WALLIS, Texas Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a glider accident that killed three family members on Sunday.
Fred Blair, 68, his daughter-in-law, 32-year-old Matilda Blair, and her 3-year-old son, Andrew Blair, died when the glider crashed near the Fort Bend-Austin County line in Wallis.
Witnesses said the glider looked like it was in trouble from take off.
A tail tow dolly is a device that is essentially an extra wheel clamped onto the glider for towing the craft on the ground. It is not meant to fly.
NTSB investigators would not say if that was the cause of Sunday s accident, but did say it was left on the glider before the craft took off.
Glen Longnion of the FAA said glider crashes are rare.
This just does not happen with very experienced pilots especially someone of his caliber, said Longnion.
Fred Blair was a glider instructor. He was flying the aircraft from the rear seat, with his daughter-in-law and her son in the front seat.
The tow pilot was trying to fly his aircraft and he was trying to look back in the mirror. He saw the aircraft was pitched a little bit high and that indicates he was kind of out of control, said Longnion.
The glider will be taken to the Dallas area for further examination. The preliminary NTSB investigation should be released in the next week or so, but a final cause is not due for six months.
The glider was owned by the Greater Houston Soaring Association.
