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 3235 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 7 out of 324

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
Date 02.06.2024	Pilot Male Age: 77 Rating: P Flying Experience: 200 hours (4 hours)	Location Combe Gibbet, Hungerford, UK Wind Strength: 25-30 km/h Conditions: Strong, Strong Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Advance Sigma 5 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was observed to be on approach to the landing field with their paraglider in big ears configuration. The wing entered a spin leading to a deep stall in conditions reported to be thermic, and the pilot impacted the ground sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Lumbar Spine
Date 02.06.2024	Pilot Male Age: 61 Rating: NPPL Flying Experience: 3 years 167 hours (25 hours)	Location Sutton Meadows, Cambridgeshire, UK Wind Strength: 0-5 km/h Conditions:, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Other Wing: P&M Quick Launch Type: Powered Engine: Rotax, 912UL	Summary The flexwing microlight aircraft veered off the runway during take off run.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 01.06.2024	Pilot Male Age: 70 Rating: AP Flying Experience: 47 years 6000 hours (14 hours) 4000 flights (10 flights)	Location Strathyre, Stirling, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Strong, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Moyes RX 3.5 Pro Launch Type: Foot	Summary On landing approach following a cross country flight the hang glider accelerated in the final stage of flight before touchdown, possibly due to a sudden switch in wind direction from headwind to tailwind. The pilot impacted the ground hard and was trapped underneath the glider with an arm injury, unable to move. The pilot was assisted by walkers and a retrieve driver who reported that the pilot's satellite tracker SOS button (mounted on the control frame) was inaccessible to the pilot following the crash and could not be operated.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 25.05.2024	Pilot Male Rating: CP Flying Experience: 2 years 20 hours	Location Chabre, Laragne, France Wind Strength: 0-5 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Mojo 6 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was observed struggling to maintain directional control after take-off and the paraglider shape appeared distorted as if lines were knotted. The pilot landed in trees short of the landing field and dropped to the ground, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured
Date 24.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 63 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 37 years 200 hours	Location Red Cliffs, Isle of Wight, UK Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Airwave Pulse 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot turned to fly parallel to the cliff immediately after take-off without achieving sufficient airspeed and the pilot touched down cross wind, sustaining minor injuries.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 23.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 51 Rating: P Flying Experience: 26 years 1000 hours (40 hours)	Location Vero, Ajaccio, France Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Strong, Strong Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Gin Bonanza 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot identified a landing field following a cross country flight and noticed on final approach the field was in the lee of a small cutting. As they approached, a thermal came through and the pilot inadvertently stalled the wing, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Lumbar Spine
Date 20.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 42 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 1 year 2 hours (2 hours) 25 flights (8 flights)	Location Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Buzz Z7 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Preparing for a second flight after top landing, the pilot became aware that their emergency parachute had fallen out of their Gin Gingo 4 paragliding harness, despite having checked the emergency parachute handle was correctly installed as part of their pre-flight check. The pilot terminated the launch.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 19.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 41 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 20 years 100 hours (4 hours) 400 flights (20 flights)	Location Farway, Devon, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Skywalk Mescal 5 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Immediately after take-off the pilot became aware that their right control line was caught at the pulley, preventing control input on that side. They top landed and landed hard on their right leg sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Feet, Legs
Date 18.05.2024	Pilot Age: 47 Rating: P Flying Experience: 6 years 240 hours (50 hours) 200 flights (45 flights)	Location Babadag, Olu Deniz, Turkey Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Calm, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: BGD Base 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot induced a frontal collapse with full acceleration during an SIV course. Upon re-inflation, nine suspension lines broke. The pilot was able to control the wing and landed safety.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 18.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 57 Rating: P Flying Experience: 14 years 900 hours (20 hours) (12 flights)	Location Weybourne Coastal, Weybourne, Norfolk, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions:, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Skywalk Chili 3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot collided with the ground, impacting the cliff top with the bottom of their harness whilst on a downwind beat. The paraglider dived and the pilot collided with the cliff face before coming to rest on the beach.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries

Last updated: 12 December 2024

Displaying page 7 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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