Incident reports received by the BHPA are available in summary form on this page. If you're looking for reports of formal investigations undertaken in the case of a serious incident, please visit our Incident Reports (formal investigations) page.
Incident reports for all wing types are displayed below in summary form.
The BHPA incident reports database is fully searchable. To refine your search you can specify a particular wing type and select "or" or "and". For example, if you want to search for paraglider incidents at Hay Bluff, for best search results select paraglider from the drop down list and the "and" option.
If available, total hours flown and hours flown in the previous six months are included below, with the latter displayed in brackets.
| Date |
Pilot |
Location |
Wing Type |
Summary |
Injury |
|
06.09.2023 |
Male
Age:
49
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
23 years
1000 hours
(54 hours)
|
Ager,
Spain
Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h
Conditions:
Very Strong,
Strong Turbulence |
Paraglider
Wing:
Ozone
Zeno
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot encountered turbulent air while thermalling and glider suffered full frontal resulting in a cravat spiral. Pilot was unable to regain control sp deployed emergency parachute. Pilot descended into forest canopy then fell through trees to the ground.
|
Seriously Injured,
Lumbar Spine
|
|
04.09.2023 |
Male
Age:
57
Rating:
AP
Flying Experience:
31 years
4000 hours
(100 hours)
|
Organya,
Spain
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:
Strong,
Strong Turbulence,
Leeside |
Paraglider
Wing:
Ozone
Enzo
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot flew over ridge but encountered sink and entered an area of leeside turbulence. Glider collapsed and sustained two large cravats. Glider then flew backwards and pilots vision was obscured by submarine harness tail. Pilot entered trees in a stalled state before being able to deploy parachute.
|
Unhurt |
|
04.09.2023 |
Male
Age:
46
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
18 years
900 hours
(70 hours)
|
Ager,
Spain
Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h
Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence |
Paraglider
Wing:
Ozone
Zeno 2
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot suffered asymmetric collapse in turbulent thermal that caused the wing to go 'nose down'. Pilot stopped rotation but elected to deploy emergency chute do to low altitude.
|
Unhurt |
|
03.09.2023 |
Male
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
20 years
2375 hours
(95 hours)
|
Parlick west,
UK
Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent |
Paraglider
Wing:
Ozone
Swift 6
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot reverse launched in strong breeze and was lifted immediately. Pilot noticed risers were twisted and decided to stall/turn the glider into the ground. Pilot was dragged before gaining control. On inspection pilot found that the left riser had clipped itself into the right carabiner. Pilot had swapped harnesses and had not screwed carabiners closed. Other harness had twist-lock carabiners.
|
Minor Injuries,
Hands, Arms, Shoulder
|
|
03.09.2023 |
Male
Age:
62
Rating:
AP
Flying Experience:
44 years
4500 hours
(50 hours)
|
Malvern Aerotow / Teal,
UK
Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent |
Rigid Hang Glider
Wing:
Air
Atos VR190
Launch Type:
Aero Tow |
Pilot slipped on landing due to wearing trainers offering little grip.
|
Pilot:
Minor Injuries
Passenger:
Feet, Legs
|
|
02.09.2023 |
Male
Age:
55
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
23 years
350 hours
(20 hours)
|
Blease Fell,
UK
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:
Moderate,
Not Turbulent |
Paraglider
Wing:
Air Design
Soar
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot suffered asymmetric collapse on lee side of cloud. The glider spun and cravatted. Pilot deployed parachute and landed safely.
|
Unhurt |
|
02.09.2023 |
Male
Age:
58
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
25 years
1100 hours
(12 hours)
|
Sopot,
Bulgaria
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:
Moderate,
Strong Turbulence |
Paraglider
Wing:
Gin
Explorer 2
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot took off with line caught on steering toggle. Pilot eventually noticed as wing tip kept collapsing and was able to land safely.
|
Unhurt |
|
31.08.2023 |
|
N/A,
UK |
Paraglider
Wing:
U-Turn
Blackout + |
Inspection centre noticed extensive abrasion damage on glider in for a service. Glider had been flown extensively at Oludeniz in Turkey. Damage suspected to be from Babadag launch sites.
|
Unhurt |
|
28.08.2023 |
Male
Age:
60
Rating:
P
|
Herne Bay,
UK
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:,
Not Turbulent |
Paraglider
Wing:
Skywalk
Artik Air
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot impacted cliff in light conditions and crashed into the beach.
|
Seriously Injured,
Thoracic Spine
|
|
28.08.2023 |
Male
Age:
68
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
23 years
500 hours
(40 hours)
|
Selsley,
UK |
Paraglider
Wing:
BGD
Cure |
Pilot noticed an odd silhouette in one cell of the wing when looking up. Pilot inspected the wing on landing and found that in one of the fabric "ribs", 4 vertical struts had torn completely through. The rib in question was not one with hang points. It was about 9 cells in from the tip.
|
Unhurt |
|
Go to: Incident Reports (formal investigations)
|
|
Go to: Annual Incident Analysis Reports
|
