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Hang glider from Hope succumbs to injuries after Lumby crash

Wood's death the second in B.C.'s hang gliding community in six weeks

The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a hang glider who died in Lumby on June 11.

The man was Richard Michael Wood, 38, from Hope.

Coronor Barb McLintock said Wood was flying his hang glider solo from a popular location northwest of Lumby known as Coopers Launch. Shortly before 2 p.m. on June 11, he was coming in for a landing when something went wrong and he crashed into the landing field.

Wood suffered critical injuries in the crash and was taken by air ambulance to Kelowna General Hospital. His injuries were too severe, and he died in hospital on June 15.

Wood's is the second death of a hang glider in B.C. in the past six weeks. Lenami Godinez Avila died on April 28 in an incident on Mount Woodside in Agassiz.

As well, a student operating a powered paraglider, Barry Kleiter, died on June 7 following an incident near Enderby.

The BC Coroners Service and RCMP continue to investigate all three deaths. The family has been notified and they are asking for their privacy.