Incident Reports | Formal Investigations | Report incident | Safety

Incident Reports (Informal)

All incident reports submitted via the old pan Europe incident reporting system, that had been approved for publication prior to 21 January 2026, can be found below.

Incident reports submitted via the new FIDA pan Europe incident reporting system after 21 January 2026 that have been approved for publication can be found on our FIDA Incident reports page

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 2555 entries for paraglider wings

Displaying page 28 out of 256

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Date

Pilot

Location

Wing Type

Summary

Injury

Incident Reports

Date
21.05.2023

(E29482)

Pilot
Male

Age:
24

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
5 years

20 hours
(5 hours)

60 flights
(8 flights)

Location
Putsbrough, North Devon,
North Devon,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Skywalk
Arriba

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot took off on a coastal cliff soaring flight but misjudged wind strength. Being unable to gain the required height for a top landing the pilot was forced to land in the sea as there were no beach options. Pilot landed close to rocks and was eventually rescued. Pilot was unable to recover wing from the water.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
20.05.2023

(E29618)

Pilot
Male

Age:
56

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
22 years

1200 hours
(65 hours)

400 flights
(40 flights)

Location
Near Loft Crag,,
Langdale, Cumbria,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Zeolite GT

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
In light winds pilot reversed launched into a breeze that was stronger than expected. Pilot was lifted off while still facing the wrong way resulting in a full riser twist. Pilot elected to fly out to get height but glider entered a turn and pilot collided with the hill at speed while still facing backwards.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
16.05.2023

(E29490)

Pilot
Male

Age:
75

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
50 years

10000 hours
(3 hours)

(4 flights)

Location
Afton,
IOW,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
PEAK4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot lost control of glider while thermalling in strong conditions. Pilot suspects over control lead to spin and eventual stall onto hill top.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Date
16.05.2023

(E30478)

Pilot
Male

Age:
72

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
51 years

3000 hours
(50 hours)

Location
Black Hill,
Manaton, Devon,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
BGD
Cure

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot was flying small site in windy and gusty conditions with the wind off the hill. Pilot misjudged approach and had asymmetric collapse, landing heavily.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured,

Feet, Legs

Date
13.05.2023

(E29458)

Pilot
Male

Age:
44

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
10 years

300 hours
(25 hours)

500 flights
(25 flights)

Location
Cairngorms,
Nr Tomintoul,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Strong Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Alpina 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot didn't notice increase in wind strength and crossed high terrain into complex valley system. Pilot encountered severe turbulence and deployed emergency parachute. Pilot was dragged 250m before getting parachute under control.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Pelvis

Date
07.05.2023

(E29374)

Pilot
Male

Location
Bradwell,
Bradwell,
UK

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Geo 5

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Visiting pilot took off into the path of another pilot. Both were able to take avoiding action. Pilot reflected that they had left too much time between checking airspace and launching.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
04.05.2023

(E29402)

Pilot
Male

Age:
45

Flying Experience:
27 years

250 hours
(5 hours)

(16 flights)

Location
Montmin,
Annecy,
France

Wind Strength:
0-5 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Tripple Seven
Rook 2

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Just prior to launch on SIV flight instructor noticed pilots leg stop buckle had not fully engaged. Pilot did not realise it was possible only to engage one side of the buckle. Pre flight check buckle wiggle did not spot error.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
01.05.2023

(E29174)

Pilot
Male

Age:
40

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
18 years

650 hours
(20 hours)

1000 flights
(50 flights)

Location
Harting Down,
Near South Harting, Sussex,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Niviuk
Takoo 4

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
A gust came through while tandem pilot was setting up for launch. Pilot grabbed brake line which burnt through their glove causing a burn.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Passenger:
Unhurt

Date
25.04.2023

(E29150)

Pilot
Male

Age:
58

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
12 years

62 hours

199 flights

Location
Firle,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Gin
Atlas

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
While on approach to top land the pilot encountered a strong gust causing the wing to drop behind the pilot. Pilot instinctively applied both brakes causing the wing to stall. Pilot landed heavily.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Head Injuries

Date
16.04.2023

(E28888)

Pilot
Male

Age:
35

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
6 years

250 hours
(50 hours)

Location
Bridlingtom,
Bridlington,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
Pilot attempted to forward launch in new Air Design Sock harness when the leg strap connecting loop snapped freeing the leg loop.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Last updated: 27 January 2026

Displaying page 28 out of 256

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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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