Glider pilot: ‘Everything went red’ after fatal midair collision of 2 planes over Colorado

Pilot: ‘Everything went red’ after planes collided

BOULDER, Colo. — A glider pilot who flew to safety through a fireball from the midair collision of two planes over Boulder says it was just seconds between when he saw one plane approaching and when it collided with the plane towing him.

Reuben Bakker tells NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday that he “didn’t see the wreckage anymore because it was gone, because everything was red.”

Bakker managed to disconnect the glider just before the planes collided near Boulder Municipal Airport on Saturday. Three people on the two planes that collided were killed. Federal aviation investigators were piecing together the planes Tuesday and plan to do a 3-D reconstruction.