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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.

Hang Glider (Courtesy Darren Blackman)

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.

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

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 3239 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 2 out of 324

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
10.10.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
56

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
3 years

172 hours
(65 hours)

282 flights
(92 flights)

Location
Ingleborough,
Ingleton,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Skywalk
Chili 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot experienced a large asymmetric collapse whilst scratching close to the hill. They impacted on rocks, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
03.10.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
85

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
35 years

1000 hours
(20 hours)

999 flights
(30 flights)

Location
Hownam Law,
The Cheviots,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Delta 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot elected to top land in gusty conditions. The wind was reported to be perpendicular to the hill. The pilot was dragged on touchdown and sustained injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Head Injuries

Date
28.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
59

Rating:
P

Location
Herne Bay,
Kent,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Unknown
Unknown

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The airborne pilot submitting the report had to take action to avoid an aerial conflict with a pilot who had just launched into their flightpath.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
28.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
56

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
20 years

3000 hours
(120 hours)

3000 flights
(80 flights)

Location
Carlton Bank,
Stokesley,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Photon

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of the paraglider during a reverse launch.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
28.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
69

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
49 years

270 hours
(5 hours)

600 flights
(30 flights)

Location
Mendlesham,
Wetherup Street,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Wills Wing
Sport 3

Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow

Summary
The pilot lifted the glider in preparation for a tow launch and the control frame came apart. The launch was aborted. Upon inspection, the pilot noted that the basetube and its end bracket were not correctly fastened together and the Wheel Retro Kit was incorrectly installed.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
15.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
48

Rating:
CP

Location
Eype,
Dorset,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Ion 4

Summary
The pilot elected to top land in a field adjacent to the normal launch, in conditions where the wind strength was increasing. The pilot noted they were unable to push forward. Their wing was seen to collapse in rotor behind the cliff edge, and the pilot impacted the ground, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
14.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
34

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
11 years

350 hours
(35 hours)

200 flights
(30 flights)

Location
Draycott,
Wells,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Sigma 11

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
After take-off, the pilot became aware that their harness pod would not close correctly and identified that an instrument tether line had tangled with a pod closure line, preventing the pod from closing. The pilot was able to correct the issue in flight.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
14.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
70

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
36 years

1000 hours
(17 hours)

1500 flights
(18 flights)

Location
Northrepps Airfield,
Norfolk,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence,
Leeside

Wing Type
Powered HG

Wing:
Aeros
Adam 13-T

Launch Type:
Powered

Engine:
VITTORAZI,
MOSTER 185 MY20

Summary
The engine of the wheeled Sub 70 SPHG failed whilst on final approach. The aircraft encountered sinking air and the pilot opted to make an emergency landing in another field. The aircraft sustained damage on landing.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Pelvis

Date
12.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
67

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
4 years

193 hours
(65 hours)

155 flights
(55 flights)

Location
Worcester Beacon,
Malvern,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Zoom
X2C

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Controlled airspace infringement. The pilot was formally debriefed after this incident, and reminded about the importance of observing airspace limits. The flight was excluded from all BHPA competition scoring.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
12.09.2024

Pilot
Female

Age:
61

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
4 years

66 hours
(21 hours)

107 flights
(33 flights)

Location
West Lomond,
Gateside, Fife,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Skywalk
Mescal 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of their paraglider on launch and was lifted off their feet before touching down again. They were dragged across the ground and sustained an injury. They regained control of their wing and decided to fly down, landing without further incident.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Last updated: 5 January 2025

Displaying page 2 out of 324

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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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