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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.

Looking down the line from a parascending canopy (Courtesy Pete Brunt)

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

Incident reports for paraglider 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 2497 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 1 out of 250

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
04.05.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
54

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
30 years

1200 hours
(20 hours)

400 flights
(6 flights)

Location
Dirt Low,
Derbyshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
UP
Meru 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of the paraglider on launch is gusty conditions and was lifted and dropped back to the ground.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
03.05.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
75

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
23 years

3000 hours
(45 hours)

2000 flights
(30 flights)

Location
Maiden Castle,
Dorchester,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Sigma 12DLS

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was pulled to one side on launch and stumbled on the rough terrain.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
02.05.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
60

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
6 years


Location
Wessex White Horse,
Sutton Poyntz,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Ikuma

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot misjudged their landing approach, landing in a tree.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
30.04.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
40

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
1 year

45 hours
(30 hours)

Location
N/A,
Aberdeen,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Summary
During an emergency parachute repack, it was found that the deployment handle was attached to the bridle rather than the correct installation point on the emergency parachute inner container. The harness and parachute had been obtained second-hand. The packer rectified the error and the pilot who supplied the harness and parachute was informed.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
29.04.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
62

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
13 years

600 hours
(12 hours)

520 flights
(20 flights)

Location
Llantisilio,
Lllangollen,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Buzz 7

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was attempting a reverse launch when the wing snagged on shrubs, partially inflated. It became inverted, with its leading edge on the ground. The pilot lost control of the paraglider and was dragged, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
28.04.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
57

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
3 years

556 hours
(110 hours)

1287 flights
(128 flights)

Location
Plaine Joux,
Passy,
France

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence,
Rain, Snow

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Air Design
Volt 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot encountered heavy rain on a cross country flight and opted to fly in accelerated mode to a landing area. The pilot released the accelerator to use the controls to land and the paraglider entered a deep stall. The pilot fell through trees and sustained injury in the impact with the ground.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
25.04.2025

Pilot
Male

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
37 years

1000 hours
(4 hours)

1000 flights
(5 flights)

Location
Howgills,
Sedburgh,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
777
Queen 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of their paraglider on launch in gusty conditions and was dragged sideways. Once airborne the pilot realised their emergency parachute was partially released. The pilot managed to stow it and landed without further incident.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
22.04.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
61

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
31 years

874 hours
(18 hours)

701 flights
(10 flights)

Location
Windbank,
Kettlewell,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Flow Paragliders
Fusion

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot experienced a departure from normal flight, likely a large asymmetric collapse, upon exiting a thermal. The pilot cited strong winds and possibly encountering rotor as contributing to the loss of control. The paraglider lost a significant amount of height in its recovery and the pilot landed without further incident.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
20.04.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
46

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
20 years

600 hours
(10 hours)

3000 flights
(20 flights)

Location
Back of Ecton,
Ecton,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Photon

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was aware of the onset of a spin when using the controls to make tight turns in thermic conditions. Upon investigation the pilot noticed that the control line had twisted around itself, gathering some suspension lines, which were pulled when the pilot made a control input on that side. The pilot noted that they normally took wraps, twisting the control line above the spinner (fitted to prevent this type of line tangling).

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
17.04.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
59

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
1 year

8 hours
(4 hours)

14 flights
(6 flights)

Location
Osmington White Horse,
Weymouth,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Buzz Z4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot landed heavily when attempting a top landing, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Last updated: 15 June 2025

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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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