Paraglider

British Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

Incident Reports - Informal Investigations

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 are available in summary form for the following wing types:

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.

or and

If available, total hours flown and hours flown in the previous six months are included below, with the latter displayed in brackets.

There are 3134 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 54 out of 314

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
26.08.2019 Female

Age:
33

Flying Experience:
5 years

Steyning Bowl,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Bolero 5

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot did not run fast enough on launch and did not damp the gliders acceleration causing an asymmetric collapse on launch. Pilot contacted the ground again, glider remained inflated and she took off unharmed and flew to the bottom.

Pilot:
Unhurt

Passenger:
Unhurt
25.08.2019 Male

Age:
28

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
8 years
28 hours
(4 hours)

Alkus,
Austria

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence
Paraglider

Wing:
Alpha
Alpha 5

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot took off but once clear of the trees was immediately hit by the valley wind blowing at 90 degrees to take-off. Pilot was blown sideways and attempted to turn with the wind to avoid the trees. Unfortunately a wing tip caught on a pine tree resulting in the pilot swinging into the tree.

Unhurt
24.08.2019 Male

Age:
60

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
40 years
2500 hours
(59 hours)

Coll D’Ares,
Spain

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Light Turbulence
Rigid Hang Glider

Wing:
A.I.R
ATOS VQ11

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot misrigged glider while on the last day of a comp. Rib had not located on one side of the wing causing a flutter in the wing and a shudder on the basebar at speed. Pilot landed safely.

Unhurt
23.08.2019 Male

Age:
30

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
12 years
43 hours
(1 hours)

Milk Hill White Horse,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Moderate Turbulence
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
ION 2

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot suffered a stall on approach to top land in breezy conditions. Pilot suspects encountering unusual gust while on the brakes caused stall. Pilot considered it a poor decision to land where he did.

Minor Injuries,
Hands, Arms, Shoulder

21.08.2019 Male

Age:
57

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
19 years
1050 hours
(75 hours)

Milk Hill White horse,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Strong Turbulence
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Bi Beta 4

Launch Type:
Foot
Tandem pilot suffered symmetric collapse at 20m but both pilot and passenger landed gently on feet. Pilot and passenger were then dragged until pilot regained control.

Pilot:
Unhurt

Passenger:
Unhurt
20.08.2019 Male

Age:
67

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
500 hours
(25 hours)

Dunstable Downs,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence
Paraglider

Wing:
Skywalk
Chili 3

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot encountered turbulence while ridge soaring, probably due to leeside rotor coming over a spur, and landed heavily.

Unhurt
20.08.2019 Male

Age:
49

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
25 years
500 hours

Woolacombe,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Very Strong Turbulence
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Peak 4

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot suffered asymmetric collapse and rotation when entering rough thermal at low level. Pilot struck ground as glider rotated. Pilot suspects being in the lee of higher ground was responsible for turbulence.

Minor Injuries,
Feet, Legs

17.08.2019 Male

Age:
70

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
48 years
900 hours
(20 hours)

Aberavon Dunes,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Aeros
Target

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot attempted to take off in breezy conditions on dunes but was immediately turned causing a heavy landing.

Seriously Injured,
Hands, Arms, Shoulder

14.08.2019 Male

Age:
65

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
37 years
4500 hours
(75 hours)

Pena Negra,
Spain

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence
Paraglider

Wing:
Phi
Maestro
As speed bar was applied the webbing of the mechanism which pulls the B riser down broke. Pilot released the speed bar and continued the flight without using it further.

Unhurt
13.08.2019 Male

Age:
25

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
7 years
175 hours
(50 hours)

Westbury White Horse,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Very Strong,
Moderate Turbulence,
Flight In Clouds, Fog
Paraglider

Wing:
777
Queen 2

Launch Type:
Foot
Pilot thermalled up in 'blue hole' thermal above the height of cloud base. Cloud then formed around pilot who tried to escape by flying downwind. The cloud became turbulent and the pilot attempted to spiral out of the cloud but without success. Pilot deployed parachute but maintained height within the cloud until eventually sinking out and landing in a tree. Pilot was rescued from the tree safely.

Unhurt
Go to: Incident Reports (formal investigations)
Go to: Annual Incident Analysis Reports
Last updated: 29 March 2024

Displaying page 54 out of 314

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