A 69-year-old man died this afternoon hang gliding in San Francisco, according to the city’s fire department and the National Park Service.
Fire dispatchers got the first report of the incident at about 3:50 p.m. at Fort Funston in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Battalion Chief Jeff Barden said.
The hang glider was about 30 feet below a cliff south of the launch pad, park service officials said.
A U.S. Park Police officer, a National Park Service lifeguard and a U.S. Park Ranger performed CPR on the victim, but a fire department medic pronounced him dead at 4:23 p.m., park service officials said.
Witnesses said the man flew the hang glider into a cliff without trying to steer away, Barden said.
He said first responders are not sure whether the man suffered a heart attack or whether he got caught in an updraft of wind. Park service officials said the cause is under investigation.
Park service officials said witnesses told them the accident occurred shortly after takeoff and may have involved mechanical failure.
Keith Burbank, Bay City News
