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 2542 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 86 out of 255

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Date	Pilot	Location	Wing Type	Summary	Injury
Incident Reports
Date 12.02.2018	Pilot Male Age: 46 Rating: P Flying Experience: 21 years 115 hours (6 hours) 300 flights (9 flights)	Location Haresfield, Gloucester, UK Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: UP Summit XC Launch Type: Foot	Summary Wind increased while pilot was flying to point where he could not penetrate with full bar. Pilot applied big ears but made no forward progress. Pilot steered backwards and landed in trees. Pilot waited for assistance and was then able to climb down.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 04.02.2018	Pilot Male Age: 58 Rating: P Flying Experience: 18 years 450 hours (55 hours) 1135 flights (60 flights)	Location Carrock Fell, Lake District Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Advance Epsilon 8 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot was using "Wind Riders" hand warmers while flying. Pilot applied 'big ears' to give separation from a higher pilot before landing. On releasing the big ears and attempting to make a landing approach, the pilot found that his brake pulleys had become jammed in the fabric of the Wind Riders. Pilot landed hard in a sharp turn but was uninjured.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 04.02.2018	Pilot Male Age: 56 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 13 years 160 hours (4 hours) 300 flights (10 flights)	Location UK Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Nova Ion3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary After preparing for flight and having completed pre-flight checks, pilot decided to change launch point. Pilot unclipped leg straps to make walking easier. Pilot did not carry out full pre-flight check and took off with leg straps undone. Pilot was unable to get into seat but was able to land due to vertical safety strap.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 04.02.2018	Pilot Male Age: 84 Rating: P Flying Experience: 31 years 1500 hours (50 hours) 2500 flights (50 flights)	Location Crimdon dene, Hartlepool, UK Wind Strength: 25-30 km/h Conditions:, Moderate Turbulence, Rain, Snow	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Ozone Delta 3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot took of in windy conditions and was blown back into a caravan park.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 01.02.2018	Pilot Female Age: 42 Rating: P Flying Experience: 8 years	Location Arco de Calheta, Madeira, Portugal	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Connecting element Maillon - harness to EP	Summary The Maillon Rapide connecting the Emergency Parachute and harness bridle had been closed "finger tight" by the pilot (not fastened to the tightening torque specified by the manufacturer). When inspected later during a repack, the pilot reported that the Maillon was fully open.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 30.01.2018	Pilot Male Age: 48 Rating: P Flying Experience: 21 years 336 hours (54 hours) 320 flights (69 flights)	Location Haresfield, Gloucester, UK Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Skywalk Chili 3 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot caught wingtip in trees while ridge soaring but was able to turn away and land safely. Glider suffered broken lines at the top of the 'B' cascade at the wing tip.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 26.01.2018	Pilot Female Age: 50 Rating: AP Flying Experience: 500 hours	Location Uffington White Horse, Nr Swindon, UK Wind Strength: 5-10 km/h Conditions:, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Nova Mentor 4 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot had been dragged on previous landing and failed to notice emergency parachute handle had become detached. Pilot was attempting to launch again but was stopped by a pilot who had noticed the parachute handle was not attached.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt
Date 24.01.2018	Pilot Female Age: 33 Flying Experience: 8 years (3 hours) 38 flights (38 flights)	Location La Paca, Murcia, Spain Wind Strength: 15-20 km/h Conditions: Calm, Light Turbulence	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Gin Gliders Bolero 5 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Student has asymmetric collapse while ridge soaring. Glider caught tree and swung student into hillside.	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured
Date 23.01.2018	Pilot Male Age: 44 Rating: CP Flying Experience: 3 hours (3 hours) 10 flights (10 flights)	Location Mirador del Rio, Lanzarote, Spain Wind Strength: 20-25 km/h Conditions: Calm, Not Turbulent	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Aircross U Prime 2 Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot took off from lower launch and gradually gained height. Was too close to ridge and failed to note the increase in wind strength with height. Caught in venturi at top of the ridge and crashed (the crash was not witnessed).	Injury Pilot: Seriously Injured, Hands, Arms, Shoulder
Date 17.01.2018	Pilot Male Age: 59 Rating: P Flying Experience: 15 years 400 hours (25 hours) 300 flights (15 flights)	Location Valle De Bravo, Valle de Bravo, Mexico Wind Strength: 10-15 km/h Conditions: Moderate, Moderate Turbulence, Leeside	Wing Type Paraglider Wing: Gin Gliders Carrera Launch Type: Foot	Summary Pilot drifted into the lee of a rocky feature and suffered an asymmetric collapse. Pilot deployed parachute and landed safely.	Injury Pilot: Unhurt

Last updated: 13 November 2025

Displaying page 86 out of 255

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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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