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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.

Paraglider pilot getting ready to take off from Fochriw

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 3234 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 20 out of 324

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
17.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
35

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
4 years

140 hours
(50 hours)

273 flights
(73 flights)

Location
La Clusaz,
France

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
777
R-light 3

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot had frontal collapse while on XC which developed into a cascade. Pilot deployed parachute but landed on rocks.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
16.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
56

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
8 years

250 hours
(25 hours)

200 flights
(15 flights)

Location
Coniston Old Man,
Lake District,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Phi
Allegro light

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot launched from Lake District mountain. Initial climb weakened and pilot found themselves tracking downwind along the ridge. Pilot then encountered severe turbulence with the wing fully collapsing and the pilot hitting the ground before being able to deploy their parachute.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Cervical Spine

Date
14.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
33

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
3 years

20 hours
(15 hours)

90 flights
(60 flights)

Location
White Horse,
Weymouth,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
EPIC

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The Pilot came out of a thermal and was flying downwind, top landed with the slope of hill on his left hand side, his legs were down and the wing overflew him his left arm was seen to impact the ground fully extended.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
14.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
62

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
6 years

72 hours
(10 hours)

200 flights
(23 flights)

Location
France

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Strong Turbulence,
Leeside

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Rush 6

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot encountered severe turbulence while flying in north wind in Annecy. Lines and risers became twisted so pilot deployed emergency parachute. Pilot landed safely through trees

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
14.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
73

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
47 years


Location
Pontlottyn,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Mentor 5 Lite

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
During pre-flight inspection pilot noticed main A2 line was damaged where it attached to the Maillon connector. Pilot ordered new line and on fitting noticed adjacent line was also damaged. Further inspection showed a sharp irregularity on the upper, inside curve of the Maillon.

Injury
Unknown


Date
13.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
60

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
8 years

140 hours
(15 hours)

190 flights
(22 flights)

Location
East side of Dodd Fell,
UK

Wind Strength:
30-35 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Avian
Rio 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot misjudged wind speed on approach for top landing and got caught behind the peak of the hill. Pilot landed heavily in rotor turbulence.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
11.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
60

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
41 years

4000 hours
(80 hours)

4000 flights

Location
Semerwater,
Yorkshire dales,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence,
Leeside

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilots landed in non-negotiated field after comp task and encountered farmer who was annoyed the pilots had driven down a private road to collect their gliders.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
09.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
55

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
23 years

50 hours
(1 hour)

30 flights
(1 flight)

Location
Crimdon,
Hartlepool,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Avian
Rio 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot made good refresher top to bottom flight resulting in a good approach into wind. At approx 1m above the ground and feeling the glider begin to stall, pilot flared for landing. Glider rose approx 3m, stalled then dropped to the ground. Pilot was holding uprights causing broken arm.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
04.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
38

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
1 year

7 hours
(7 hours)

18 flights
(18 flights)

Location
Heol Senni,
Brecon,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Epic

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot was picked up, and blown/dragged back during launch, colliding with dry stone wall behind launch.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Head Injuries

Date
04.06.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
60

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
3 years

2 hours
(1 hour)

8 flights
(3 flights)

Location
Monksdown,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Bolero 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
While practicing ground handling pilot was lifted off feet. Pilot flared and was lifted higher. Pilot turned upwind along the ridge without losing height. Pilot then turned downwind along the ridge and crashed at speed.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Last updated: 2 December 2024

Displaying page 20 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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