A criminal negligence charge has been laid in connection to the death of a 27-year-old who plummeted to the ground during a guided hang gliding voyage last year.
Lenami Godinez-Avila died on April 28, 2012 when she detached from a tandem glider mid-flight and fell 300 metres to the ground.
Crown Counsel announced at Vancouver Court Monday they’re charging the 50-year-old pilot, Jon Orders, with negligence causing death.
Previous investigations launched by the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada found that pre-launch safety checks were missed.
They also ruled out equipment failure and weather conditions as contributing factors to the accident.
The charge is the second laid against the pilot in connection to the glider accident.
Orders was arrested two days after the accident on a charge that he attempted to obstruct justice by swallowing a memory card with footage of the fatal flight. He was released on bail after producing the card a few days later.
The content of the card has been viewed by Mounties, according to Cpl. Tracy Wolbeck with the Upper Fraser Valley RCMP.
Godinez-Avila received the hang gliding trip as an anniversary present from her boyfriend Dave Barrie, who was watching on the ground.
“He is working through it. It's tough on everyone,” said Kat Kopuman-Garnier, a friend of Barrie’s.
Orders' next court date is scheduled for March 12 and he will be represented by his lawyer.
With files by CTV British Columbia’s Julia Foy
