Two men who were hang gliding from Sylmar to Crestline in San Bernardino County made an unplanned landing Monday at Santa Anita Park and were greeted by Arcadia police and park security.
Jeff Chipman and Ron Keinan, licensed advanced hang gliders, were questioned by police about their motive for landing at the park.
Although the duo was caught off-guard by the police presence, they cooperated with officers and explained their difficulties flying the hang gliders in the unanticipated wind.
Arcadia police Lt. Roy Nakamura said the men did not violate any airspace regulations, according to El Monte traffic control and the Federal Aviation Administration. They were not cited by police and no injuries were reported.
Chipman and Keinan took off from Mount Wilson about 3:30 p.m. and realized the wind was not being cooperative.
“We decided the day was over and looked for a good, big, flat place to land,” Chipman said. “I took a safe approach while landing.”
They had expected to reach 10,000 feet, but only made it as high as 9,553 feet. Chipman said the air mass on Mount Wilson was much different than it had been in Sylmar.
After careful consideration, the men landed in the parking lot at Santa Anita Park.
Chipman, a retired military man, began hang gliding about 1:30 p.m. with seven others. Four turned back toward Sylmar shortly after starting. Chipman, Keinan and one other continued to Mount Wilson. From there, the third hang glider turned back and went home. Keinan and Chipman planned on continuing their journey to Crestline.
“Ron and I hung around waiting for something better to get us lifted to the Monrovia peak,” Chipman said. “We didn’t expect strong onshore flow, but expected it to be clearer than it was.”
“It probably didn’t get as hot as they said it was going to be and we needed heat to go higher,” he said.
Chipman’s biggest concern while landing was mechanical turbulence and the fact that his hand radio did not work and could not communicate with his partner. He eyed the direction three large flags on top of the park’s main grandstand were blowing and used them to navigate a safe landing spot.
The men are part of a hang gliding group called the Sylmar Hang Gliding Association, which is made up of about 150 pilots.
Chipman said the group of seven was pretty small for an average group flight, but after monitoring declining winds throughout the weekend, they thought flight conditions Monday would have been ideal.
Chipman began hang gliding in Hawaii in 1982 while serving in the Navy.