British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

Incident Reports (Informal)

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:

• All Wing Types
• Paraglider
• Flexwing Hang Glider
• Rigid Hang Glider
• Speedrider
• Speedflyer/Miniwing
• Powered PG
• Powered HG
• Other

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 you want to search by incident date, please enter the day, month and year numerically as dd-mm-yyyy (eg. 03-12-2019).

All Wing Types Paraglider Flexwing Hang Glider Rigid Hang Glider Speedrider Speedflyer/Miniwing Powered PG Powered HG Other

or and

If known, total hours and total flights flown are displayed below together with hours and flights flown in the past six months, the latter being displayed in brackets.

There are 3283 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 1 out of 329

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
Date 03.05.2025	Pilot Male Age: 75 Rating: P Flying Experience: 23 years 3000 hours (45 hours) 2000 flights (30 flights)	Location Maiden Castle, Dorchester, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Advance Sigma 12DLS Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was pulled to one side on launch and stumbled on the rough terrain.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Feet, Legs
Date 29.04.2025	Pilot Male Age: 62 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 13 years 600 hours (12 hours) 520 flights (20 flights)	Location Llantisilio, Lllangollen, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Buzz 7 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was attempting a reverse launch when the wing snagged on shrubs, partially inflated. It became inverted, with its leading edge on the ground. The pilot lost control of the paraglider and was dragged, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries
Date 25.04.2025	Pilot Male Rating: P Flying Experience: 37 years 1000 hours (4 hours) 1000 flights (5 flights)	Location Howgills, Sedburgh, UK Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Strong Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: 777 Queen 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot lost control of their paraglider on launch in gusty conditions and was dragged sideways. Once airborne the pilot realised their emergency parachute was partially released. The pilot managed to stow it and landed without further incident.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 22.04.2025	Pilot Male Age: 61 Rating: P Flying Experience: 31 years 874 hours (18 hours) 701 flights (10 flights)	Location Windbank, Kettlewell, UK Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Strong Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Flow Paragliders Fusion Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot experienced a departure from normal flight, likely a large asymmetric collapse, upon exiting a thermal. The pilot cited strong winds and possibly encountering rotor as contributing to the loss of control. The paraglider lost a significant amount of height in its recovery and the pilot landed without further incident.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 20.04.2025	Pilot Male Age: 46 Rating: P Flying Experience: 20 years 600 hours (10 hours) 3000 flights (20 flights)	Location Back of Ecton, Ecton, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Photon Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was aware of the onset of a spin when using the controls to make tight turns in thermic conditions. Upon investigation the pilot noticed that the control line had twisted around itself, gathering some suspension lines, which were pulled when the pilot made a control input on that side. The pilot noted that they normally took wraps, twisting the control line above the spinner (fitted to prevent this type of line tangling).	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 17.04.2025	Pilot Male Age: 59 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 1 year 8 hours (4 hours) 14 flights (6 flights)	Location Osmington White Horse, Weymouth, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions:, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Buzz Z4 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot landed heavily when attempting a top landing, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 10.04.2025	Pilot Male Age: 59 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 4 years 11 hours (2 hours) 55 flights (14 flights)	Location Wether Fell, Yorkshire Dales, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Gin Calypso Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot misjudged their slope landing approach in changing conditions, colliding with a large grass tussock.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Feet, Legs
Date 08.04.2025	Pilot Male Age: 67 Rating: P Flying Experience: 25 years 960 hours (15 hours)	Location Glencoe ski area, Highlands, UK Wind Strength: 0-5 km/h Conditions:, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Geo 7 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot attempted to launch on a shallow slope with a tailwind, resulting in an unplanned fast contact with the slope shortly after becoming airborne.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Feet, Legs
Date 07.04.2025	Pilot Male Age: 61 Rating: P Flying Experience: 3 years 80 hours	Location Pandy, Wales, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Strong, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: BGD Base 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was landing on a sloping field, and collided with a fence. The paraglider wing wrapped around service cables overhead.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 31.03.2025	Pilot Male Age: 47 Rating: P Flying Experience: 24 years 660 hours 455 flights	Location Rufforth, York, UK Wind Strength: 0-5 km/h Conditions: Calm, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Powered PG Wing: Ozone Freeride 2 Launch Type: Powered Engine: Macfly, Moster185	Summary The pilot let go of the right control handle of their paraglider during climb-out under power, rather than stowing it on its keeper. The handle was drawn into the propeller, causing damage to the propeller, the control handle and control lines. The pilot was able to land without further incident.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt

Last updated: 19 May 2025

Displaying page 1 out of 329

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A number of incident analysis reports are also available in the safety section of our website. These are compiled from the individual incident reports submitted during the course of each year.

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