Yorkshire glider with 70 years experience died after breaking his neck when landing in 'unsuitable' field

Assistant Gloucestershire Coroner Roland Wooderson recorded a conclusion of accidental death on Nicholas (Nicky) Gaunt, 85, of Helmsley, North Yorksire. The inquest heard that Mr Gaunt was able to climb out of his DG-300 Elan G-CKJH glider after the rough landing at Winchcombe, nr Cheltenham, Glos, on 27th July 2022 - but after taking just a few paces he lost the feeling in his legs and fell to the ground.

He was flown by air ambulance to Southmead Hospital, Bristol, but died there 20 days later from pneumonia contracted after he had undergone spinal surgery. The coroner said "He had sustained a C7 spinal fracture which was operated on on the 8th July. He was admitted to intensive care. Pneumonia set in on 24th July, his condition deteriorated and he died on 27th."

Mr Gaunt's body had been formally identifed by his son Patrick Gaunt, the coroner said. Mr Wooderson said an Air Accident Investigation Board inqury was carried out and he read to the inquest parts of the authority's findings which said that Mr Gaunt had 3,900 hours of flying time.

The incident happened, it said, at the end of a flying day when Mr Gaunt decided to land in a field which was uphill and had a rough surface. He had not fully appreciated the nature of the field when he committed to his landing, said the report.

"He landed heavily and bounced. He felt his neck had been injured. The glider ended up embedded in a fence. He got out and took a few steps but lost feeling in his legs and fell to the ground."

The report said that Mr Gaunt may have seledcted the unsuitable landing area because of the glare of the sun, the colour of other fields and the fact that he may have been dehydrated on a hot day. His flight computer with a moving map display had also stopped working some 40 minutes before the crash because of a charging problem.

The GPS failure meant he may have been unable to select better fields he had hoped to land in - or to reach a gliding club 11 miles away where he could land.

He had had "extensive gliding experience" for more than 70 years, including completing more than 220 field landings and was a regular participant in competitions in the UK, the report said.

On the day of the crash he had been taking part in an annual gliding competition from Long Mynd Airfield, Shropshire, taking off at 2.48pm. At around 5.20pm the aircraft was passing north of Winchcombe when the pilot decided he would be unable to get back to the launch site that day.

On touchdown at 5.30pm, the aircraft "immediately struck something causing the glider to jerk violently", which caused the neck injury, before coming to rest in a fence, the report said. The report noted that Mr Gaunt's fracturre may have been due to his spine being "significantly weaker" than normal.

"Given the experience of the pilot, the choice of landing field was out of character but the sun, the field crop and his possible dehydration on a warm day may have contrinbuted to the decision he made," the report added. "Given his experience the choice of field was inexplicable. It was an unsuitable field."

Mr Gaunt was a member of the Yorkshire Gliding Club which said in a tribute to him "Nick started gliding, going solo at the Mynd aged just 15. He then came to Sutton Bank where, after two flights in the Tutor, first landing out, then landing long and breaking the skid to stop going over the cliff, he was told to leave the club and not come back! But thankfully he did!

"Three years later, Nick was instructing and had formed the Leeds University Gliding Club with Barry Goldsborough under the guidance of the YGC. Nick’s enthusiasm to be in the air never waned and he took every opportunity to fly and push the boundaries from Sutton Bank. His enthusiasm was infectious, inspiring many people to fly.

"Nick’s flights were always imaginative and adventurous; he was continually exploring and trying new ideas. In 2015, one of his more notable flights was, at the age of 77 and indeed 62 years to the day of his first solo, flying from Aboyne, he visited Skye not in wave but using thermals and cloud flying to 12,000ft. As well as being a longtime instructor, he served on the board of directors in several roles over many years and was made second president of the club following Moyra Johnson’s death in 2009."

A tribute was also paid to Mr Gaunt by his former school, Leighton Park, in Reading, where he was a pupil when he first learnt to glide.

"Nicky was from a family that had been weaving wool in Yorkshire for centuries," the tribute said. "Their company, Reuben Gaunt and Sons, specialised in high quality worsteds. The mill, in Pudsey, still contained at its heart the enormous waterwheel that had powered its looms before the days of steam.

"Nicky spent five happy, cheerfully mischievous years at LP. He was a serial breaker of school rules, but misdemeanours, such as illicit visits to the cinema or hitch-hiking expeditions to London, were routinely forgiven, since he was without guile or malice. He excelled at sport, especially gymnastics, rugby and athletics. He was one of the school’s best artists. And, above all, he shone as one of its elite band of glider pilots, under the tutelage of the head of physics, John Simpson.

"He went on to Leeds University, where he studied textile engineering. While there he applied to join the University Air Squadron in order to learn how to fly powered aircraft, telling the interviewing panel of retired RAF officers that, in the event of armed combat, he would, as a Quaker, be able to participate only in a non-combatant role. Impressed by his sincerity and his charm, they agreed.

“It was also while he was at Leeds that he met Diana Hotchkin, who was studying English and later went on to become a teacher. They were married for 64 years, each busy with their own interests and yet a solid team, based on mutual support and encouragement. Diana would regularly drive hundreds of miles towing their glider trailer to wherever Nicky had landed, while he would join in and support her literary and dramatic activities.

"Not only was Nicky an enlightened manager and employer, he was also a leading light in the wider industry, always ready to share ideas and advice. He was president of both the Confederation of British Wool Textiles and the Bradford Textile Society.

"Gliding, which he had first taken up at LP, was his great passion. He competed all over the UK and Europe, and even in New Zealand. He was a member of the Yorkshire Gliding Club for over half a century and its chairman for many years. Even the onset of ankylosing spondylitis failed to dampen his enthusiasm.

"Nicky was very much a renaissance man, keenly involved in the arts in Yorkshire, particularly with the Ryedale Festival, and further afield with the Edinburgh Festival. He had an amazing memory, able at the drop of a hat to quote from a wide range of poetry and prose, and in later life joined a writing group.

He is survived by Diana, his son Patrick, his daughter Rachel, and two grandchildren. Donations to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance were invoted at Mr Gaunt's funeral ay All Saints Church, Helmsley, on 3rd Sept last year. The coroner ruled a conclusion of accidental death.