Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park rangers are expected to return to Mauna Loa this morning, weather permitting, to continue surveying the site where local glider pilot David Bigelow apparently crashed and died during an altitude-record attempt on Friday.

According to friends and family, Bigelow took off in a single-seat DG-400 sailplane from Waimea-Kohala Airport under clear conditions hoping to reach an altitude of 40,000 feet.

"It was probably the most perfect day and he was just bouncing with excitement," said Woodson Woods, a fellow glider pilot and close friend. "He said, 'This is the big one.' He was always going to go up to 40,000 feet."

Last April, Bigelow set a state altitude record by piloting the engineless craft to 33,561 feet — more than 6,500 feet higher than the summit of Mount Everest.

Bigelow was reported missing at 6:20 p.m. Friday. Hawai'i Fire Department rescuers spotted the wreckage of the glider late Saturday afternoon along a barren lava flow about three miles south of Red Hill Cabin, at the 9,800-foot elevation mark.

Park rangers flew to the site early yesterday morning and recovered Bigelow's remains, which were then transported to Hilo Medical Center for identification. High winds prevented further survey and documentation, according to the park service.

An investigation into the crash is being conducted by park rangers in conjunction with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Weather conditions at extremely high elevations can be very volatile and unpredictable, the Park Service said.

While the skies appeared clear on Friday, Achiim Hagerman, a paragliding instructor with the Big Island Soaring Association, said wind and dust storms made conditions around the mountain very unstable.

Hagerman said conditions Friday were "radical, the worst I've seen in many years."

"There were extreme conditions on the slopes of Mauna Loa," he said.

Bigelow had extensive experience as a pilot. He flew fighter jets for the Air Force in Vietnam and worked as a commercial pilot for Continental and Aloha airlines.

"He was smart, I'd say brilliant," said Bigelow's wife, Patty. "And he wanted to help people do the best they could. He respected people and they respected him back."

Bigelow is survived by his wife, two sons and four grandchildren.

On Sept. 25, 1999, a fixed-wing plane on a scenic tour crashed on the northeast slope of Mauna Loa, around the 10,000-foot elevation, killing the pilot and all nine passengers.

Four years later, a tour helicopter made a hard landing on the same slope, about 1,500 feet lower. The pilot and all six passengers survived.