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 flexwing hang glider 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 |
|
11.03.2018 |
Male
Age:
55
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
6 years
|
Parlick Pike (East),
UK
Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Avian
Rio
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot landed short in field adjacent to landing field but was also slightly crosswind. Left hand side of control frame struck the ground first causing the pilot to swing through.
|
Seriously Injured,
Hands, Arms, Shoulder
|
|
11.03.2018 |
Male
Age:
54
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
39 years
150 hours
(12 hours)
|
Parlick East, Lancashire,
UK
Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Avian
Rio 2
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot misjudged approach and was short of official landing field. In attempting to reach an adjacent field the pilot accidentally stalled the glider due to the wind gradient.
|
Seriously Injured,
Hands, Arms, Shoulder
|
|
03.12.2017 |
Male
Age:
20
Rating:
CP
Flying Experience:
6 years
3 hours
(3 hours)
|
Devil's Dyke,
UK
Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence,
Flight In Clouds, Fog |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Airwave
Caypso
Launch Type:
Foot |
Hang glider pilot had mid-air collision with paraglider pilot while ridge soaring in busy conditions.
|
Unhurt |
|
08.10.2017 |
Male
Age:
55
Rating:
AP
Flying Experience:
40 years
915 hours
(5 hours)
|
Croft farm,
UK
Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Moyes
LS3
Launch Type:
Aero Tow |
Pilot got out of shape on the tow and released from the tow line at about 100 ft agl. Attempted to return to the airstrip but had insufficient height to complete the turn and impacted the ground.
|
Minor Injuries |
|
03.10.2017 |
Male
Age:
59
Rating:
AP
Flying Experience:
42 years
3000 hours
(75 hours)
|
St Agnes,
UK
Wind Strength:
35-40 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Airbourne
Fun
Launch Type:
Foot |
On landing glider entered dead air and despite having excess airspeed in preparation for expected wind shear resulted in wheeled landing. passenger now behind pilot in normal standup landing position knocked pilot on back of helmet with his own helmet on landing resulting in pilot knocking nose on basebar.
|
Pilot:
Minor Injuries
Head Injuries
Passenger:
Unhurt |
|
18.09.2017 |
Male
Age:
54
|
Devil's Dyke,
UK
Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Wills Wing
Falcon
Launch Type:
Foot |
Student turned 270 degrees on final approach instead of 180 and landed in trees.
|
Unhurt |
|
13.08.2017 |
Male
Age:
44
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
24 years
92 hours
(2 hours)
|
Mendlesham,
UK
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:
Moderate,
Not Turbulent |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Wills Wing
U2
Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow |
Pilot was distracted and allowed nose of glider to drift upwards during winch launch. The glider went up at a high angle and the winch operator guillotined the line. The pilot pulled the bar in but caught an upright on the ground before fully in control, landing heavily.
|
Minor Injuries |
|
09.07.2017 |
Male
Rating:
EP day 3
|
Devils Dyke back field,
UK
Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Airbourne
Fun |
Student encountered buoyant air while on short tethered flight. Student climbed uprights instead of pulling in and landed heavily.
|
Seriously Injured,
Hands, Arms, Shoulder
|
|
24.05.2017 |
Male
Age:
51
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
44 years
655 hours
(42 hours)
|
Woldingham,
UK
Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h
Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Wills wing
Eagle
Launch Type:
Powered
Engine:
Wasp,
Wasp |
Pilot stalled on take-off.
|
Pilot:
Seriously Injured
Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Passenger:
Unhurt |
|
10.04.2017 |
Male
Age:
45
Rating:
P
Flying Experience:
17 years
200 hours
(15 hours)
|
Westbury White Horse,
UK
Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h
Conditions:,
Light Turbulence |
Flexwing Hang Glider
Wing:
Moyes
RX3.5
Launch Type:
Foot |
Pilot had not attached nose cone properly causing the glider to become unstable during high speed glide. Glider descended rapidly and impacted heavily bending both uprights.
|
Unhurt |
|
Go to: Incident Reports (formal investigations)
|
|
Go to: Annual Incident Analysis Reports
|
