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 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).

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 415 entries for flexwing hang glider wings

Displaying page 12 out of 42

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
Date 27.02.2015	Pilot Male Rating: P Flying Experience: 1067 hours (14 hours) 1250 flights (12 flights)	Location Dunstable Downs, Dunstable, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Aeros COMBAT Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot misjudged approach and was caught out by wind shear. Pilot decided to drag feet in an attempt to slow down, rather than overshoot, but ended up heading for a large hole. Pilot pushed out and stalled, landing heavily on uprights.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 25.02.2015	Pilot Male Age: 52 Rating: AP Flying Experience: 5000 hours (100 hours) 10000 flights (100 flights)	Location El Penon, Valle de Bravo, Mexico Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Moyes Litespeed RX Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot took off without closing leg loops. Pilot was able to close harness and fly until landing conditions at bottom landing field became mild. Hang position meant pilot could not execute a controlled landing. pilot nosed in but without damage to glider or injury to himself.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 17.02.2015	Pilot Male Age: 52 Rating: P Flying Experience: 30 years	Location Devils dyke, Brighton, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Moyes Launch Type: Foot	Summary While flying into wind above the top of the hill and slightly behind a run-down building, the pilot swooped down behind the building, peaking just before the front edge of the building. At this point he turned, clipping the left wing tip on the building which sent him face first into the ground.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries
Date 03.02.2015	Pilot Male Age: 52 Rating: AP Flying Experience: 41 years 5000 hours (100 hours) 5000 flights (100 flights)	Location El Penon, Valle de Bravo, Mexico Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot deployed 'drag chute' which became entangled in unzip string. Drag chute and unzip string were located on the same side of the harness.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 28.01.2015	Pilot Male Age: 47 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 11 years 1 hour (1 hour) 2 flights	Location Mirador, Orzola, Lanzarote, Spain Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Aeros Target Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot stalled glider on landing approach.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 24.01.2015	Pilot Female Age: 54 Rating: CPC HG Pilot PG Flying Experience: 19 years 75 hours (8 hours) 100 flights (10 flights)	Location St Agnes Head, Cornwal, UK Wind Strength: 25-30 km/h Conditions:, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Wills Wing Sport 2 135 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot was caught out by heavy wind gradient at 10 feet above ground. Glider dived to gain airspeed resulting in heavy landing. Pilot did not let go of upright quickly enough resulting in injury.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 29.12.2014	Pilot Male Age: 52 Rating: P Flying Experience: 36 years 1061 hours (23 hours) 1243 flights (18 flights)	Location Herne Bay, Herne Bay, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Solar Wings Rumour 1 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot attempted to take off in turbulent air and was unable to gain enough airspeed to become properly airborne. Glider became caught on bushes and crashed down a small cliff.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries
Date 20.12.2014	Pilot Male Age: 41 Rating: P	Location Perranporth, Cornwall, UK Wind Strength: 30-35 km/h Conditions:, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Wills Wing Talon Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot was too slow on approach causing the glider to drop a wing. Pilot lost control of the glider while attempting to correct the turn. Landed heavily.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries
Date 28.10.2014	Pilot Age: 49 Rating: P Flying Experience: 27 years 1000 hours (50 hours)	Location Famara, Famara, Spain	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Aeros Discuc c Launch Type: Foot	Summary While holding the front wires under tension during a pre-flight check, the pilot noticed the rear wire snap at the end of the swage coming out of the keel. The pilot suspects that where the wire comes through the keel there is not enough clearance and no protection for the single wire coming out. While the glider is parked and the wind moves the glider it has slowly cut through the wire.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 08.09.2014	Pilot Male Age: 53 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 12 years	Location Montmin, Annecy, France Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Flexwing Hang Glider Wing: Avian Rio Launch Type: Foot	Summary Hang glider pilot had mid-air collision with paraglider pilot while thermalling. Paraglider deployed parachute and landed in trees unhurt. Hang glider pilot was able to land safely.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt

Last updated: 5 January 2025

Displaying page 12 out of 42

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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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