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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.

Powered hang glider (Courtesy Gary Shaw)

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 11 out of 324

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
30.03.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
50

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
4 years

50 hours
(8 hours)

159 flights
(20 flights)

Location
Mere Rifle Range,
Wiltshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Base

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was attempting a top landing and was positioned too far behind the lift band. They were hit by a gust on touchdown, and dragged into a barbed wire fence.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
30.03.2024

Pilot
Male

Location
Mere Rifle Range,
Wiltshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Iota 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was on final approach to top land when a very strong gust (estimated to be 35kph) caused a collapse of the paraglider. The pilot hit the ground and was pulled back into the air before being dropped back to the ground. The wing was then ensnared by a fence, preventing the pilot being from being dragged further. The pilot sustained minor injuries.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
30.03.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
64

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
16 years

391 hours
(9 hours)

1368 flights
(29 flights)

Location
Mount Caburn,
Glynde,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Epsilon 9

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was performing a slope landing in moderate wind and slipped on uneven ground causing an ankle fracture.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
24.03.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
63

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
35 years

2000 hours
(5 hours)

(7 flights)

Location
Tinto,
Biggar,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Phantom

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot inadvertently stalled the paraglider whilst scratching for lift, and hit the ground, sustaining injury. The pilot highlighted their new glider, and the gusty conditions on a site they had not previously flown, as contributing factors.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Lumbar Spine

Date
22.03.2024

Pilot
Unknown
Location
N/A: repacking,
UK

Wing Type
Other

Wing:
Sol
Squad Light 57 Bi Emergency Parachute

Summary
During a routine repack of the emergency parachute the lines did not cleanly separate. A test inflation was slow, the lines appearing to be tangled (which they were not). The repacker reported that a subsequent test inflation came out cleanly.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
16.03.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
50

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
4 years

43 hours
(7 hours)

70 flights
(10 flights)

Location
Rushup Edge,
Sheffield,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Model unknown

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot launched in strong wind and shortly after take-off the paraglider was seen to enter a stall. The pilot was injured following their impact with the ground.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Passenger:
Seriously Injured

Feet, Legs

Date
03.03.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
43

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
2 years

3 hours
(2 hours)

30 flights
(9 flights)

Location
Fair Snape,
Preston,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
ION 6 LIGHT

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot flew towards the landing field on a crosswind approach and touched down fast, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
26.02.2024

Pilot
Male

Rating:
P

Location
Aguapanela,
Roldanillo,
Colombia

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Rush 6

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot encountered turbulence which led to collapses and a cravatte. The pilot deployed their emergency parachute which became entangled in the paraglider lines whilst still in its inner container. The pilot was unable to take further action, their head jammed against the risers by twisted lines. The parachute partially opened and the pilot descended to to the ground, sustaining injury on impact.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Lumbar Spine

Date
26.02.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
71

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
7 years

120 hours
(12 hours)

230 flights
(15 flights)

Location
Stob Coire nan Lochan,
Glencoe,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Ultralight 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot approached the landing area which was sloping away. They flared too high as they were approaching a tree and wall, and sustained injury from the landing impact.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Date
25.02.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
53

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
27 years

700 hours
(51 hours)

(73 flights)

Location
Glencoe,
Highlands, Scotland,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Alpina 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot sustained injury colliding with a rock during the acceleration phase of their launch, however they were able to continue to launch.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Last updated: 5 January 2025

Displaying page 11 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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