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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.

Paramotor (Courtesy Paul Haxby)

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 2493 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 41 out of 250

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
07.05.2021

Pilot
Female

Age:
59

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
25 years


Location
Bradwell Edge,
Derbyshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Epsilon 9

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
During a flight made under the support of a Coach, the paraglider's bottom surface was seen to be deformed and the wing was in a continual right turn which the pilot was trying to counter with opposite weightshift. The pilot initiated a right turn towards an emergency landing field and the paraglider was seen to dive. The pilot managed to control the dive and land safely. The Coach believed a knot in the high level (unsheathed) B or C lines went undetected during the pre-flight check.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
07.05.2021

Pilot
Female

Age:
29

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
8 years

30 hours
(3 hours)

200 flights
(10 flights)

Location
Milk Hill Bowl,
Wiltshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence,
Front Influence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Buzz Z4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was attempting to top land their paraglider in conditions where the the wind was increasing in strength, and was blown back into a field behind the launch area. On touchdown the pilot was dragged over a fence.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Pelvis

Date
02.05.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
6 years

60 hours
(12 hours)

80 flights
(18 flights)

Location
Long Mynd,
Shropshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Hook 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of their paraglider whilst ground handling in thermic conditions. The pilot was dragged over the ground and their emergency parachute was released, but did not inflate.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
02.05.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
59

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
29 years

600 hours
(5 hours)

1340 flights
(20 flights)

Location
Worcestershire Beacon,
Malvern,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Lynx

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot experienced a collapse in turbulent air and was unable to regain full control before impacting the slope.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
23.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
39

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
10 years

85 hours
(4 hours)

169 flights
(5 flights)

Location
Kettle Sings,
Malverns,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Rush 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot activated the accelerator by pressing the speed bar which failed when the attachment knot to the bar came undone. The pilot landed safely.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
23.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
29

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
8 years

100 hours
(10 hours)

(10 flights)

Location
Wrekin,
Shropshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Air Design
Rise 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot set their paraglider up in the lip area of the southeast launch. The pilot started to inflate the wing in the strong conditions. The wing surged and the pilot was lifted and dropped back on the ground whilst attempting to regain control.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
19.04.2021

Pilot
Male

Age:
50

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
7 years

60 hours
(10 hours)

100 flights
(17 flights)

Location
Blease Fell,
Threlkeld,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
777
K-Light

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of their paraglider in turbulent conditions when close to the top of the hill soon after launch. The wing experienced an asymmetric collapse and spiralled into the hillside.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Lumbar Spine

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

Last updated: 21 May 2025

Displaying page 41 out of 250

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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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