ILAFFT (I Learned About Flying From That)
This is the safety page on the CSC Web site. The first document is the BHPA Incident Record Form. Please, if you have an incident however minor, fill in the form and send it to the Club Safety Officer. By showing that safety incidents don't have to involve a fatality, we can convince our insurance company that free flying is like most other sports. Secondly, by sharing your experience, other pilots might not make the same mistake.
Accidents rarely happen by chance. Most accidents because a chain of events come together - most of the time we get away with it; sometimes we don't. Accident reports are published on this page in the hope that better understanding will lead to less accidents. AAIB reports are copyright Air Accidents Investigation Branch. BHPA reports are copyright British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association
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BHPA Incident Report Form | Complete this form if you have an incident. It keeps the insurance bill down if we can show that most incidents are minor in nature. Also, it helps the rest of us from making the same mistake. |
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BHPA Report on accident at Cheriton, Hampshire | BHPA formal accident report into a fatal paramotor accident on 29 August 2009 at Cheriton in Shropshire |
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AAIB Investigation report into a failed take off at Rochester | Although this accident report is from the powered flying world, it describes an interesting situation where a qualified pilot, needing a regular check flight, was assessed by her old instructor. |
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BHPA Report on accident at Corndean Hill Shropshire | BHPA formal accident report into a fatal accident on 12 April 2009 at Corndean Hill in Shropshire |
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Sup'Air Safety Warning - Reserve Deployment Issue | Applies to SUP'AIR ALTIX, EVO XC or EVASION XC harnesses. The white braided nylon cord attached to the deployment pins becomes entangled between the velcro flaps over time rendering the force required to release the pins slightly excessive. A pre-fight check or a modification is recommended |
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Airprox Board report into an incident on Parlick in 2007 | A paraglider on Parlick was suddenly confronted with a light aircraft coming round the hill at his level. What would you have done under the circumstances? |
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Air Accidents Investigation Branch report into a paragliding fatality near Eyam, The Peak District | The paraglider launched with one of its risers twisted and was later seen to suffer an asymmetric collapse of its canopy when at a height of about 150 feet. It descended rapidly in a left spiral and the pilot was unable to either recover to normal flight or to successfully deploy his emergency parachute before impacting the ground. The pilot was fatally injured. |
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Air Accidents Investigation Branch report into a paramotoring fatality at Redlands Airfield, Swindon | The paramotor was being operated by an experienced pilot, who was also an instructor. He was seen to initiate what was described as a ‘wingover’ manoeuvre to the right, at about 1,000 ft, but this was seen to develop into a rapid spiral to the left which continued for several turns, with a high rate of descent. The aircraft started to recover at a late stage but the pilot received fatal injuries in the impact with the ground. There was no defect identified within the wing (canopy and rigging) but structural failures were identified within the paramotor unit, consistent with having occurred in flight and precipitating the spiral descent. One Safety Recommendation is made, to the Civil Aviation Authority, concerning self-regulation of this activity. |
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BHPA Safety Notice 31 Paragliders: 360 degree turns & nose-down spiral dives |
Following some recently reported incidents prompting further investigation, it has become apparent that it is possible for pilots to unintentionally enter a nose-down spiral dive from a sustained 360 degree turn - and that recovery from this spiral can be difficult. These characteristics tend to be worse on the 'safer' low aspect ratio EN A, B, LTF (DHV) 1 and 1 / 2 wings. Read the document for more details. |
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Annecy Safety Notes | This document was primarily created for flying at Annecy but it has a lot of useful information that can be applied anywhere. |
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AAIB report into PG fatality in Scotland - May 2008 | A paraglider became airborne with a second person holding the harness straps in a deliberate attempt to increase the paraglider’s weight. The paraglider unexpectedly gained height and the second person fell, suffering fatal injuries. The investigation concluded that unsuitable equipment, unsuitable wind conditions and a lack of formal training were contributory factors. |
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Gin Yeti, Boomerang and Boomerang Manufacturers Safety Notice | Safety warning stressing the importance of regular checks for these wings |
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Sup'Air Safety Notice - Harness Buckles | Issued 6 August 2008: Please check your harness for potential buckle malfunction. Certain Sup'Air and Gin harnesses are affected. Sup'Air have issued a safety notice for a potential problem with a batch of light quick release buckles fitted to certain of their's and Gin's harnesses. A few harnesses equipped with light quick release buckles have experienced involuntary releases of the locking mechanism in flight and primarily with the front ( red ) Safe-T buckle. |
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AAIB June 2008 Report - FreeX Arcane fatal incident | Investigation into a fatal accident near Woldingham, Surrey in Septeber 2007 |
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AAIB June 2008 report - Paramotor accident | Investigation into a fatal accident involving a paramotor at Chavenage Green Airstrip, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire in June 2007 |
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USA 2007 Paragliding Accident Summary | Annual safety summary from the United States Hang Gliding and paragliding Association. Note that hang gliding summaries are not available after 2005 |
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Sup'Air Harness Safety Warning | Reserve Deployment Issue on Sup'Air Alti-X and Evo XC Harnesses |
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AAIB Incident Report, Airwave Sport 3-L paraglider | Report into fatality at White Rocks, Portrush, Northern Ireland in September 2006 |
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AAIB Incident Report, UP Makalu wing and Sup'air X-Alps harness | Report into fatality at Wether Fell, Hawes in May 2007 |
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BHPA 2006 Safety Report | The annual report from the BHPA detailing safety issues in the previous year |