Hang Glider Killed

An experienced hang glider was killed when he apparently clipped a tree while trying to land and dropped 50 feet into a hayfield.

Flying as high as 5,000 feet after launching from Mount Ascutney, Robert Atwood stayed aloft for nearly two hours Monday before crashing, police and other hang gliders said.

Atwood was found unconscious beneath his glider at the edge of the field, branches strewn around him and a tear in one wing of the craft. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.

Atwood, 41, was vice president of the Vermont Hang Gliders Association and had nearly 20 years of experience in the sport.

The medical examiner ordered an autopsy to determine if Atwood died of a heart attack or some other cause before crashing.