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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.

Speedflying Gin Glider

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 3287 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 9 out of 329

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
03.08.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
48

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
4 years

571 hours
(105 hours)

1264 flights
(86 flights)

Location
Long Mynd,
Shropshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Camino 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot experienced a full frontal collapse when thermalling. The paraglider re-inflated with a large cravat. The pilot deployed their emergency parachute successfully.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
31.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
63

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
6 years

37 hours
(5 hours)

105 flights
(15 flights)

Location
Kettle Sings (East),
Malvern,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Echo 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot reverse launched their paraglider in light conditions and experienced a strong pull to the left after take-off. Straight flight could only be made with right weight-shift and application of right-hand brake. They could not detect any knot in the lines or deformation of the wing. They proceeded to the landing area and landed without injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
30.07.2024

Pilot
Unknown
Location
N/A,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Alpha 7

Summary
During a routine service at a service centre, the technician identified a 2cm long reduction in thickness of a top level C suspension line (the line level which is connected directly to the wing). Further investigation revealed that there was a break in the inner (structural) core whilst the line sheath remained intact.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
29.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
46

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
3 years

20 hours
(5 hours)

30 flights
(10 flights)

Location
Winchester,
Winchester,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Wing Type
Powered PG

Wing:
Parajet
Maverick (paramotor unit)

Summary
The paramotor pilot started their paramotor on the ground (not secured on their back), holding the unit with their left hand. They were struck by the propeller on their right arm and chest, causing laceration injuries.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
27.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
45

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
12 years

350 hours
(11 hours)

150 flights
(5 flights)

Location
Bassano,
Lavarda,
Italy

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Flow
Fusion Light

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot flew into a small landing area in thermic conditions and lost control of the paraglider in the final stage of flight. They noted that the paraglider felt "parachutal". They made two turns to lose height and experienced rapid descent to the ground where they sustained injury upon impact.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Date
25.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
37 years

1600 hours
(15 hours)

999 flights
(4 flights)

Location
Àger,
Sopeira,
Spain

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Moyes
RX5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot overshot their planned landing area and found they were not able to penetrate in the stronger than expected headwind. They elected to land on the shoulder of a hill, but got too low. They were rotored into the back of the hill, resulting in a heavy landing.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
21.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
59

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
3 years

44 hours
(11 hours)

65 flights
(21 flights)

Location
Long Mynd,
Church Stretton,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Hiway
Vision 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot found they were not gaining height and was concerned they would not clear the trees at the bottom of the hill. They chose to make a landing on a part of the ridge they considered fairly flat and the aircraft came to an unexpected sudden stop.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
20.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
64

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
17 years

292 hours
(4 hours)

1371 flights
(19 flights)

Location
Newhaven Cliffs,
Nehaven, East Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Epsilon 9

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was ridge soaring in light conditions and caught the bottom their harness on the ground behind the cliff edge. The paraglider overflew the pilot who was dragged over the edge. The pilot came to rest on a shelf below the top of the cliff.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
19.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
53

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
19 years

(34 hours)

(51 flights)

Location
Brighstone,
Isle of Wight,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Zeno 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot landed heavily and sustained injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
14.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
57

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
8 years

300 hours
(60 hours)

Location
Thurnham,
Kent,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Artik 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot approached to slope land with speed, and sustained injury when they tripped in a rabbit hole.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Last updated: 21 June 2025

Displaying page 9 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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