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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.

Hang Glider (Courtesy Darren Blackman)

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).

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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 2455 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 38 out of 246

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
18.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
53

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
10 years

814 hours
(26 hours)

867 flights
(46 flights)

Location
Llantysilio,
North Wales,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Mac Para
Elan

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot miss-judged a turn into wind after approaching the hill flying downwind. They collided with the hill in the turn, causing injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Lumbar Spine

Date
17.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
56

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
26 years

300 hours
(20 hours)

(15 flights)

Location
Talybont,
Brecon Beacons,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence,
Leeside

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Rush 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot dropped out of a thermal on the lee side of the ridge and experienced a large asymmetric tuck that led to a spiral dive and impact with the lee side slope.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
16.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
35

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
5 years

2 hours
(2 hours)

9 flights
(9 flights)

Location
Bo Peep,
Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Epsilon 9

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The incident pilot was attempting to ground handle in gusty conditions. The pilot lost control of their paraglider and was dragged and lifted in a gust, leading to a heavy landing and injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
14.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
60

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
10 years


Location
Long Cliff,
Castleton, Derbyshire,
UK

Conditions:
Strong,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Mojo 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was soaring in wind of increasing strength and was unable to penetrate into wind without the speed system applied to its maximum. The pilot lost control of their wing following touchdown on the top of the hill and was dragged before regaining control.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
14.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
68

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
38 years

1500 hours
(9 hours)

1500 flights
(12 flights)

Location
Parlick West,
Lancashire,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Swift 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot top landed in a fresh wind and was dragged. They were unable to control the paraglider after touchdown as a plastic buckle on their glove had caught and become entangled with the speed system line.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
11.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
10 years

222 hours
(5 hours)

285 flights
(36 flights)

Location
Leckhampton Hill,
Leckhampton,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Xi

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot launched in turbulent conditions and lost control of the wing in sinking air whilst attempting to top land.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
11.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
34

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
5 years

65 hours
(65 hours)

60 flights
(60 flights)

Location
Firle,
East Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Pi3

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Mid air collision between model aircraft and paraglider. The paraglider pilot was uninjured and performed a safe top landing.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
11.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
51

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
8 years

57 hours
(40 hours)

300 flights
(150 flights)

Location
Firle,
Lewes,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Swift 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot launched in a lull in-between gust fronts and used the speed system to avoid being blown back. On touchdown the pilot lost control of the wing and was dragged and flipped over, landing on their head.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
04.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
57

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
6 years

60 hours
(5 hours)

72 flights
(7 flights)

Location
Ringsted,
Weymouth,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Buzz 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot made a large control input on landing and induced a spin.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Passenger:
Unhurt

Date
04.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
55

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
18 years


Location
Dunstable Downs,
Dunstable,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Alpina 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The paraglider experienced an asymmetric collapse on landing approach and the pilot lost control of the wing, colliding with a line of trees.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Last updated: 5 January 2025

Displaying page 38 out of 246

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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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