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 paraglider wings 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 |
|
30.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
57
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
14 years
200 hours
(10 hours)
|
Fransham,
UK
Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent,
Flight In Clouds, Fog |
Paraglider
Wing:
Ozone
Buzz Z4
Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow |
Paraglider pilot winched up with excessive force during a competition. Pilot landed safely.
|
Unhurt |
|
29.10.2016 |
Female
Age:
39
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
10 years
70 hours
|
Ager,
Spain
Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h
Conditions:,
Light Turbulence |
Paraglider
Wing:
Air Design
Rise 2
Launch Type:
Foot |
The pilot lost control of the paraglider in close proximity to the hillside and impacted the ground sustaining fatal injuries.
|
Fatal,
Internal Injuries
|
|
22.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
57
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
8 years
15 hours
(20 hours)
|
Bo peep,
UK
Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence |
Paraglider
Wing:
Gin Gliders
Yeti
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot attempted to top land close to a barbwire fence. Speedbar caught on fence then glider fell on fence.
|
Unhurt |
|
21.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
59
Rating:
AP
Flying Experience:
23 years
|
Villebois Lavallette,
France |
Paraglider
Wing:
Koch
Winch
Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow |
During a routine inspection of the weak link components of a twin drum Koch winch it was found that the aluminium cases that house the aluminium weak links had their ends burred over such that the link would not slide out of the housing. This rendered the weak link inoperative and the force required to break it would have been considerably more than the certified intended force.
|
Pilot:
Unhurt
Passenger:
Unhurt |
|
14.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
48
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
27 years
|
360,
India
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence |
Paraglider
Wing:
Bruce Goldsmith Design
Tala
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot suffered an asymmetric collapse at low level while thermalling. Pilot was unable to regain control of the glider and deployed his emergency parachute. Parachute had insufficient height to deploy fully and pilot impacted rocks.
|
Fatal,
Head Injuries
|
|
10.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
40
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
8 years
5 hours
(2 hours)
|
Herne Bay,
UK
Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h
Conditions:,
Not Turbulent |
Paraglider
Wing:
Ozone
Buzz 4
Launch Type:
Foot |
While coastal soaring the pilot was blown back into rotor turbulence by strengthening wind.
|
Seriously Injured,
Feet, Legs
|
|
09.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
38
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
12 years
500 hours
(7 hours)
|
Mundsley,
UK
Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h
Conditions:,
Not Turbulent,
Front Influence |
Paraglider
Wing:
Ozone
Rush 2
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot was caught out by strengthening winds and was blown back into a village. While being blown back, pilot pushed off house chimney to avoid standing on roof before crashing through a telephone line and landing in conifers.
|
Unhurt |
|
02.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
51
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
33 years
|
Cow Close Fell,
UK
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent |
Paraglider
Wing:
Nova
Tattoo
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot spun glider while soaring in weak conditions. Pilot crashed heavily.
|
Seriously Injured |
|
02.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
55
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
11 years
|
Turkey |
Paraglider |
During routine kit inspection before start of SIV, reserve deployment failure identified. Damage to harness had most likely happened during accident the previous year. Reserve retaining flap had ripped and reserve had fallen through the hole making deployment impossible. Reserve set up and internal parts of the harness had not been inspected since the accident.
|
Unhurt |
|
01.10.2016 |
Male
Age:
38
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
20 hours
|
Not applicable,
UK |
Paraglider
Wing:
Not APPLICABLE
|
On repacking parachute to new harness pilot found the chute would not deploy without pulling the velcro apart. Also had loose webbing to webbing connection.
|
Unhurt |
|
Go to: Incident Reports (formal investigations)
|
|
Go to: Annual Incident Analysis Reports
|
