William Jon Orders, B.C. Hang Glider Pilot, Stays In Jail Until Memory Card Passes Through His System

CP  |  By Posted: 05/ 2/2012 6:49 pm Updated: 05/ 2/2012 9:42 pm

CHILLIWACK, B.C. - The British Columbia hang glider pilot whose passenger fell to her death over B.C.'s Fraser Valley will remain in custody while a memory card he's alleged to have swallowed passes through his body.

A bail hearing for William (Jon) Orders was put off for two days on Wednesday by mutual consent of both his defence lawyer and the Crown, while they wait for the card to be expelled.

RCMP allege the 50-year-old swallowed the memory card that stored digital video of the flight he was manning when Lenami Godinez-Avila tumbled out of her harness only seconds after take off.

"We have confirmed that the memory card is still inside," Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth said outside Chilliwack provincial court.

"There have been a series of X-rays taken. ...We're just in the waiting process here."

Orders has been in custody at the Agassiz RCMP detachment since his arrest Monday on the charge of obstructing justice in relation to the probe into the 27-year-old's death. It's unusual for police to hold someone on that particular charge.

Orders wore a green short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans as he appeared in court and kept his back turned to the gallery during his first court appearance, which lasted only a few minutes.

Crown lawyer Lori Stevens said they could only wait for the evidence.

"It's a question of getting the right evidence and getting that to defence counsel so they know what position they need to take," explained Stevens outside court.

The judge agreed to put the bail hearing off until Friday afternoon.

Orders' lawyer Laird Cruickshank would only say his client is being as co-operative as possible.

"He's dealing with difficult circumstances, obviously," Cruickshank said outside court.

Police have been transporting the man back and forth to the general hospital in Chilliwack, east of Vancouver, for X-rays, Hollingsworth said.

"He is being monitored," she said, adding she hadn't heard any concerns for his mental well-being.

She couldn't give any further details around when the card was consumed or how police learned that had happened.

"I think everything happened pretty quickly," she said.

Neither Hollingsworth nor Stevens could say what kind of shape the evidence might be in after it passes through the man's digestive system.

Orders is a fully certified hang gliding pilot and instructor who's been soaring around the world for 16 years.

His business website, Vancouver Hang Gliding, boasts that photos and video are available when people purchase a tandem hang-gliding trip.

Video on the website shows a clear shot from the glider wing of a pilot and client taking off in tandem and flying over B.C.'s scenic Fraser Valley.

His tandem hang gliding experiences cost $210 on weekends.

"Photos and video are available using a specially mounted camera pole that captures you, your pilot and the amazing scenery around you," said the website sales pitch.

When police announced the charge on Monday, they said Orders was accused of withholding "key evidence."

Godinez-Avila was celebrating an anniversary with her boyfriend last Saturday with the hang-gliding excursion.

Witnesses recount that just seconds into the flight the young woman fell 300 metres to her death. Police have said her boyfriend was waiting his turn for a ride when he watched her fall from the hang glider.

The young woman's body was found about eight hours later in a forest clearcut below Mount Woodside, a popular spot for hang gliders to launch from above the valley.

Police have said they seized video taken by the boyfriend on the ground and the hang glider is also evidence and has been secured for the investigation.

Jason Warner, with the Hang Gliders and Paragliders Association of Canada, said that he spoke with Orders minutes after Godinez-Avila feel from the glider.

Orders told him he knew something was wrong almost immediately and tried desperately to hang on to the woman, who clung to his body and then slipped down his legs, taking one of Orders' shoes with him, Warner said in an earlier interview.

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.



FOLLOW CRIME

CHILLIWACK, B.C. - The British Columbia hang glider pilot whose passenger fell to her death over B.C.'s Fraser Valley will remain in custody while a memory card he's alleged to have swallowed passes t...
CHILLIWACK, B.C. - The British Columbia hang glider pilot whose passenger fell to her death over B.C.'s Fraser Valley will remain in custody while a memory card he's alleged to have swallowed passes t...
Filed by Christian Cotroneo  | 
 
 
  • Comments
  • 16
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
09:44 AM on 05/04/2012
Why not just cut him open and remove the card? The acid in his system will destroy the card, making it useless.
06:48 PM on 05/03/2012
His meals in custody should be comprised exclusively of prune juice and Bran Buds.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
tracerhaha1
It's time to end the war on (some) drugs.
02:23 PM on 05/03/2012
If he's not at fault why swallow the memory card?
07:37 PM on 05/03/2012
Bingo.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Carmen Slade
5150 Or Fight!
01:03 PM on 05/03/2012
I can't imagine how anyone could fall out of a prone harness, it's essentially a hammock you lay in with leg and a back strap to restrain you, even upside down!

The most likely mistake would be failure to hook the harness to the glider. It happens sometimes, which is why we always take a "hang check" before launching.

If prone harnesses were used, I can't imagine how she managed to fall out of one. Seriously, it's just not possible if you're properly installed in it.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jgfsmf
Should I be "punished" if I "misbehave"?
11:32 AM on 05/03/2012
I guess all the x-rays won't hurt the memory card? That poor guy having to watch his girl friend fall to her death like that.
10:31 AM on 05/03/2012
Two words. Pico Salax. Wait 6 hours and you'll have your card!
photo
psandysdad
The older you get, the more excuses you have.
06:45 AM on 05/03/2012
So who gets to 'pluck it out'? And clean it up? Dirty business. Not to mention every 'movement' the fellow has between now and then has to be carefully inspected.

I don't know how large the memory card is, but that's bound to be painful and possibly damaging to his system.

This case would be the exception to 'garbage in, garbage out'.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
gravescanada
06:19 AM on 05/03/2012
The fact he swallowed the card speaks volumes. We will see what was on that memory card and the police will then judge his actions accordingly. If he is guilty of negligence, I hope the card comes out sideways.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Jack Davies
THEY OWN BOTH SIDES!
01:10 AM on 05/03/2012
Um... is it a good idea to x-ray a memory card??
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
raelalt
We don't need no stinkin' micro-bios
02:52 AM on 05/03/2012
If it was a problem then there would be reports of mp3 players, digital cameras, etc. having their contents damaged by airport screening.
compro01
Conservatism : Policy-based evidence making
10:37 AM on 05/03/2012
bit-flips are possible, but really unlikely at human-safe x-ray doses.

Ultra high precision inspection x-rays (used to check dies for fabrication defects) often cause bit flips, but at that point, there's nothing stored on them, so it's mostly irreverent, and it doesn't cause permanent damage.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
trying2help
mom doc
10:17 PM on 05/02/2012
There is likely enough evidence without this camera card, really- seems like the poor woman was not strapped in.
What they should do is drug screen the pilot- not poop screen him.
12:59 AM on 05/03/2012
i find it humorous when people say things such as "likely" and "seems like" when commenting on legal procedure. investigators need to collect as much information as available to expose every avenue of possibility in order to rule out foul play and/or pilot error. knowing that there is a key piece of information missing (read: being withheld) is serious cause for concern. when it comes down to a licensed instructor being held accountable for a client/students death, confirming the events as recorded on the memory card is integral to the outcome of the investigation.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Bartmadness
Prrrr more~Bark less
09:22 AM on 05/03/2012
Since he swallowed the card, it "seems like" it's very "likely" that he has something to hide.