B.C. hang-glider pilot to appear in court on two charges over 2012 death

VANCOUVER – A hang-glider pilot is facing a charge of criminal negligence causing death nearly a year after a passenger fell more than 300 metres in B.C.’s Fraser Valley.

A court list says William Orders will appear in a Chilliwack, B.C., court on Monday on that charge as well as one count of obstructing justice.

The accident took place April 28, 2012 when Lenami Godinez-Avila who was a passenger on a tandem flight with Orders slipped out of her harness about 30 seconds after takeoff.

The 27-year-old Godinez-Avila had been celebrating her two-year anniversary with her boyfriend, and it took searchers about eight hours to locate her body in a clearcut.

Following the tragedy, police held Orders in custody for a week on an accusation that he had swallowed a digital video disk that investigators considered key evidence.

Orders had released a statement that he is sincerely and deeply sorry and wished the day would have turned out differently.