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 2453 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 8 out of 246

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
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
Date 02.04.2024	Pilot Male Age: 68 Rating: P Flying Experience: 24 years 780 hours (6 hours) 1200 flights (28 flights)	Location Hill Farm tow, Norfolk, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Gradient Avax XC5 Launch Type: Winch/vehicle Tow	Summary The pilot was undertaking a series of wingovers and lost control during the exit from the final wingover. The wing dived with a cravat. The pilot deployed their emergency parachute and landed without injury.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 02.04.2024	Pilot Male Age: 65 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 3 years 63 hours (6 hours) 129 flights (16 flights)	Location Bradwell, Bradwell/Derbyshire, UK Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Sky Paragliders Anakis 3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot inadvertently stalled the paraglider in an attempt to reduce their speed over the ground during an unintended downwind landing approach.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 02.04.2024	Pilot Male Age: 68 Rating: P Flying Experience: 31 years 1700 hours (7 hours) 2000 flights (16 flights)	Location Private Beach cliff, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Swing Everest Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot launched their paraglider from a low cliff and noticed a brake line was twisted around the riser. Whilst the pilot was concentrating on correcting the twist the paraglider turned downwind. The pilot impacted a post, sustaining injury.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 01.04.2024	Pilot Male Age: 41 Rating: P Flying Experience: 3 years 110 hours (11 hours) 230 flights (20 flights)	Location Haresfield, Gloucester, UK Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Rush 3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot experienced sinking air immediately after take-off and turned towards the hill in an effort to exploit any ridge lift. They snagged a stabilo line on a tree, which resulted in a tree landing, causing damage to the glider.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 30.03.2024	Pilot Male Age: 50 Rating: P Flying Experience: 3 years 50 hours (8 hours) 159 flights (20 flights)	Location Mere Rifle Range, Wiltshire, UK Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: BGD Base Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was attempting a top landing and was positioned too far behind the lift band. They were hit by a gust on touchdown, and dragged into a barbed wire fence.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Feet, Legs
Date 30.03.2024	Pilot Male	Location Mere Rifle Range, Wiltshire, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Advance Iota 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was on final approach to top land when a very strong gust (estimated to be 35kph) caused a collapse of the paraglider. The pilot hit the ground and was pulled back into the air before being dropped back to the ground. The wing was then ensnared by a fence, preventing the pilot being from being dragged further. The pilot sustained minor injuries.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries
Date 30.03.2024	Pilot Male Age: 64 Rating: P Flying Experience: 15 years 391 hours (9 hours) 1368 flights (29 flights)	Location Mount Caburn, Glynde, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Advance Epsilon 9 Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot was performing a slope landing in moderate wind and slipped on uneven ground causing an ankle fracture.	Injury Pilot: Minor Injuries, Feet, Legs
Date 24.03.2024	Pilot Male Age: 63 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 34 years 2000 hours (5 hours) (7 flights)	Location Tinto, Biggar, UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Strong, Moderate Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Nova Phantom Launch Type: Foot	Summary The pilot inadvertently stalled the paraglider whilst scratching for lift, and hit the ground, sustaining injury. The pilot highlighted their new glider, and the gusty conditions on a site they had not previously flown, as contributing factors.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Lumbar Spine

Last updated: 12 December 2024

Displaying page 8 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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