Brazil Travel & Tourism News
RIO DE JANEIRO – A hang glider accident Tuesday morning in Rio de Janeiro has left the pilot dead and a tourist badly shaken, reported online media. The tragedy occurred in Sao Conrado, in the South Zone of Rio, where hundreds of tandem flights – mostly experienced pilots ferrying foreign tourists – occur each day.
Rio: Hang Glider Accident Leaves One Dead
The pilot, identified as Wanderlei Nascimento Coelho, 35, commonly known as Delei, crashed into a field on Canoas Road. Delei died instantly, but his passenger, a foreign tourist, survived after she became stuck in a tree. The pair took off from Pedra Bonita, a 507-meter (1,663-foot) peak and would have landed on the beach in Sao Conrado about 8 minutes later.
Initially, rescuers took the unidentified woman to the Sao Conrado Flight Club, according to the club director, Vinicius Cordeiro, then to testify at the Tourist Service Bureau (DEAT), in Leblon. The woman, from the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean, is in shock resting at her hotel.
According to an article on the Globo website, the pilot had more than 15-years of experience. He noticed a problem on the wing and tried to activate the emergency parachute. Trees caught the parachute, which had not opened but the pilot hit the ground. As of noon, the pilot’s body remained in place.
This is the second fatality at the site this year. In March, Priscila Boliveira, 24, sister of actor Fabricio Boliveira, died in a hang glider accident, falling 20 meters (65 feet) after jumping from Pedra Bonita, also in Sao Conrado. Authorities charged the pilot in that case with negligent manslaughter.
Moviegoers might recognize the takeoff ramp at the Sao Conrado Flight Club, which featured in the 2011 big-budget animated film “Rio,” which featured an all-star Hollywood cast voicing the characters.
![Takeoff ramp at the Sao Conrado Flight Club](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2XHU4IAgSX4/TJVVlw74oZI/AAAAAAAAAMY/AKpa5iAW9sI/s1600/decolando.jpg" "Takeoff ramp at the Sao Conrado Flight Club")
