Hang Gliding
British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association logo

British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

safety
incidents
reports

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 Ilan Ginzburg)

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 2515 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 59 out of 252

[ Top ] - [ Prev ] - [ Next ] - [ Bottom ]

Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
08.08.2019

Pilot
Female

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
18 years

(70 hours)

Location
Golden Ball,
Pewsey,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Alpina 3

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot encountered another pilot who was flying aggressively, erratically and close to other pilots.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
04.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
49

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
29 years

2000 hours

Location
Eype,
Bridport,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
BiBeta 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot was approaching to land at coastal site when increased wind meant limited space to veer from chosen landing approach. As the pilot flared to land the bottom of the passenger harness struck the head of a person standing in the field.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Passenger:
Unhurt

Date
04.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
51

Flying Experience:
8 years

125 hours
(33 hours)

400 flights
(80 flights)

Location
Newhaven Cliffs,
Newhaven,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Rush 1

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot had an almost 'head-on' mid-air collision with another paraglider pilot while flying close to the ridge with the ridge on his right.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
03.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
35

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
10 years

15 hours
(4 hours)

50 flights
(10 flights)

Location
Beachy head,
Eastbourne,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Mojo 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot turned into hill on approach, minor stall and spin with incorrect actions resulted in landing in hawthorn tree.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
03.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
30

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
8 years

87 hours
(24 hours)

203 flights
(49 flights)

Location
High and Over,
Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Epsilon 8

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot was hill soaring when sea breeze began to come in. Pilot decided to land but suffered a large collapse at 50ft. Glider entered a cascade and pilot landed heavily.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
02.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
57

Flying Experience:
12 years

140 hours
(30 hours)

(100 flights)

Location
Newhaven cliffs,
Newhaven,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Mentor 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot's first flight on a high B glider and full stalled due to flying too slow before attempting to turn. Pilot fell back onto cliffs before wing reinflated and pilot flew forward and landed safely.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
02.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
70

Location
Swyre Hill,
Dorchester,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Bolero 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Student fell forward on first hop having allowed glider to overfly him. Student tripped and banged head.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Head Injuries

Date
01.08.2019

Pilot
Male

Rating:
P

Location
Coombe Gibbet,
Hungerford,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Mentor 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot was walking back up the slope and decided to kite the glider up the last 80ft. Pilot was lifted off by a gust and had not put his helmet back on. Pilot was able to land safely.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
30.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
56

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
7 years

12 hours
(1 hour)

25 flights
(3 flights)

Location
Galicica,,
Ohrid,
Macedonia

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Adam

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot misjudge altitude on final approach, made a sharp turn at 10m which resulted in pendulum effect. High speed impact with a parked car.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Lumbar Spine

Date
29.07.2019

Pilot
Male

Age:
72

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
34 years


Location
Mere Rifle Range,
Mere, Wiltshire,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BDG
Base

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Under investigation

Injury
Pilot:
Fatal,

Internal Injuries

Last updated: 17 July 2025

Displaying page 59 out of 252

[ Top ] - [ Prev ] - [ Next ] - [ Bottom ]

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.

 

Skywings Magazine Online
Submit an Incident Report
BHPA Pilot Handbook
The BHPA is a members of the Royal Aero Club
The BHPA is a member of the European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union
The Civil Aviation Authority Drone and Model Aircraft Code
The General Aviation Safety Council Flight Safety Magazine

© British Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association 2004 - 2025