are currently piecing together evidence to establish the cause of the smash, which happened at about 3pm.

A police spokesman said: "The British Gliding Association is also involved in the investigation. It is believed the glider was coming in to land at Booker Airfield where it first clipped the roof of the house before hitting the tree.

"The female occupant of the house was uninjured and called the emergency services."

A spokesman for Booker Gliding Club said an experienced pilot was involved in the accident and the cause was under investigation.

He said: "We are grateful to the emergency services who were in attendance within minutes. The glider was substantially damaged."

A spokesman for the Air Accident Investigation Branch said it would not comment until publication of the final report into the accident.

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