Search resumes for glider reported to have crashed in Carlisle pond

Daniel SuscoEd Richter, Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio
·2 min read

Oct. 21—The search for a possible glider in a Carlisle pond resumed Friday morning after a crash was reported Thursday evening.

The glider reportedly crashed into an aggregate pond in the 300 block of Central Avenue in Carlisle near the Great Miami River, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Ryan Purpura.

Carlisle police Chief Will Rogers said the Butler County Sheriff's Office flew over the site in its helicopter trying to spot the glider from the air. He said Carlisle Fire Chief Jeremy Lane is requesting a sonar-equipped boat from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and an additional boat from another agency to assist in the search.

"So far today, we still have nothing," Rogers said. "I spoke with the FAA this morning and there have been no missing or overdue aircraft reported."

A passer-by reported the crash at about 6:10 p.m. Thursday, Rogers said.

Rogers said Thursday there was no reason to believe the call was a false alarm and that the the passer-by had given very specific details about the crash.

The glider was described as a "non-powered glider that would be towed up by an airplane," Lane said Friday.

The search continued for more than four hours Thursday, with multiple boats, search teams, drones, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources boat equipped with side-tracking sonar and an OSHP helicopter responding.

"We discontinued our search last night around (11 p.m.) just because of safety, darkness, temperatures," said Carlisle Fire Department Chief Jeremy Lane.

Crews will do grid searches by helicopter this morning, and ODNR is expected to return this afternoon with sonar boats, he added. Additional boats with sonar capabilities may also join the search.

"We're going to try our best to exhaust every possible resource we have to try and locate something," Lane said. "But at this time we still have not located anything."

As of Friday morning crews have not received any reports of missing persons or aircrafts, he added.

Around 50 first responder crews responded to the search Thursday, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Carlisle Police Department, Carlisle Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Joint Emergency Medical Services, Franklin Police Department, Franklin Fire and EMS Division, Franklin Township Fire Department, Warren County Technical Rescue Team, Miami Valley Fire Department, Clinton Warren Joint Fire District, American Red Cross and the Federal Aviation Administration.