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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.

Powered hang glider (Courtesy Ian Ferguson)

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 2441 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 6 out of 245

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
27.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
59

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
26 years

500 hours
(11 hours)

400 flights
(11 flights)

Location
St Cyrus,
Aberdeenshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Rush 6

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot experienced an asymmetric deflation in the final stage of landing, and landed heavily on their back. The pilot cited wind strength and possible turbulence as contributory factors.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
27.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
61

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
2 years

50 hours
(23 hours)

75 flights

Location
Tappeti,
Montegrappa,
Italy

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Epic 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot had the control handles around their wrists, but was not gripping the control handles in their hands. The pilot lost control of the paraglider during their forward launch.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Feet, Legs

Date
26.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
54

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
34 years

350 hours
(25 hours)

500 flights
(34 flights)

Location
Hill Farm, Dereham,
Norfolk,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent,
Rain, Snow

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Photon

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot launched in drizzly conditions and during the flight the drizzle increased. They applied full speed bar which they released at approx. 75ft agl. Their descent was almost vertical and they landed very hard. The pilot cited the wet wing as a factor; being at, or close to parachute stall in unaccelerated flight.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
26.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
21 years

160 hours
(23 hours)

142 flights
(17 flights)

Location
Lewaigue,
Ramsey,
Isle Of Man

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Air Design
Vivo

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
On top landing approach in moderately turbulent conditions, the pilot experienced an asymmetric collapse at 4 to 5m agl. They impacted the ground, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
24.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
71

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
1600 hours
(10 hours)

3000 flights
(15 flights)

Location
Jeffrey Hill,
Longridge, Lancashire,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Swift 6

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Shortly after launch the pilot attempted to get their legs into the pod and noticed that the normally easy procedure was difficult to accomplish. An internal tensioning line had snagged, effectively shortening the pod and causing their legs to become stuck in the pod. They noted that the correct action would have been to land safely as soon as they were aware of the problem, without persevering to get their legs fully into the pod.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
23.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
58

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
9 years

500 hours
(30 hours)

1000 flights
(30 flights)

Location
None,
None,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Skywalk
Chili 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot reported that their paraglider's aluminium speed system connectors ("Brummel hooks") had corroded significantly and cited coastal flying (sea air) as a factor. This was the environment in which the pilot had carried out the majority of their flying.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
23.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
63

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
4 years

138 hours
(20 hours)

286 flights
(22 flights)

Location
Lords Seat,
Peak District,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Hook 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The paraglider was laid out perpendicular to the wind in preparation for launch, and was caught by a gust, hoisting the pilot into the air. The paraglider was blown back into rotor and the pilot landed on their back.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
20.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
67

Flying Experience:
40 years

3000 hours
(6 hours)

2000 flights
(5 flights)

Location
King Tor,
NE Dartmoor, Devon,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Photon

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The paraglider experienced an asymmetric collapse in thermic air, leading to a spin and dive before the pilot impacted the ground.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
14.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
29

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
1 year

2 hours

20 flights
(2 flights)

Location
Devils Dyke,
Brighton,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Phi
Symphonia 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot landed on a tree in the middle of the slope, tangling the lines and canopy material on the tree.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
08.04.2024

Pilot
Male

Age:
61

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
1 year

9 hours
(6 hours)

64 flights
(32 flights)

Location
The Warren,
Folkstone,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Sprint 3

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot flew to the bottom landing area of a coastal site. They overshot the landing area, resulting in a landing on the beach, the glider overflying the pilot and into the sea. They unclipped from the harness and were able to recover the paraglider from the water with assistance.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Last updated: 13 November 2024

Displaying page 6 out of 245

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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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