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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.

Laura Turner flying a speed wing

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 66 out of 324

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
02.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
57

Flying Experience:
11 years

140 hours
(30 hours)

(100 flights)

Location
Newhaven cliffs,
Newhaven,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Mentor 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot's first flight on a high B glider and full stalled due to flying too slow before attempting to turn. Pilot fell back onto cliffs before wing reinflated and pilot flew forward and landed safely.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
02.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
70

Location
Swyre Hill,
Dorchester,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Bolero 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Student fell forward on first hop having allowed glider to overfly him. Student tripped and banged head.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Head Injuries

Date
01.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Rating:
P

Location
Coombe Gibbet,
Hungerford,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Mentor 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot was walking back up the slope and decided to kite the glider up the last 80ft. Pilot was lifted off by a gust and had not put his helmet back on. Pilot was able to land safely.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
30.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
56

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
6 years

12 hours
(1 hour)

25 flights
(3 flights)

Location
Galicica,,
Ohrid,
Macedonia

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Adam

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot misjudge altitude on final approach, made a sharp turn at 10m which resulted in pendulum effect. High speed impact with a parked car.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Lumbar Spine

Date
29.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
72

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
33 years


Location
Mere Rifle Range,
Mere, Wiltshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BDG
Base

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Under investigation

Injury
Pilot:
Fatal,

Internal Injuries

Date
29.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
35 years

1000 hours
(20 hours)

10000 flights

Location
Friar Waddon,
Dorchester,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Punk

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot entered spiral to lose height but quickly began to "grey out". Pilot was able to ease off the spiral just in time to prevent total loss of vision and land safely.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
27.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
27 years

15 hours
(4 hours)

251 flights
(54 flights)

Location
Woolacombe,
Woolacombe,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Aeros
Target

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot made excessive flare on landing in breezy conditions. Glider rose up then fell to the ground with pilot still holding the uprights.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
26.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
47

Flying Experience:
5 years

29 flights

Location
West Mersea,,
Colchester,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:,
Very Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Mojo3

Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow

Summary
Student under training was being winched launched. Wind had been stable. Overcast with sunny intervals. Gust of wind came through and took the pilot higher into the air. Glider spun and pilot crashed heavily.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Date
23.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
43

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
21 years

400 hours
(25 hours)

(40 flights)

Location
Piedrahita,
Pieedrahita,
Spain

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
GIN
Carrera+

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Weather changed while pilot was flying. Pilot turned and flew downwind to escape but encountered severe turbulence. Wing collapsed with twisted risers and pilot deployed parachute at 2300m. Pilot hit ground hard on his back.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
23.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
53

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
25 years

500 hours
(55 hours)

1000 flights
(50 flights)

Location
Planpraz,
Chamonix,
France

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Mentor 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot experienced extreme turbulence in an area he had flown through earlier with no problems. Pilot lost control and impacted cliff.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Lumbar Spine

Last updated: 2 December 2024

Displaying page 66 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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