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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 flying Fochriw

Incident reports are available in summary form for the following wing types:

Incident reports for flexwing hang glider wings 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).

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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 415 entries for flexwing hang glider wings

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
28.09.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
69

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
48 years

270 hours
(5 hours)

600 flights
(30 flights)

Location
Mendlesham,
Wetherup Street,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Wills Wing
Sport 3

Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow

Summary
The pilot lifted the glider in preparation for a tow launch and the control frame came apart. The launch was aborted. Upon inspection, the pilot noted that the basetube and its end bracket were not correctly fastened together and the Wheel Retro Kit was incorrectly installed.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
14.08.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
57

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
25 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
25.07.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
36 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:
2 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
29.06.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
69

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
31 years

556 hours

76 flights
(17 flights)

Location
Long Mynd,
Shropshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Wills Wing
U2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot misjudged the landing approach and considered they may overshoot the landing field. They landed heavily in the flare, sustaining injury and damage to the glider.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Passenger:
Minor Injuries

Date
12.06.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
68

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
41 years

1000 hours
(5 hours)

(8 flights)

Location
Strathyre,
Scotland,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Moyes
RX

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot landed in a field reported to be extremely tussocky. They swung through the A-frame as the glider came to a stop, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
11.06.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
49

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
31 years

690 hours
(5 hours)

1869 flights
(5 flights)

Location
Glencoe,
Scotland,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Moyes
RX

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot became aware of power lines when about to enter final approach to land. They changed their landing approach direction to avoid the hazard. They sustained minor injuries landing with a tailwind.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
06.06.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
72

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
49 years

800 hours
(3 hours)

1000 flights
(4 flights)

Location
Woolacombe,
North Devon,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Wills Wing
Sport 3

Summary
The pilot impacted hard when top landing and swung through the A frame, resulting in upper limb injuries.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

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
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

Last updated: 2 December 2024

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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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