Incident Reports | Formal Investigations | Report incident | Safety

Incident Reports (FIDA)

Once passed for publication, all new incident reports submitted via the FIDA pan Europe incident reporting system will be made available on this page.

In the meantime all the 2025/6 reports submitted via the Euro system, and passed for publication before it was shut down, can be found below. Reports submitted via the earlier BHPA online reporting system can also be found below.

This page will slowly include the remaining incident report submitted via the old Euro system.

Unfortunately, whilst all of these reports were successfully imported into the FIDA database by our German colleagues, they failed to include the status of the "publish" field which determines if a report can appear on our website.

As a result around 1,400 old Euro reports have to be reviewed and cross checked before they can be included here. This is a painfully slow process, and is likely to take some time to complete.

All incident reports submitted via the old Euro system, and approved for publication, are however available on our Incident Reports Archive page

Summaries of published incident reports are available for the following wing types:

You can also search the BHPA incident reports database by incident date, pilot, location, wing type, etc. For example, if you want to search for paraglider incidents at Hay Bluff, select paraglider from the drop down list, and enter Hay Bluff in the search box with the "or" option selected.

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 flights flown and flights flown in the past six months are displayed below, the latter being displayed in brackets.

There are 1859 published incident report summaries for all wing types

Displaying page 1 out of 186

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Date

Pilot

Location

Wing Type

Summary

Injury

Incident Reports

Date
19.10.2026

(F20006)

Pilot
male

Age:
66

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
47 years

3000 flights
(21 flights)

Location
Kettle Sings, Malvern Hills,
Kettle Sings, Worcestershire,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
moderate (3m/s),
light turbulence (no pilot action required to maintain control)

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone PG & Bogdanfly Zeppelin V2 harness
Zeolite GT2

Launch Type:
foot

Summary
The pilot was flying in their Bogdanfly Zeppelin harness, when, after approximately 90 minutes of flight, the emergency parachute bridle enclosure zip unexpectedly opened, accompanied by a loud popping sound. This caused the front of the pod to deflate and the rear tail to flap violently. The pilot elected to make a precautionary landing without further incident. Subsequent inspection found the zip slider still secured in its retaining pocket and the zip could be closed normally, with the pilot considering possible incomplete closure during pre-flight preparation.

Injury
Pilot:
unhurt

Date
16.10.2026

(F20002)

Pilot
male

Age:
60

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
10 years


(18 flights)

Location
Millington,
Millington , York,
UK

Wind Strength:
30-35 km/h

Conditions:
unknown,
moderate turbulence (occasional pilot action required to maintain control)

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Ion5

Launch Type:
foot

Summary
The pilot launched in strong wind conditions using A and C risers. They immediately experienced an uncommanded right turn, which they attempted to counteract with left control input, approaching a stall before easing the control to maintain flight. Unable to correct the turn, the pilot collided with a tall hedge seconds after take-off. Following the incident, the pilot discovered that the right control line had become twisted and was locked at the first pulley.

Injury
Pilot:
unhurt

Date
24.09.2026

(F19929)

Pilot
male

Age:
60

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
6 years

1000 flights
(200 flights)

Location
Crete Road,
Crete Road, Folkestone,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
moderate (3m/s),
not turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Air Design
Rise 5

Launch Type:
foot

Summary
The pilot collided with low bushes after launch.

Injury
Pilot:
unhurt

Date
23.09.2026

(F19931)

Pilot
Unknown
Location
Scottish Gliding Centre,
Portmoak, Scotland,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
calm (1 m/s),
moderate turbulence (occasional pilot action required to maintain control)

Wing Type
Flexwing hang glider

Wing:
Moyes
Gecko

Launch Type:
winch/vehicle tow

Summary
On approach to landing at approximately 5m above the ground, the pilot slowed the glider resulting in the left hand side wing stalling and dropping, the glider turning through 90 degrees. The pilot pushed out to reduce impact speed, releasing the uprights just before impact. The pilot swung through the A-frame, injuring their right arm and shoulder.

Injury
Pilot:
seriously injured (more tan 48h in hospital, fractures (except for finger, nose, toe), haermorrhage, ligament rupture),

hands, arms, shoulder

Date
23.09.2026

(F19972)

Pilot
male

Age:
63

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
9 years

310 flights
(30 flights)

Location
Portmoak Airfield, Fife,
Portmoak,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
calm (1 m/s),
light turbulence (no pilot action required to maintain control)

Wing Type
Flexwing hang glider

Wing:
Avian
Puma DXL

Launch Type:
winch/vehicle tow

Summary
During a winch launch, the hang glider pilot commenced the take-off run with residual slack in the towline and prematurely transferred their weight into the glider, causing it to descend onto its basebar wheels and be dragged along the ground. The pilot was unable to operate the tow release while maintaining directional control, and repeated emergency stop instructions transmitted by the tow coach were not heard by the winch operator due to engine noise. The pilot subsequently became airborne and completed the flight without injury or damage to the hang glider.

Injury
Pilot:
unhurt

Date
18.09.2026

(F19927)

Pilot
male

Age:
52

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
20 years

445 flights
(22 flights)

Location
St Andre,
St Andre, Coubons,
FR

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
strong (5m/s),
strong turbulence (constant pilot action required to avoid loss of control)

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Rush

Launch Type:
foot

Summary
The paraglider experienced a large asymmetric collapse in turbulent air, leading to a cascade involving multiple twists and cravats on both sides. The pilot successfully deployed their emergency parachute.

Injury
Pilot:
minor injuries,

feet, legs, lumbar spine

Date
13.09.2026

(F19915)

Pilot
male

Age:
42

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
20 years

1900 flights
(60 flights)

Location
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Delta 5

Summary
No details available

Injury
Pilot:
unhurt

Date
13.09.2026

(F19908)

Pilot
male

Age:
55

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
26 years


(50 flights)

Location
Baisse d'Angles,
St Andre les Alpes,
FR

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
strong (5m/s),
strong turbulence (constant pilot action required to avoid loss of control)

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Photon

Launch Type:
foot

Summary
The paraglider experienced a sudden, severe collapse, resulting in cravats and a series of stalls and dives while attempting recovery. The situation became unrecoverable after the pilot fell through the lines, prompting successful deployment of their emergency parachute. The pilot landed without injury, although the paraglider was damaged.

Injury
Pilot:
unhurt

Date
13.09.2026

(F19886)

Pilot
male

Rating:
P

Location
Bradwell Edge,
Bradwell Edge, Peak District,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
calm (1 m/s),
not turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Swift 6

Launch Type:
foot

Summary
The pilot attempted a slope landing near the lower take-off, in an area of rough, tussocky grass and uneven ground. Their approach was across the slope and with a slight downwind component. Despite attempting to flare, the pilot landed at relatively high ground speed, making a hard impact on their heels and the seat of their harness.

Injury
Pilot:
seriously injured (more tan 48h in hospital, fractures (except for finger, nose, toe), haermorrhage, ligament rupture),

feet, legs

Date
06.09.2026

(F19859)

Pilot
male

Age:
45

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
12 years

101 flights
(10 flights)

Location
Mendlesham,
Mendlesham,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
calm (1 m/s),
moderate turbulence (occasional pilot action required to maintain control)

Wing Type
Flexwing hang glider

Wing:
Airwave
Calypso

Launch Type:
winch/vehicle tow

Summary
The pilot launched their hang glider from a tow and elected to land when unable to find thermic lift. During the landing approach, the pilot flew the downwind leg too wide and during their base leg was blown beyond the intended landing field, across hedgerows and a road into an adjacent field. With insufficient space to complete the landing, the pilot attempted S-turns to shorten the approach but stalled at approximately 10 ft above the ground and sustained minor injuries.

Injury
Pilot:
minor injuries,

hands, arms, shoulder

Last updated: 22 October 2026

Displaying page 1 out of 186

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A number of incident analysis reports are also available in the safety section of main portal, bhpa.co.uk. These are compiled from the individual incident reports submitted during the course of each year.

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