Three Dutch glider pilots killed in two separate crashes

Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands were investigating two different glider accidents which took the lives of three pilots over the weekend. The first involved a mid-air collision between two aircraft on Saturday.

That incident happened in the early afternoon near Haltern am See, about 45 kilometers past the border into Germany. Among the dead was a 29-year-old man who took off from Lemelerveld, between Almelo and Zwolle about 120 kilometers north of the crash site.

He had departed from the airfield in the morning. He was a member of Aero Club Salland, according to broadcaster NOS.

Then on Sunday afternoon a single glider accident claimed the life of the 37-year-old Kaatsheuvel woman piloting the aircraft. That accident happened near the Gilze-Rijen Air Base.

The Dutch Safety Board was investigating the Sunday incident, according to NOS. The police and the Marechaussee military branch were also researching the crash.