Crash Kills Pilot Of Hang Glider In Oregon

LAKEVIEW, Ore. - A Salinas, Calif., man fell to his death while hang gliding off South Abert Rim about 30 miles north of the city, the Lake County Sheriff Charlie Withers said.

James Miller, 40, was killed Friday afternoon after launching from the rim that overlooks Lake Abert.

Miller, an experienced hang-gliding pilot and instructor, had been airborne for about 15 minutes when he lost control, Withers said.

The glider crashed in a rugged area.

It took witnesses a half-hour to reach the body, Withers said.

About 12 to 15 other hang gliders were in the area when Miller went down.

Witnesses said they believed Miller may have flown too far behind the edge of the rim and was forced down by air "rotoring" over the rim.

"From all indications it seemed to be a pilot error," said Dave Baleria, a member of the Rogue Valley Hang Gliding Association.

Miller died just one day before the start of the fourth annual Lakeview Hang Gliding Festival, which drew 75 hang gliders from across the country.