Posted by Scott Trueblood on Thursday, March 26, 2015
Above: A photo of Scott Trueblood hang gliding, posted on his Facebook account.
A hang glider with a newly minted pilot's license died after crashing into a mountain in the Ulster County town of Wawarsing on Sunday, May 17, according to a press release from the New York State Police. (Update: The Daily Freeman is reporting that Trueblood received his training at Ellenville's Mountain Wings Flight School.)
Scott Trueblood, a 44-year-old man from Connecticut, was flying near an overlook on State Route 52 when he suddenly veered into the side of a nearby mountain around 6:08 p.m., according to police and press reports.
Trueblood was pronounced dead at the scene. He had a new pilot's license from the Ellenville Flight school, according to the press release.
The Daily Freeman interviewed several of Trueblood's friends and fellow pilots, all of whom are baffled by the crash:
Ryan Voight of Pine Bush said Trueblood was “a truly nice guy with a good heart and very enthusiastic about life in general.” Voight, who was not at the scene Sunday, said eyewitnesses told him Trueblood was flying with the hill to his right when he turned toward it and crashed. “It’s very unusual and was well within his ability and skill not to do,” Voight said of the accident. “Nobody has said he was too close or even that conditions were too turbulent.”
According to one of the friends interviewed by the Freeman, Trueblood was wearing a GoPro camera at the time of the crash.
The cause of the accident is still pending investigation, police say. The New York State Police was assisted by Ellenville Police Department, Ellenville Fire Department, Ellenville EMS and Cragsmoore EMS.
