William Jon Orders, Hang Glider Pilot, Accused Of Swallowing Evidence

CP  |  By Posted: 05/01/2012 9:46 pm Updated: 05/03/2012 8:34 am

CHILLIWACK, B.C. - The final moments of a young woman's life who plummeted from a hang glider over the weekend may have been caught on tape, but her pilot now stands accused of swallowing the evidence.

In an unusual move, police have kept William (Jon) Orders in custody since arresting him Monday on a charge of obstructing justice in connection with the investigation into the 27-year-old's death.

According to media reports, court documents filed in Chilliwack, B.C. allege the 50-year-old from Burnaby gulped down the digital memory card that may contain evidence around how Lenami Godinez-Avila died.

The reports cite the sworn documents submitted by the RCMP and say the media card may have come from an onboard camera that contains video of the fatal flight.

RCMP Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth had previously said Orders is accused of withholding "key evidence" from investigators.

"We're not going to be providing any further details or commenting further at this point," Hollingsworth said when reached late Tuesday.

"Obviously we don't speak to evidence, and what we have and what we're seeking. ... He's before the courts now."

Godinez-Avila was celebrating an anniversary with her boyfriend by taking flight in B.C.'s Fraser Valley on Saturday when she dropped from the glider and fell 300 metres to her death.

Her beau was watching and waiting for his turn when she tumbled free.

Police seized video taken by the boyfriend, and the flight equipment itself, and said they were piecing together the details.

It was Orders' responsibility to assemble and safety-check the glider, as well as brief his rider on how the tandem flight should unfold.

It was also his role to put the woman in her harness, clip it to the glider and fasten himself in.

The man is fully certified and has been flying and competing for 16 years in Canada and around the world.

After the incident, the safety director for Canada's gliding association spoke to Orders and heard details of how the man had tried to wrap his legs around Godinez-Avila to keep her from slipping loose.

"I was more concerned about his well-being and the boyfriend's well-being... I was working on trying to get the pieces together, trying to figure out what happened and all that other stuff," said Jason Warner, with the Hang Gliders and Paragliding Association of Canada, on Tuesday.

"So when the RCMP have taken a different direction, I'm really trying to figure out what that direction is."

Warner wouldn't say whether he had talked to Orders about the memory card, adding he's scheduled for an interview with police on Wednesday.

He said there are details he's not permitted to release until after the criminal investigation is complete.

But he noted he hopes the charges don't overshadow remembering the victim.

"I mean, oh my god, watching that? And now we're looking at criminal charges, which has totally taken away from the people."

Orders is set to appear in Chilliwack provincial court on Wednesday afternoon for a show cause hearing.

Loading Slideshow...
  • Hang gliding pilot William Jon Orders reads a statement of apology for the media (<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/05/14/bc-fatal-hang-glider-pilot-orders.html" target="_hplink">Screen grab from CBC</a>).

  • Lenami Godinez slipped from the pilot's grip and plunged 300 metres (1,000 feet) to her death while on a hang gliding adventure in B.C. -- an anniversary gift from her boyfriend (<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/lgodinez" target="_hplink">LinkedIn Profile</a>)

  • The hang glider, from a video report on <a href="http://www.bcdailybuzz.com" target="_hplink">BC Daily Buzz</a>

  • Another image from video taken by <a href="http://www.bcdailybuzz.com" target="_hplink">BC Daily Buzz</a>

  • Video still from the scene by <a href="http://www.bcdailybuzz.com" target="_hplink">BC Daily Buzz</a>

  • Hang Glider Crash

    Bad launch at Lookout Mountain, GA.

  • 'The Olive Tree Incident'- Hang Glider Crash Landing

  • Training hill fail

  • Larry crashes a hang glider while being pulled by a boat. He broke his left femur and his right forearm, according to the YouTube description. He made a full recovery but ended up with a steel rod thru his femur and a metal plate in his forearm. The problem was that he dropped his left wing and failed to correct. The "anti dive" feature of the hang glider pulled the glider out of the dive, making the accident less serious than it would have been otherwise.



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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
NunyaBus99
10:26 AM on 05/04/2012
It is confirmed from Xrays that he DID swallow the card. They should surgically remove it.
05:28 PM on 05/03/2012
That's a particularly literal way of 'withholding' evidence.
It should be 'forthcoming' (or 'backcoming') fairly soon.
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MJinCanada
Safe from zombies until my 2nd cup of coffee
03:09 PM on 05/03/2012
What a horrible end to what was supposed to be a great adventure for this young couple. I hpe for comfort for her friends and family, and closure for the boyfriend, who's going to have a hard time getting over this.
01:46 PM on 05/03/2012
I'm a paraglider pilot and I've spent a lot of hours on launch with Hang-Glider pilots. Before they take off they always request a hang check from another person. Some pilots will even do like 3 or 4 of them. It's good to be redundant.

So my question is: Who did the the hang-check, if anyone? Or how did he distract himself from his normal pre-flight routine and not do it?
01:30 PM on 05/03/2012
Apparently the fear of prison rape induces hunger...
01:04 PM on 05/03/2012
with any luck the chip will lodge and he will spend thousands to have it removed.
12:07 PM on 05/03/2012
It's sad that this young lady lost her life, but I don't think it's such a big news worthy story. I read it because my morbid curiosity made me think, by reading the headline that he ate the body, not a microcard...I know, how sick am I.
11:47 AM on 05/03/2012
So the pilot swallowed the memory card? (Sounds guilty) So tragic! This line is priceless, though: "He said there are details he's not permitted to release until after the criminal investigation is complete."
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
dacenar
Call it like I see it.
11:45 AM on 05/03/2012
The truth will "come out" eventually.
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MJinCanada
Safe from zombies until my 2nd cup of coffee
03:06 PM on 05/03/2012
The officers who have to find the evidence will definitely have earned their pay.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Canefighter
I post my thoughts on subjects, not opinions.
11:22 AM on 05/03/2012
A little EX Lax will provide answers.
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11:19 AM on 05/03/2012
wait your whole damn life to take that flight and as you crashed down "well isn't this nice"
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
NunyaBus99
10:29 AM on 05/04/2012
A.M. Was thinking the Same thing
11:02 AM on 05/03/2012
This is a tragic loss of a life and it bothers me how many of you Huff readers are so negative about everything! Didn't your parents ever teach you, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it all!"
Wondering how many of you will send a nasty reply to that! Be real!
01:02 PM on 05/03/2012
liberals cant help themselves.
10:44 AM on 05/03/2012
Well that was a nice gift. What was his next choice, giving her a trip over Niagra Falls in a barrel ?
10:35 AM on 05/03/2012
Birds have wings, humans don't. Simple.
11:49 AM on 05/03/2012
Humans don't have wheels either, doesn't stop you from driving/biking/skating. Eh? Check your logic.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
InventPeace
10:29 AM on 05/03/2012
It could be either way, maybe the boyfriend paid the pilot to kill his girlfriend, or maybe the pilot just wanted to cover up any evidence of negligence to prevent any lawsuits? Pray for all of them !