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 8 out of 329

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
Date 31.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 50 Rating: P Flying Experience: 16 years 391 hours (8 hours) 495 flights (15 flights)	Location Tinto (South), Scotland, UK Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Air Design Rise 4 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot fell over on take off and sustained injury.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Feet, Legs
Date 30.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 65 Rating: P Flying Experience: 24 years 170 hours (5 hours) 400 flights (20 flights)	Location Not applicable, Not applicable, UK	Wing Type Other Wing: Woody Valley Tenax 3 / Tenax 4 harnesses	Summary During an inspection of the inside trim system on a Woody Valley Tenax 3 hang-gliding harness, it was discovered that one of the bolts that attach the posts to the backplate had become loose, allowing considerable movement of the post. A BHPA Safety Advisory (SC019) for the Woody Valley Tenax 3 (with "inside trim") and Tenax 4 harnesses has been issued. See the relevant page of the BHPA website for mare details.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 26.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 58 Rating: PPL Flying Experience: 22 years 413 hours (5 hours) 903 flights (9 flights)	Location Old Park Farm, Port Talbot, UK Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions:, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Other Wing: Medway Clipper Launch Type: Powered Engine: Medway, Clipper	Summary On landing approach the aircraft encountered rotor from a line of trees and landed heavily on the port wheel. The pilot initiated a go-around and was informed by radio that the undercarriage was not usable for landing (port wheelstay had failed). On landing approach after two practice approaches the aircraft impacted the ground after contacting a hedge. The pilot exited the aircraft uninjured.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 22.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 25 Rating: Unqualified Flying Experience: 1 year 2 flights	Location Buching, Fuessen, Germany Wind Strength: 0-5 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Independence Cruiser 4 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Shortly after launch the pilot noticed that their emergency parachute had come out of the front-mounted outer container. The pilot was able to stow the parachute between their thighs, and they landed without further incident.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 17.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 68 Rating: P Flying Experience: 47 years 530 hours (15 hours) 780 flights (8 flights)	Location Sutton Meadows, Cambridgeshire, UK Wind Strength: 0-5 km/h	Wing Type Rigid Hang Glider Wing: La Mouette Top Secret Launch Type: Aero Tow	Summary Following a heavy landing the pilot noticed that the retaining strap connecting the inboard trailing edge of the wing to the keel had snapped, and the metal "D" ring that connects the strap to the locking device on the keel had disappeared.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 14.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 53 Rating: P Flying Experience: 45 hours	Location Windbank, Hawkswick, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Buzz Z7 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot lost their footing and was dragged along the take off area when reverse launching.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Feet, Legs
Date 14.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 57 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 26 years (4 hours) (6 flights)	Location Perran Sands, Perranporth, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Airwave Sportster Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot misjudged their landing approach on a sloping top landing area. They pulled the bar in, and impacted the ground at speed, resulting in damage to the hang glider.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 12.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 40 Rating: P Flying Experience: 6 years 88 hours (12 hours) 117 flights (15 flights)	Location Bell Hill, Sturminster Newton, UK Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions: Calm, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Air Design Vivo Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot experienced an asymmetric collapse on bottom landing approach and struck the ground, sustaining injury. The pilot noted the possible presence of rotor in the lee of a large tree upwind of the pilot's track on final approach.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured
Date 11.08.2024	Pilot Male Rating: Unknownown	Location Pendle East, Lancs, UK	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Unknown Unknown	Summary A paraglider was reported to have crashed at the top of the steps. Mountain Rescue attended. The pilot walked down the hill and was transferred to air ambulance to hospital. No further details available at this time.	Injury Unknown
Date 04.08.2024	Pilot Male Age: 41 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 2 years 32 hours (21 hours) 75 flights (40 flights)	Location Crete Road, Folkestone, UK Wind Strength: 25-30 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Buzz Z6 Launch Type: Foot	Summary On approach to the landing field in conditions they described as becoming turbulent, the pilot opted to lose height by making dynamic turns and they inadvertently induced the paraglider to spin. It surged and recovered facing towards the hill and the pilot managed to land across the slope, the wing becoming entangled in bushes.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt

Last updated: 21 June 2025

Displaying page 8 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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