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 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).

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 2452 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 5 out of 246

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
Date 17.06.2024	Pilot Male Age: 73 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 7 years 67 hours 153 flights (2 flights)	Location Woolacombe, Devon, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Phi Beat Light Launch Type: Foot	Summary After take-off the pilot became aware that the outer A-line riser was trapped in the speed system link (between A and B risers), causing the wingtip to be pulled in. The pilot opted to land immediately and touched down safely. When the load came off the riser after touchdown, the trapped riser released itself back to its normal configuration.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 12.06.2024	Pilot Male Age: 54 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 3 years 65 hours (30 hours) 130 flights (60 flights)	Location East Hill Devon, Sidbury, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Gin Bolero 7 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot encountered sinking air during take-off, on a tight tree-sided launch area, and they collided with a tree.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 09.06.2024	Pilot Male Rating: CP Flying Experience: 10 hours	Location Devil's Dyke, Sussex, UK	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Unknown PG Unknown	Summary The reporting witness noted that the conditions had deteriorated and the pilot was attempting to land when they experienced a large asymmetric collapse which re-inflated. A large asymmetric collapse on the other side of the wing then occurred. The pilot managed to land without injury.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 02.06.2024	Pilot Male Age: 77 Rating: P Flying Experience: 200 hours (4 hours)	Location Combe Gibbet, Hungerford, UK Wind Strength: 25-30 km/h Conditions: Strong, Strong Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Advance Sigma 5 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was observed to be on approach to the landing field with their paraglider in big ears configuration. The wing entered a spin leading to a deep stall in conditions reported to be thermic, and the pilot impacted the ground sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Lumbar Spine
Date 25.05.2024	Pilot Male Rating: CP Flying Experience: 2 years 20 hours	Location Chabre, Laragne, France Wind Strength: 0-5 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Mojo 6 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was observed struggling to maintain directional control after take-off and the paraglider shape appeared distorted as if lines were knotted. The pilot landed in trees short of the landing field and dropped to the ground, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured
Date 23.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 51 Rating: P Flying Experience: 26 years 1000 hours (40 hours)	Location Vero, Ajaccio, France Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Strong, Strong Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Gin Bonanza 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot identified a landing field following a cross country flight and noticed on final approach the field was in the lee of a small cutting. As they approached, a thermal came through and the pilot inadvertently stalled the wing, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Lumbar Spine
Date 20.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 42 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 1 year 2 hours (2 hours) 25 flights (8 flights)	Location Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Buzz Z7 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Preparing for a second flight after top landing, the pilot became aware that their emergency parachute had fallen out of their Gin Gingo 4 paragliding harness, despite having checked the emergency parachute handle was correctly installed as part of their pre-flight check. The pilot terminated the launch.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 19.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 41 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 20 years 100 hours (4 hours) 400 flights (20 flights)	Location Farway, Devon, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Skywalk Mescal 5 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Immediately after take-off the pilot became aware that their right control line was caught at the pulley, preventing control input on that side. They top landed and landed hard on their right leg sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Feet, Legs
Date 18.05.2024	Pilot Age: 47 Rating: P Flying Experience: 6 years 240 hours (50 hours) 200 flights (45 flights)	Location Babadag, Olu Deniz, Turkey Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Calm, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: BGD Base 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot induced a frontal collapse with full acceleration during an SIV course. Upon re-inflation, nine suspension lines broke. The pilot was able to control the wing and landed safety.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 18.05.2024	Pilot Male Age: 57 Rating: P Flying Experience: 14 years 900 hours (20 hours) (12 flights)	Location Weybourne Coastal, Weybourne, Norfolk, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions:, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Skywalk Chili 3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot collided with the ground, impacting the cliff top with the bottom of their harness whilst on a downwind beat. The paraglider dived and the pilot collided with the cliff face before coming to rest on the beach.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries

Last updated: 2 December 2024

Displaying page 5 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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