A champion hang glider has died after a midair collision with a paraglider over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday. The collision knocked him off course, causing him to crash into the side of a building and plunge 11 stories to his death.
Philip Eric Haegler, 59, a two-time champion Brazilian hang-glider, was knocked unconscious after his collision with the building. Emergency medical workers were unable to save his life.
There is some dispute over what precipitated Haegler’s collision with the building. Police attributed the crash to windy conditions in the area. However, Bruno Menescal, president of São Conrado Free Flight Club, said the midair accident with the paraglider led to Haegler’s crash.
“We had a collision … which led to this incident,” Menescal told G1 Globo.
The Brazilian hang gliding community is no stranger to tragedy. Haegler’s friend and fellow hang glider, Pedro Paulo Guise Carneiro Lopes, died in a tournament in Japan in the early 90s.
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