Incident Reports | Formal Investigations | BHPA | Safety

Incident Reports (Informal)

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).

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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 2555 entries for paraglider wings

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Date

Pilot

Location

Wing Type

Summary

Injury

Incident Reports

Date
16.01.2026

Pilot
Male

Age:
54

Rating:
P

Location
Eyam Edge,
Derbyshire,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Artik 6

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was not able to operate their accelerator system inside their Niviuk Arrow (pod harness) in flight. Upon investigation the pilot identified that a loop on the speedbar line was caught on the waist strap system and was no longer routed correctly. This was hidden from view by the pocket and instrument clip.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
16.01.2026

Pilot
Male

Age:
55

Rating:
P

Location
Du Toits Kloof Pass,
Paarl,
South Africa

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Swift 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot clipped a tree on landing approach, snapping a stabilo line.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
14.01.2026

Pilot
Male

Age:
52

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
23 years

600 hours
(15 hours)

450 flights
(10 flights)

Location
Bischling,
Werfenweg,
Austria

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Not Turbulent,
Leeside

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Mac Para
Paradis

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was thermalling and induced a tight turn which led to a collapse with twisted lines. The pilot deployed their emergency parachute which did not open fully before the pilot crashed through the tree canopy, due to the low height above ground at which the incident occurred.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
09.01.2026

Pilot
Male

Age:
62

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
32 years

881 hours
(6 hours)

706 flights
(12 flights)

Location
N/A,
N/A,
UK

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Flow Paragliders
Fusion

Summary
The pilot discovered that multiple conflicting line specifications exist for this paraglider (hard copy, two online manual versions, and a separate spec from the manufacturer), with differences of up to 16 mm.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
05.01.2026

Pilot
Male

Age:
53

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
9 years

1390 hours
(110 hours)

1533 flights
(90 flights)

Location
Mam Tor NW,
Edale,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Flow Paragliders
Fusion Light

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Whist attempting a reverse launch in switching winds and on frozen slippery ground, the pilot was pulled over. A radio carried in a front pocket concentrated the force of the impact in that area of the body, resulting in minor injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Thorax

Date
04.01.2026

Pilot
Male

Age:
40

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
5 years

330 hours
(30 hours)

254 flights
(21 flights)

Location
Trentishoe,
Devon,
UK

Wind Strength:
30-35 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Swing
Libra RS

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was dragged into a wall when top landing in strong and gusty conditions.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
31.12.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
48

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
1 year

5 hours
(3 hours)

49 flights
(26 flights)

Location
Dunstable Downs,
Dunstable,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Epsilon DLS

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot encountered sinking air immediately after take-off, snagging their side-mounted emergency parachute deployment handle on a bush. This initiated a release of the emergency parachute which deployed and caught on a bush, stopping the flight.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
31.12.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
58

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
21 years

1450 hours
(40 hours)

700 flights
(20 flights)

Location
Schwarzenberg,
Schwarzenberg, Vorarlberg,
Austria

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Zeolite GT

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was seeking thermic lift and inadvertently induced a spin. The pilot landed through trees, hitting the ground and sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
30.12.2025

Pilot
Male

Rating:
CP

Location
Telegraph Hill,
East Lothian,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Nova
Mentor 3

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
On a coastal ridge in strong, gusty conditions, the paraglider experienced an asymmetric collapse shortly after take-off and entered a spin. The pilot then impacted the hillside, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Head Injuries

Date
19.12.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
48

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
22 years

1200 hours
(80 hours)

800 flights
(30 flights)

Location
Porterville,
PV valley,
South Africa

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Zeno 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was thermalling and attempting to achieve a 'low save' during a competition flight in strong thermic conditions with moderate turbulence. They collided with the hillside and were dragged along the ground, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Last updated: 27 January 2026

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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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