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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.

Aerocycle

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 2542 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 27 out of 255

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
16.05.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
72

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
50 years

3000 hours
(50 hours)

Location
Black Hill,
Manaton, Devon,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Cure

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot was flying small site in windy and gusty conditions with the wind off the hill. Pilot misjudged approach and had asymmetric collapse, landing heavily.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Date
13.05.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
44

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
9 years

300 hours
(25 hours)

500 flights
(25 flights)

Location
Cairngorms,
Nr Tomintoul,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Alpina 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot didn't notice increase in wind strength and crossed high terrain into complex valley system. Pilot encountered severe turbulence and deployed emergency parachute. Pilot was dragged 250m before getting parachute under control.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Pelvis

Date
07.05.2023

Pilot
Male

Location
Bradwell,
Bradwell,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Geo 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Visiting pilot took off into the path of another pilot. Both were able to take avoiding action. Pilot reflected that they had left too much time between checking airspace and launching.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
04.05.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
45

Flying Experience:
26 years

250 hours
(5 hours)

(16 flights)

Location
Montmin,
Annecy,
France

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Tripple Seven
Rook 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Just prior to launch on SIV flight instructor noticed pilots leg stop buckle had not fully engaged. Pilot did not realise it was possible only to engage one side of the buckle. Pre flight check buckle wiggle did not spot error.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
01.05.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
40

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
17 years

650 hours
(20 hours)

1000 flights
(50 flights)

Location
Harting Down,
Near South Harting, Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Takoo 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
A gust came through while tandem pilot was setting up for launch. Pilot grabbed brake line which burnt through their glove causing a burn.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Passenger:
Unhurt

Date
25.04.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
58

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
11 years

62 hours

199 flights

Location
Firle,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Atlas

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
While on approach to top land the pilot encountered a strong gust causing the wing to drop behind the pilot. Pilot instinctively applied both brakes causing the wing to stall. Pilot landed heavily.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Head Injuries

Date
16.04.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
35

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
5 years

250 hours
(50 hours)

Location
Bridlingtom,
Bridlington,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot attempted to forward launch in new Air Design Sock harness when the leg strap connecting loop snapped freeing the leg loop.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
15.04.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
40

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
7 years

190 hours
(25 hours)

450 flights
(50 flights)

Location
Mundesley,
Norwich,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Swift 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot misjudged clearance while setting up for a slope landing. Pilot attempted a 360 below cliff height but ran out of room impacting the grassy slope.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Thorax

Date
08.04.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
58

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
31 years

700 hours

Location
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Mac Para
Eden 7

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot hit sink while ridge soaring and was dumped into a tree. Glider flew on and pulled pilot from the tree dropping him from 20ft to the ground.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
08.04.2023

Pilot
Male

Age:
51

Flying Experience:
15 years

200 hours
(6 hours)

(3 flights)

Location
Parlick,
Preston,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Epsilon 9

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot noticed the parachute bridle zip had come loose for a second time. On closer inspection it became apparent that the 'c' eyelet had not been engaged during a repack.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Last updated: 13 November 2025

Displaying page 27 out of 255

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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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