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 3287 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 2 out of 329

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
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
Date 29.03.2025	Pilot Male Age: 54 Rating: P Flying Experience: 6 years 170 hours (30 hours) 343 flights (36 flights)	Location Dunstable Downs, Dunstable, UK Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions: Calm, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Swing Stellar RS Launch Type: Foot	Summary After taking a thermal climb over the back of the hill, the pilot prepared to land on a local golf course as they were not able to penetrate into wind to reach the ridge. They encountered turbulent air on approach to land and landed heavily, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 25.03.2025	Pilot Male Age: 54 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 5 years 280 hours (25 hours) 200 flights (40 flights)	Location East Hill White Cross, Near Ottery St Mary, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions:, Moderate Turbulence, Front Influence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Delta 3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot inflated their wing and was unexpectedly lifted up and backwards in a gust, landing in a tree. They were rescued by the emergency services.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 23.03.2025	Pilot Male Age: 32 Rating: P Flying Experience: 40 hours (10 hours) 90 flights (10 flights)	Location Mam Tor NW, Derbyshire, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Niviuk Koyot 4 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was performing a reverse launch. When turning to face in the direction of take-off, the paraglider lines caught on a camera mount on the helmet, preventing the pilot from making control inputs. The pilot lost control of the paraglider and was dragged.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 23.03.2025	Pilot Male Age: 41 Rating: P Flying Experience: 1 year 65 hours (33 hours) 108 flights (47 flights)	Location Carbis Bay dunes, Hayle, UK Wind Strength: +45 km/h Conditions: Calm, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Other Wing: Flare Moustache Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot misjudged their approach to a swoop over the beach, making contact with the base of their harness and unweighting the glider. The pilot lost control of the paraglider which pulled the pilot up the dunes. The pilot impacted on their head and sustained injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Cervical Spine
Date 14.03.2025	Pilot Male Age: 51 Rating: P Flying Experience: 10 years 400 hours (55 hours) 300 flights (12 flights)	Location Bo Peep, Southern, UK Wind Strength: 40-45 km/h Conditions: Calm, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Zeno 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot landed travelling backwards in the strong wind of a gust front. They sustained injury on landing.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 12.03.2025	Pilot Male Age: 68 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 4 years 32 hours (5 hours) 105 flights (20 flights)	Location Bratton Camp, Westbury, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence, Front Influence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: BGD Echo 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary A paraglider pilot reportedly contacted the other paraglider with their harness. The paraglider suffered a deflation and re-inflated quickly. The flight continued with no further incident.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt

Last updated: 21 June 2025

Displaying page 2 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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