Hang Gliding
British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association logo

British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

safety
incidents
reports

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 (Courtesy Jerome Maupoint)

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).

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 421 entries for flexwing hang glider wings

Displaying page 15 out of 43

[ Top ] - [ Prev ] - [ Next ] - [ Bottom ]

Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
01.09.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
26

Location
Muggery,
Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Airbourne
Fun

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Student hung onto top of control frame pulling glider down onto wheels and his knees.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
27.08.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
57

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
40 years

178 hours

1280 flights

Location
Monk's Down,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Airbourne
Sting

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot miscalculated wind and landed in tailwind on glider wheels. Grazed knees due to wearing shorts.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
10.08.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
32

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
20 years

200 hours

400 flights

Location
Long Mynd,
Shropshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Wills Wing
T2C

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot overcorrected final turn and set up oscillation he could not correct before landing Pilot landed heavily on the base bar.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Head Injuries

Date
10.08.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
38

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
31 years

336 hours

1500 flights

Location
Ager,
Spain

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Avian
Evo 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot landed then noticed his parachute had fallen out of the container. Suspects harness had pulled against the handle which had then become detached by a jolt on landing.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
09.08.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
40

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
21 years

115 hours

Location
Woolacombe,
Devon,
UK

Wind Strength:
30-35 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
La Mouette
Sphinx Bi

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot commenced take off run but one wing dropped and stalled as glider took off. Glider turned and landed in bushes.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
04.08.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
36


25 flights

Location
Muggery Bottom,
Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Airbourne
Fun

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Student was flying the glider too slowly and so it did not respond to pilot input. Student landed heavily spraining ankle.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
30.06.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
45

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
12 years

2 hours

Location
Tehidy Barton,
Cornwall,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Wills Wing
Sport 2

Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow

Summary
During tow launch pilot allowed glider to lift off too early. It then started to drift and the pilot did not correct the turn. Winch backed off and glider nosed in. Pilot did not let go resulting in broken arm.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
08.06.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
61

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
34 years

500 hours

Location
Mam Tor,
Derbyshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Strong

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Avian
Rio

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
During 'pre-flight' check the pilot noticed the nut had fallen off the bolt that holds the port side upper and lower wires. The nut could mort be found so the pilot could not fly.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
26.05.2013

Pilot
Male

Location
Long Mynd,
Shropshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Moyes
Litespeed S

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot came in for top landing still in prone and on the base bar. Immediately prior to landing the hang glider wing struck the rear of a paraglider pilot who was packing his wing in the landing area. The hang glider crashed and the nose of the glider struck the pilot on the back of his neck.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Cervical Spine

Date
19.05.2013

Pilot
Male

Age:
61

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
16 years

12 hours

Location
Montmin,
France

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Flexwing Hang Glider

Wing:
Avian
Rio

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot initiated ramp launch but was holding weight on uprights. Glider stalled off the end of the ramp struck a tree before spinning into smaller trees.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Last updated: 12 September 2025

Displaying page 15 out of 43

[ Top ] - [ Prev ] - [ Next ] - [ Bottom ]

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.

 

Skywings Magazine Online
Submit an Incident Report
BHPA Pilot Handbook
The BHPA is a members of the Royal Aero Club
The BHPA is a member of the European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union
The Civil Aviation Authority Drone and Model Aircraft Code
The General Aviation Safety Council Flight Safety Magazine

© British Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association 2004 - 2025