1 | Date of occurrence | Time | Region | Type of occurrence | Purpose of flight | Phase of flight | What happened | Degree of injury | Location of main injury | Other injury details | Pilot experience on glider | Glider damage | Helmet | Harness | Reserve | Site location | Site rating | Site familiarity | Wind speed | Wind dir | Wind conditions | Other info | Other wx info | Aircraft type | Pilot cert |
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2 | 3-09-2016 | 2:00:00 PM | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Launch | Take off at Christchurch gondola a site I am very familiar with, conditions were some sea breeze and some thermal, I had seen two pilots take of prior to my launch without any specific problems other than some mild mixing lift mid way between the Launch start and Cliff edge and this is a common occurrence. I Launched and felt good nice straight wing good inflation shortly after getting airborne I got picked up by likely rotar and rapidly to about 50 ft. I was aware of this and allowed the glider to fly and was waiting to come out the other side. I then had a sudden 80% asymmetric on the left which I had missed the brief initial warning. I Recovered the asymmetric and the glider shot infant I caught surge then was swinging back under glider however was too low and invetibley going to hit the ground.I had not yet cleared the cliff edge at the Gondola, I impacted on my arse about 4m from cliff edge on solid ground and new instantly my back was broken, I then fell to my left and was conscious. I stayed lying and still. I could move my fingers and toes, my legs and arms . I had extreme lower back pain and new not to move. I called for help and other pilots flying came to help Asher and Blake were the main people. I was measured they were there. I advised them my back was broken and we would need a helicopter. Blake did a primary survey and the emergency services were contacted. Blake and Asher kept the scene safe and managed the wing , other pilots making sure people didn't take of or that they had landed. They kept me measured and calm. The Helicopter arrived after what felt like 30 to 40 mins and I was managed as a spinal injury and transported to Christchurch hospital. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | Fracture T 12 to L2 with L 1 burst fracture requiring surgical stabilisation. | 1hr | none | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed, Base reserve with round as second reserve neither deployed | Not known | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable, Moderate gusts, Thermals | I am grateful for the pilots that were present and the way they handled the situation it made a huge difference to my outcome. I am doctor and had neurology in my right leg due to spinal cord compression that resolved after theatre. If I had been managed in an inappropriate manner I could well have been paralysed. I have been flying an Icaro instinct Acro 2 size 20 from that site with the same harness for 2 years now. It is my local and most frequently used site for flying and training basic aerobatics. The accident I feel was a combination of errors and bad luck as often is he case. I should probably have not taken off my flight before my head had not been in the right place, I was aware I should have taken off at the previous launch site which I know takes the conditions that were present better, seeing two pilots launch before made be more relaxed about taking off in the conditions even though I knew they were borderline. My new wing was familiar but with shorter break set up and more energy its collapse was aggressive and less predictable than my previous glider, my reactions were a bit slower and even though I made the correct inputs possibly over input in fact, I should not have let the wing collapse initially. The weather conditions for the site weren't ideal and borderline for my ability with the glider I had and ideal should not have taken off. Finally I had some bad luck. I am well at home and walking which is great but will have a slow recovery. I am certainly overall the underlying reason for the accident. | I had previously taken off from the site without difficulty but at another launch more suitable for the conditions. | Paraglider | ||
3 | 1-07-2016 | 3:30:00 PM | Southern | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Local recreation | Landing | Misjudged landing approach resulted in impact with lamp post and wing in tree. Assisted from tree by fire service. No damage or injury. | 1 | No | Open face | Stirrup, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Skyline Gondola | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable | Mild gorge winds | Paraglider | |||||
4 | 16-08-2016 | 11:00:00 AM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | High speed descent from Gondola launch. planned to do two 360 turns and then turn towards club building before starting a 270 deg diving turn to landing. Came in too low and failed to pull out of dive before impact. Landed with feet to one side and first impact on tail bone. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | Fracture L1, L2, T11. 2 days and one night hospital | 180 flights | No | Open face | Stirrup | Not carried | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | I was kept still until ambulance arrived. | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||
5 | 1-10-2016 | 2:30:00 PM | Auckland | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Local recreation | Take off run | One wing took off the other one did not. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | A scratch on my leg | Less than 20 | Broken keel dentedleading edge and abent down tube. | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Kennedy park | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | North east | Steady | Hang glider | PG2 or Int | ||
6 | 8-10-2016 | 2:30:00 PM | Southern | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Ground handling | Got draged into a car while ground handeling. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | 4 | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Frankton beach | Not rated | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | South west | Strong gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
7 | 22-10-2016 | 6:00:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Ground handling | Conditions were fairly gusty and switchy, maybe gusting up to 20 kts or a bit less. I picked up the glider on takeoff to feel the air and prematurely became airborne. The glider lifted 2-3 metres off the ground in a stalled state, 10-20 degrees left of the true wind direction. The glider travelled about 10 meters laterally across launch veering to the left and I was unable to get it turned into wind. It landed hard on its left side and flipped upside down. I don't know exactly how I impacted but had a lot of pain in my back and breathing was difficult. The rescue helicopter was called. There was clearly no spinal cord damage and no head impact. Injuries turned out to be soft tissue bruising across my back and some cracked ribs, plus a few other bumps and scrapes. I have less than 1 hour on the new glider and obviously my angle of attack on launch was too high. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Chest | 1 | 1 upright. Yet to do a sail-off inspection | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts, Strong gusts | Hang glider | PG2 or Int | ||||
8 | 2-10-2016 | 3:30:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | The accident happened at Trebble Cone not far from the landing zone parallel to the carpark in the valley. It was a cloudy day with occasional little rainshowers from time to time. I wanted to finish my skiing day with a flight down into the valley. I waited for the clouds to climb above pub corner so I could launch without being in the clouds and see the landing from up there. I took off with my 14m fazer, everything went well. I was just about to approach the landing when I decided to do a last 360. I must have completely misjuged the distance to the ground that was left. I expected to have enough height after the 360 to easily glide towards the spot where i wanted to land. Instead while turning my wing started diving much harder than I thought it would and brought me with so much speed directly to the ground that I couldn't even react anymore and crashed into it. Or maybe I reacted and pulled the brakes, no idea, because from the moment when I realized that I didn't have any control of the situation (a couple of meters from the ground) to the moment I woke up lying on my back I have not the slightest idea what happened. I'm quite sure I even noticed much earlier, after about 180 degrees of turning, that something was going wrong. But I was so surprised and everything happened so fast that somehow I was not able to react and stop turning. All in all a 100% my fault, surely a huge lack of experience (I only had about 20 speedwing flights before) as well as a complete overestimation of my pilot skills. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine, Abdomen | No | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Trebble Cone | Not known | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Calm | Low rain clouds | Speed wing | IPPI IV | ||||
9 | 13-11-2016 | 1:00:00 PM | Southern | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Approach to landing | The student involved in this incident had completed a full introduction day, including 4 training hill flights (50m) dated 30, 10, 2016. The pilot was on her first day of high flights and on the 3rd flight when this incident occurred at 1pm on the 13, 11, 16. The pilot was on a base leg of a landing approach for an Easterly wind into the flight park, she was flying north on this base leg towards the forestry block when she became fixated on the trees and flew straight into the tree tops at the edge of the landing field. She was instructed in many different ways to turn right 90 degrees out and away from the trees onto her final glide, however this did not occur. The glider landed cleanly into the trees and pilot climbed down easily, uninjured. The glider was taken out from the trees with no damage. After this incident and a thorough debrief the pilot went back up to takeoff to continue hers days training which ended in 4 high flights. | 30mins | no damage | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Paraglider | Student | ||||||
10 | 14-11-2016 | 12:30:00 PM | Southern | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Launch | Commercial tandem pilot had a failed launch on take-off at Coronet Peak. This was most likely due to the pilot choosing to launch at an in-appropriate time with the wind being inconsistent at the time of the start of the run. During the take-off run, the left wing tip dropped and dragged in the tussock placing the glider into a left hand stalled turn so that the glider spun back into the side of the hill. Glider came to rest facing back towards the hill. No injury to pilot or passenger but glider suffered a broken down tube. | 1 hour | Broken down tube | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South east | Variable | Hang glider | Tandem | ||||||
11 | 19-11-2016 | 10:30:00 AM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Launch | Frontal collapse just on take off. Wing sat back with updraft on launch and dived. The dive was not sufficently dappened. Frontal callapse, reinflated but the wing had turned into hill | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | bruising only | 4hrs | No | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Variable, Thermals | Conditions were light thermals. Barnhart was nearly completing his course and was trying out one of the popular chch sites for the first time. Was sent to hospital, scanned. No breaks but a compression of a verta.bra and some bruising. Walked out after been given the OK On pain killers but back to work on thurs Recommendation: Due to the unpredictable nature of the gondola it will not now be used for Student training. | Wind was light thermal. Max 10km. The chch gondola has a verticle face that creats an updraft. If the thermal is of sufficent strength the wing will pitch back and requires dapening. This situation occurs just after take off. If the pilot is still getting adjusted in their harness they possibly may not be ready for this occurance. | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | |
12 | 19-11-2016 | 10:30:00 AM | Southern | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Landing | Tandem hang gliding pilots trying to land at Flight Park with paragliding students all over landing field kiting their paragliders. No clear landing lines for pilots to execute a safe unhindered landing. | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South east | Turbulent | Hang glider | Tandem | |||||||||||
13 | 10-11-2016 | 1:30:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Cross country | Climbing | Large Asymetric Collapse at low altitude from the mountain. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine | Burst Fracture of T12 vertebrae | 2 | none | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Launch Tebble Cone, Accident at End Peak | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Variable, Thermals | Gusty Thermls | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |
14 | 3-12-2016 | 2:15:00 PM | Aorangi | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Descent maneouvre | quite a strong updraught from the sea breeze mixed with thermals at sandymount in dunedin, I wanted to come down, tried some turns but was still going up so decided to use little ears, my wing has hybrid paramotor risers which are combined so I was a little confused and pulled the rear lines as apposed to the a lines, causing a stall, plumeted to the ground from approx 30m, wing did not start flying again, I completely understand what I did wrong and have a new wing on the way with seperate lines on the risers so I can clearly pull the proper tabs next time for correct little ears application. Fractured pelvis on the left hand side, one night in hospital and now on crutches. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Superior pubic ramus fracture, Static fracture so I can walk on it without creating more problems | 20 | None but I think I will make it redundant as I have a new wing now. | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Sandymount, Otago peninsula | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady, Thermals | Very much learned from this mistake, I understand what I did wrong and won't be doing it again! | Good lift | Paraglider | PG2 or Int |
15 | 3-12-2016 | 2:05:00 PM | Bay of Plenty | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Launch | Glider reached top of the window Glenn broke the glider and began to turn as he turned he collapsed saying I've done my knee. Glider was controlled through the entire incident. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Torn Patella tendon required surgery to reattach. | 1hrs flying 9hrs ground handling | NIL | Open face | With certified back protection | Not carried | Mount Maunganui East Face | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | East | Steady | 4 other students had launched without problem prior to this happening. Wind and conditions where perfect. | Nil | Paraglider | Student |
16 | 7-12-2016 | 6:45:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Whilst approaching the landing I had an asymmetric collapse which caused me to fall about 3 metres, breaking my lower right leg on impact. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | 35 | No | Open face | Basic | Not carried, Wouldn't have been effective | Alandale, Summit Road | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | NE at launch, then changed to W | Calm | Wind direction changed, was mixed at landing site | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
17 | 12/6/2016 | 6:00:00 AM | Hawkes bay | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Launch | I built a wall, lifted the wing and as i turned it collapsed a little on the LH side and I was lifted off but did not control the wing or correct the direction that the wing flew in as a result. It was basically out of control from that point and the wing went over to LH side of the hill, I did not clear the hill and the wing caught on the rocks, I was catapulted off, spun around and was dropped hard down onto the side of the hill | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Chest | 7 broken ribs and a puntured lung | 61.5 | not sure - haven't looked yet | Open face | Stirrup | Carried but not deployed | Te Mata Peak | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||
18 | 12/20/2016 | 7:00:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Sharp left hand turn on landing approach, left side of wing started to turn negative. Went hands up and wing didn't recover before I hit the ground. Felt parachutal | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine | 30 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Coronet | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
19 | 12/31/2016 | 4:20:00 PM | Auckland | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Local recreation | Gliding | I launched my Little Cloud Spiruline 18 from the main launch site at Mangawhai Heads. The wind was around 20km/hr and quite northerly. I did one soaring pass to the north and then back to the main face before heading north again following the ridgeline. Because of the northerly aspect of the wind I was unable to gain much height, so was tracking more or less level with the ridgeline attempting to find more lift. At a point slightly south of the house on top of the hill the wing started feeling a bit mushy, so I started to turn away from the hill. I then felt a sudden collapse of the left side of the wing before it immediately lost height and turned to the right. Before I had time to react further I dropped vertically into a low canopy of manuka bushes on a steep slope below the top of the ridge. The bushes cushioned the impact so I was uninjured apart from a slight knock to the elbow. I managed to extricate my glider, which was undamaged, and managed to make my way to the driveway at the top of the ridge by bush-bashing. A number of people on the beach witnessed the incident and alerted the surf lifesaving club members on duty. I was able to wave to let them know I was OK and that no assistance was required. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Upper limbs | Sustained a slight bump to the elbow and various cuts and scratches from cutty-grass and gorse while bush-bashing back to the road on the ridge. | ~200 | None | Full face | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Mangawhai Heads | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North | Steady | This incident was solely sue to pilot error. The collapse was almost certainly due to mechanical turbulence coming from one of the small spines to the north of my position when I crashed. In future I will be much more wary about scratching low and close to the ridge at this site when the wind is from a northerly direction. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
20 | 12/27/2016 | 3:15:00 PM | Auckland | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Local recreation | After landing ( e.g. dragged on ground) | Top landed for a touch and go, but accidentally dropped wing behind me which then snagged on the front of a Ute in nearby car park. Causing damage to wing and Minor ornament damage to Ute. (spoke to owner of Ute and have come to arrangements) | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Head | No injurys | Yes as on previous page | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Maori bay | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
21 | 12/26/2017 | 10:00:00 AM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | Take off from treble cone on speed flying, flew away from the hills then did a barrel couldn't retrieve and crash into the hill | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | Damage nerves monitor, dislocated right ankle, metal plate to support spin | 15 | Lines to change but need to check | Full face | Basic | Not carried | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Calm | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | |||
22 | 1/6/2017 | 2:00:00 PM | Auckland | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Ground handling | Climbed about half way up hill to free fly, while ground handling to sort out wing got lifted with a large cravat on LH side of wing, glider spun and headed down wind, was dragged over flax bushes. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Abdomen | Very sore neck, head impact with sand / flax | 10 | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Mahuta gap, Dargaville | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Paraglider | Motor (PPG or PHG) | |||
23 | 12/28/2016 | 1:30:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Competition | Landing | lumpy southerly conditions on landing at tremble cone landing. Landing consistent with Southerly comping round west of TC. set up for landing into west wind. Wind changed direction from east with southerly filling on from end peak and then back. May ave been edge of nasty thermal. Large gust from behind followed by significant height loss on final. lost 10m height dramatically, loss of height too quick to react fully landed at speed with full flare Into rock. got self to hospital. broken ankle. Cause: Nasty wind shift on final approach prob exerhabated by greater than expected handling dynamic from glider being flown 13Kg above weight certification. glider grounded to be replaced to pilot weight spec. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Ozone Vibe 2001 current warrant. | 20 | no | Open face, Certified for flight | Stirrup, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Trebble cone | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South | Strong gusts | Southerly comping round both ends of valley. changeable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
24 | 1/21/2017 | 10:00:00 AM | Auckland | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Ground handling | Jude pulled wing up. The wing went left and Jude centred to compensate. She fell and broke her leg. She was then dragged a bit before others could help to pull down the wing. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | 70 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | North Head. Auckland | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts | Cloudy | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
25 | 1/28/2017 | 11:22:00 AM | Southern | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | Pilot was launching from a grassy slope but tripped on tussock grass and fell breaking his arm. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | Fracture of Left humerus | 1 | Nil | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Coronet Peak PG tandem launch 44°55'36.31"S 168°44'49.36"E | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Variable | Pilot was a HGFA visiting PG3 pilot. | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |
26 | 1/28/0017 | 1:30:00 PM | Southern | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Glider collapse while maneuvering onto final glide, glider stalled estimated 8m above ground. Not recovered before impact. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | Dislocated left elbow, joint relocated on the field, air lifted to Dunedin as assessment indicated fractures, no radial pulse, no fracture evident on x-ray and so not admitted. | 120 | no | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Treble Cone landing zone | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Moderate gusts, Thermals | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
27 | 12/24/2016 | 9:00:00 AM | Southern | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Gliding | Paraglider launched from Pub Corner. Very shortly after launch (perhaps 10 seconds), a helicopter overflew take off descending out of the Treble Cone ski field basin at speed and no more than 100ft AGL! The helicopter took evasive action but came to within 100m of the paraglider. The helicopter pulled back initially, then dived left before entering a right hand wing over and cutting between the paraglider and the hill side. The paraglider remained flying, unaffected, miraculously! | 6 hrs, 35 min | Nil | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Treble Cone, Pub Corner | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm, Variable | Paraglider | Student | |||||
28 | 1/29/2017 | 3:00:00 PM | Auckland | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Landing | Susann landed on Kaimais bomb out. On final she got some un-expected lift which extended her glide. She ended up in the top corner of the landing field. She ended up hitting the fence with her legs. The glider went over, ended up with a small tear. Susann ended up with a good size bruise on her thigh | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | bruise on her leg | 1 | small tear | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Kaimais | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady | Call me if you have any questions. | gentle thermals. Lifted her on final approach. | Paraglider | Student |
29 | 1/30/2017 | 1:30:00 PM | Auckland | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Gliding | PARAGLIDING INCIDENT Funny at the time but could have had serious consequences. Flying at Muriwai ( what I still call Maori Bay ) I was sitting on the grass whilst another pilot was flying, when I was hit in the hand by something resulting in a blood blister. It turned out to be the pilots iPhone. How lucky for him that when it fell out of his pocket it landed right into my hand. I joked with a couple sitting close who could not believe it was not staged ! All very funny, but had it hit someone on the head we may have ended up having to defend our right to fly over sites were people are present. Please make sure you are not going to drop anything. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | HAND | MURIWAI | Paraglider | ||||||||||||||
30 | 2/4/2017 | 12:00:00 PM | Tasman | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Sandy Bay Rd, Marahau | Not known | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | Paraglider | unknown | |||||||||||
31 | 2/6/2017 | 2:40:00 PM | Bay of Plenty | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Landing | Eleanor was on approach for her 4th top landing and the right wing tip caught some turbulence and pitched up she counter braked but unfortunately the ground hit first. She landed heavily on her left shoulder with the airbag harness protecting her back and butt. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | Ambulance called at 2:44pm. Broken Humerus left side. Waikato Hospital admission overnight. | 3 | Nil | Open face, Certified for flight | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Raglan Wainui Reserve | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West | Steady | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | ||
32 | 2/9/2017 | 5:30:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Cross country | Landing | Lined up perfectly into wind. No significant turbulence. Wind was very light (2-3 mph). Ground speed appeared high but not flying downwind. Did not slow the airspeed enough before flaring hard to kill the forward velocity. Glider climbed and I dropped onto my feet (normal) but either the ground was dislevel or the drop was too high. Broke right ankle on landing. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Broken fibula and dislocated ankle. | 20-30. New glider last year, but I have 17 years experience flying ATOS gliders | Nil | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West | Moderate gusts | Just a bit unlucky. | Nothing really. Nice day to fly but just landed badly, in good conditions with very light ground wind. | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | |
33 | 1/10/2017 | 12:15:00 PM | Southern | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Cross country | Gliding | Suspected wind about, some in the forecast and some noticed while walking up the Sugarloaf track and on the pass. At launch it was sheltered from the wind by mountain ridges, I saw a bird (seagull?) thermalling up the Rock burn, and some cloud spilling over Park pass at about my altitude. Noticed it felt like lee when I was flying, thermalled up 1000' or so and made a crossing. I think I had about half to three quarters speed bar, I was still high, just starting my glide across the Routeburn valley. This valley is exposed to northwest. When high early in the crossing the incident happened - cravat too quick for me to react to, and seemed to be a difficult one to clear. Both which have not happened to me before to this extent! Tried stalling it a few times, perhaps not aggressively enough, but it did look pretty hopeless to me. Was still able to control direction despite cravat, so headed towards the Routeburn car park to make life easier. When my altitude was running low, I threw the reserve. I was already on local airband radio, so I alerted the numerous GA traffic my location and that I was under reserve parachute. Landed in a high red beech tree, aware of my height I ensured my body position was upright with legs to absorb any impact (no injuries, very soft). Conveniently a Dutch family heard me (!!) only twenty metres away on the track, and I asked them to hang around. Passing helicopter pilot offered (over radio) to call someone, asked to pass message on to Dave Watson (in Glenorchy). Meanwhile I teased my reserve out of the tree, disconnected the glider, and descended, with the aid of the Dutch for the last few metres. Reaching the ground I alerted GA traffic that I was safe and did not require further assistance. Changed SPOT from tracking mode to OK message. Hung sweaty clothes out to dry and ensured track location was marked, also started GPS track on phone. Radioed Dave on UHF as he drove past Lake Sylvan. Met him and Buzz's son at the Sugarloaf track junction, with rope and a saw, and the glider extraction was very efficient and quite fun actually. If I hadn't had a reserve it's probable I would have been able to land in the Routeburn car park with the cravat, but would have risked low level stall etc. Throwing the reserve over carpark would have risked landing in river. Didn't expect this to happen (combination of too fast for me to respond in time, and unable to fix afterwards) but it was windy. However, others flew xc that day at less exposed locations such as Treble cone. | 400 | Pretty sure it was only damaged during extraction from the tree. | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod | Deployed and effective | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | Always depends where you are | North west | Turbulent | I intend to upload footage of the reserve throw and tree extraction when I have edited it, will post to www.facebook.com/sharemyjoys | I suspected wind although I thought the wind at lower altitude may have not been representative when I saw the cloud at about my level. It was still relatively early in the day so not necessarily well mixed. | Paraglider | Tandem | ||||
34 | 2/25/2017 | 6:45:00 AM | Bay of Plenty | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Local recreation | Take off run | Ground conditions dewy, nil wind. Wing was damp from the grass, on take off wing oscillated from side to side, I aborted the take off resulting in trike rolling to one side damaging prop, no personal injury except pride. | 38 | Nil | Open face | Powered, Wheeled, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Opotiki Airfield | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Calm | Clear weather with dew on the ground | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | |||||
35 | 2/26/2017 | 1:00:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation, Cross country | Climbing | flew into a lee side that was turbulent and got collapses on both sides until I span the glider. stalled it n hit the ground in a tale slide. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | 25-30 | none | Open face, Certified for flight | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | mill creek, Glenorchy | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South east | Calm, Variable | n/a | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
36 | 2/28/2017 | 5:40:00 PM | Southern | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | Sinked into small hill after takeoff, after impact left ground again but lines started twisting left me spinning out of control back into the hill | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Sprain on right foot | 5 | No | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Rocky gully, coronet peak | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Calm | Very little wind at takeoff | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
37 | 2/23/2017 | 3:00:00 PM | Waikato | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Competition | Launch | Cliff launch from Hickies Bluff. Long, strong cycle was coming through. Had nose and side wire support moving out onto Launch. When I thought I was far enough out over the edge, I checked for good angle of attack and wings were level, had good breeze coming straight through and was controllable. Called release, verified all had released, still in control, began run forward down face. At the third step I hit strong verticle air moving up, got picked up and turned to my right. I immediately tried to counter and correct it but was pushed around until flying back in towards the launch face. When I found it no longer recoverable, I kept the bar in for airspeed aiming to come in across the face and at the last second flared hard across the face to minimise impact. Bent 2 DTs and 2 battens from sail flex. Minor bruising but no other damage or injury. Review with those on launch: It was a cliff launch. I hadn't come out far enough to get my wing into the verticle air flow prior to launching. This also meant my angle of attack would have been too high when I hit the verticle air. Some bushes below launch and wind direction slightly off to the right contributed to the left wing flying and the right wing still in slower moving air which induced the right turn. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Upper limbs, Lower limbs | 20 | 2 DTs, 2 curved battens | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Hickies Bluff | Not known | Pilots first flight at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South east | Steady | Don't recommend top landing at Hickies even though Geoff used to do it all the time in his Lancer... | Wind was a steady 12 knots making the area ridge soarable but there was a strong cycle occurring at the time of launch which contributed to the stronger vehicle air. | Hang glider | PG2 or Int | |
38 | 2/11/2017 | 1:00:00 PM | Southern | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Launch | Chest strap buckle on Sup Air Altirando 2 RS harness popped open very shortly after launch. The chest strap of the student was physically pulled prior to launch therefore i'm certain it was properly closed. The student was equally confident this occured. The issue is described here: http://www.supair.com/document/safety/Safety-note_boucle-alu-T_2016-06_EN.pdf The number stamped on the chest strap is different to those affected by the safety notice therefore i have contacted Sup Air for advice. The harness will not be used (except with a backup) until Sup Air respond. | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Cardrona | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Variable, Thermals | The harness buckle was stamped with 02/14. | Paraglider | Student | ||||||||
39 | 2/26/2017 | 4:00:00 PM | Southern | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Climbing | Erik appeared to be trying to gain height around the rocky pyramid at Treblecone, but believes he flew into rotor behind the western ridgeline. The wing collapsed a few times. He plunged into the hillside. His radius and ulna (two bones in the forearm) of his left arm were snapped, producing severe compound fractures of both bones. He needed to be airlifted due lack of access to where he was located and was transported to Invercargill hospital. He had surgery the next morning. A full recovery is expected. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | unknown | Nil known | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Treblecone. Light Easterly wind | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Steady, Thermals | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
40 | 2/17/2017 | 2:30:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Descent maneouvre | Descent maneouvre i was doing wingovers probably 100 meters of the ground when the glider got into the cravats and start doing spiral, i did not waste any time and I threw reserve, but everything happen so quick so when reserve open i hit the ground really firmly. Oops | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | air lifted to Dunedin as assessment indicated fractures, Dunedin hospital x ray confirmed L1 compression fracture, recovery about 6weeks. | 40 | no demage | Open face | Pod | Deployed and effective | closed to cardrona landing field | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Steady, Thermals | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
41 | 3/5/2017 | 2:15:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | Took off in zero wind and underestimated my required run distance to achieve lift. Got to end of crest and sunk into rocky slope. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | Left Humerus and ribs | 45 | leading edge/ upright and base bar | Full face, Damaged | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Little river | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | calm | Calm | Hang glider | PG2 or Int | ||
42 | 3/2/2017 | 3:45:00 PM | Waikato | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Competition | Gliding | Was too caught up coring a strong thermal and getting a good climb and I forgot to check the drift and wind speed which had picked up. As a result got pinned on top of the ridge with very less penetration on top of the ridge . Was gettng low into gully and had a scary ride with no landing options except trees everywhere. I was lucky to get a thermal off a tree top which enabled me to get enough height to get away to safety . The incident could have been avoided had I been aware of my drift in the themal and not pushed to far back into the ridge. Very important lesson learnt to check wind speed and drift while thermallng to reach safe landing options before going too far back into the ridge. No injuries sufffered except for bruised ego due to the stupidity. | 10 hours | None | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Kaimas - | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Variable, Moderate gusts, Thermals | Venturi effect when in Gully wind speed 5km over the true speed | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
43 | 3/10/2017 | 12:00:00 PM | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Landing | Coming into a bottom landing. Was a bit high. Did a S turn, too aggressive on on the left brake, overcooked the turn which meant the wing was now not pointing into wind. The wing dived due to the agreesive turn. Left ankle contacted first. Left ankle broken | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | broken ankle | 2 | no | Open face | With certified back protection | Not carried | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Variable | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | |||
44 | 3/16/2017 | 10:00:00 AM | Waikato | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Take off run | Light wind alpine launch wind inflated nicely but during the later fast phase of take off run hit a rock with left foot .broke left foot and aborted takeoff. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Broke foot off at ankle .surgery has reinstated foot | 10 | No damage | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Ohau ski field | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Variable | Lesson to be learnt .check your full launch running strip for unforseen obstacalr full ankle support boots should be worn . | Light and switchable catabatic | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv |
45 | 3/17/2017 | 4:15:00 PM | Auckland | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Flew into a bad position above the takeoff and caught some rotor that collapsed the right side of the wing. This put me into a 180 degree rotation approx. 50ft off the ground which led to a parachutal descent and a hard landing. Airbag system on harness caught the majority of the impact but my right elbow struck the ground hard, causing it to dislocate. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | Required hospital treatment for sedation and relocation, will require a couple of weeks rehab but that's it. | 22 | Nil | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Glover Park, Auckland | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
46 | 3/19/2017 | 2:00:00 PM | Auckland | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Climbing | Jakob flew well in light thermals. Trying to join a gaggle thermalling, he went too wide and ended up low behind the launch site at the Kaimais in the lee. He tried to fly back but ended up just below the top in a bush. He landed fine but leaned on his wrist and sprained it. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | sprained wrist, no treatment needed | 20 | no | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Kaimais | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Calm | only in the fact that Jakob ended up in a mild lee side situation | Paraglider | Student | |
47 | 3/20/2017 | 5:45:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | I was flying at the cliffs of Taylors Mistake site (i spent there 15 flying hours in various conditions), at that time there was the easterly 10kt wind. I approached cliffs from the right side in 30 metres above them as I saw another pilot there getting some lift. But as I was little lower then him, there was almost no lift and I was sinking down very quickly heading north. So I turned to south, and try to get back safely to the beach, but couldn't manage to do that as I misjudged my gliding distance. I followed the cliff downwind heading Taylors Mistake beach and impacted rocks with my feet. Wing got halfway under water / halfway tangled up over the rocks, and got pretty much destroyed. Wandering surfer came along and helped me out carrying wing and my gear out to the safe spot. Results: damaged wing (glider torn on two spots, completely destroyed leading edge and couple of lines snapped) bruised bone in my left heel. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | bruised heel bone | 40 | (glider torn on two spots, completely destroyed leading edge and couple of lines snapped, wing soaked in salt water | Full face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Taylors Mistake, Christchurch, Canterbury | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | East | Steady | Paraglider | visiting pilot | ||
48 | 3/24/2017 | 7:45:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, major structural damage, person missing) | Local recreation | Descent maneouvre | I was paragliding at the Crown Range Terrace in Arrowtown for about 20 minutes in ~25km/h westerly winds when the winds started to get choppy and increase. There were about 5 of us flying, and everyone had landed as I made my way towards the landing (top landing on launch) when I was thrown up by a hefty gust, which then deflated my wing as it pushed it down (seemed like rotor to me, and just mixed wind directions). By the time I had re-inflated my wing, my glider and myself had been blown and turned about 90 degrees, at which point I was pushed straight towards the hillside with the wind. Without having the height or time to make a maneuver away from the hill, I was thrown straight at the hill. My lower body hit first, fracturing my right femur (which now has a rod and screws in it to hold it intact, as I write from a hospital bed) and three of my lower vertebrae in my spine. Fortunately, the other pilots were able to take care of me while I waited out the 45+ minute wait for the ambulance to arrive (and any hope of pain relief), which then hosted me until a helicopter flew me down to Dunedin. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs, Lower spine | Major femur fracture, necessitating a rod/plate/screws to stabilise. Compression and fracturing of lower spine vertebrae. As another fun detail: I hit the ground so hard that both of my shoes flew off, only one was recovered. As far as other things of mention, the ambulance response rate was terrible. | 50 | No | Open face, Certified for flight | Stirrup, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Crown Range Terrace, Arrowtown 9302 | Not known | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | West | Variable, Moderate gusts | Wind was relatively smooth initially but then as the sun went down it became quite choppy and less predictable. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
49 | 3/11/2017 | 1:00:00 PM | Southern | Minor accident ( medical treament or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | No wind conditions, run run, abort, roll over one shoulder, didn't seem to be anything special, but end with a collarbone fracture | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | the wing stall as i was falling to the front, probably too much leaning forward at a relative slow speed, pressure in the wing | 2 | no | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm, Variable | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | |||
50 | 2/18/2017 | 4:00:00 PM | Waikato | Near miss incident ( no damage or injury) | Competition | Take off run | there was no field for glider damage but no injury | 200 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | paeroa range | Above Int or Pg2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | slight down wind | 1 not over the back | Calm | over the back | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
51 | 2/18/2017 | 4:00:00 PM | Waikato | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Competition | Take off run | I wasn’t familiar with the site and though it looked like there was no wind on take off, I heard later from Keven Mc Manus that it was blowing a few nots down hill as I took off. Anyhow I started running down the hill but noticed after a few steps that the glider was not lifting of my shoulders. I was thinking then of aborting the take off but I was already going too fast to stop. So I think I didn’t gave it my full running commitment, the nose angle was too high and I took off in a stall. As the glider was flying far to slow I had no control and hit with the right wing the pine-tree. Then I got turned around and crashed soft into the bushes. 3 Things to be learned from this incident. Think twice to take off in very marginal conditions when you not familiar with the side. Get more first hand knowledge from the locals Maybe just don’t take off if you not very good in no wind take offs. | 200 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Paeroa Range | Above Int or Pg2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | over the back | Calm | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
52 | 4/18/2017 | 11:35:00 PM | Canterbury | Fatality | Local recreation | Gliding | 3rd run of the day having just left from the gondola area (exact point not known) the deceased made a pass over the top of his friend and witness on the eastern side of the gondola. He descended slowly until he was flying with the direction of the Summit Road towards the direction of the cable cars. As he approached the bend in the road where the hill opens up again he has made a hard right turn and lost considerable speed and altitude. He has dropped almost to the road and accelerated out of the turn and approached the metal road barrier. Unable to clear that it appears that his feet/boots have crashed into the barrier catapulting him over the edge and down the hillside landing some 28 metres from the road edge. | Fatal | Head, Upper limbs, Upper spine, Lower limbs, Lower spine, Chest, Abdomen | Lower limbs injured due to initial impact with the road barrier, upper limbs, head and neck injured on subsequent impact with ground approx 28m downhill. | Basic | Not carried | Port Hills, Christchurch | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | TBC | Variable | Hard rt turn on a downwind leg resulting in a dive into the road safety barrier followed by impacting the ground further down the steep slope. | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||||
53 | 2/20/2017 | 7:00:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | None | Full face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
54 | 4/25/2017 | 2:00:00 PM | Wellington | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Take off run | Another pilot pointed out immediately before I intended to launch that I hadn't zipped up my reversible airbag. | Kinnoull Station - Wellington South Coast | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South east | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||||||
55 | 4/22/2017 | 5:00:00 PM | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Pilot approached from the Rear of the coastal site at Mangawhai to top land. This is an area of rotor, lucky for the pilot the wind had dropped off and was running along the feature (more from directly East and he flew into the back of the hill just below the takeoff hill and tangled glider and himself in the bushes. Spoke to him about it he seemed oblivious to the rotor danger of this site. | Open face | Mangawhai Heads | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Steady | Its a site where any top landing should be done with extreme caution | Wind had changed from NE to E and dropped | Paraglider | |||||||||
56 | 4/18/2017 | 11:35:00 AM | Canterbury | Fatality | Local recreation | Gliding | 3rd run of the day having just left from the gondola area (exact point not known) the pilot made a pass over the top of his friend and witness on the eastern side of the gondola. He descended slowly until he was flying with the direction of the Summit Road towards the direction of the cable cars. As he approached the bend in the road where the hill opens up again he has made a hard right turn and lost considerable speed and altitude. He has dropped almost to the road and accelerated out of the turn and approached the metal road barrier. Unable to clear that it appears that his feet/boots have crashed into the barrier catapulting him over the edge and down the hillside landing some 28 metres from the road edge. | Fatal | Head, Upper spine, Lower limbs | Lower limbs injured due to initial impact with the road barrier, upper limbs, head and neck injured on subsequent impact with ground approx 28m downhill. | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Port Hills, Christchurch. | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Variable | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||||
57 | 1/22/2017 | 10:00:00 AM | Southern | Fatality | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | I Believe he was pulling a Rhythmic SAT to Infinite Tumble, got his timing wrong on the exit and put himself into his wing. He quickly got himself clear of the glider, but did not manage to deploy a reserve or recover the glider. | Fatal | Chest | I am not sure of the impact region that is with the coroner. | 2 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | With certified back protection | Two Reserves carried including a Regarllo | Site:Skyline, Location of impact: Queenstown Primary school | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Still | Calm | All Information provided is a combination of my own and witnesses. I was on site within 20 minutes of the accident. | Paraglider | Tandem | |
58 | 5/7/2017 | 2:40:00 PM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Gliding | was my fourth fight on a day of good flying conditions. I was flying just above the waterfall at treble cone when I hit some rotor. I quickly started turning right towards the hill when I looked up and realised I had a significant asymmetrical collapse on my right side, I would have been 70-80%. I tried to weight shift and counter steer but realised I was going to impact so I started to flair and come out of my harness. I landed on tussock cover slope of about 30 degrees. I didn't manage to flair fully as everything happened so quickly and took some impact on my left shoulder. Some other pilots landed and called 111. An hour later the helicopter arrived and took me to Dunedin and after x-ray reviled I had a fracture to my humours (upper bone on arm). | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | 100 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | treble cone, pub corner take off | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Calm, Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
59 | 5/17/2017 | 4:00:00 PM | Southern | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Landing | Clipped rugby post with leading edge on landing | 3 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Skyline gondola Queenstown | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | No injury, just glider damage. | Stable, calm winds | Speed wing | PG3 or Adv | |||
60 | 6/20/2017 | 4:30:00 PM | Southern | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Having had one failed launch (wing didn't come up right) , I unclipped and reset my entire glider, double-checked my lines were clear and forward launched west off the gondola launch. The wing was sluggish to launch on the left side but in nil wind I wasn't surprised by this. Once airborne I noticed my brake lines and C lines on the left-side were badly knotted. The left side was so heavily braked that it was almost stalled. I pulled a small asymmetric collapse hoping that this may have cleared it, this was unsuccessful. I pulled at the C lines to try to clear it but the knot was very tight. I assessed my options. I couldnt immediately land as it is thick bush and there are some tall trees around. I was too low to deploy a reserve as it would not have deployed before I hit the ground. I didnt want to stall to reset as I am not very comfortable stalling, and also I would not have had enough altitude to stall-recover and fly away. As the wing was flying, I decided to fly it out to the closest landing, which I identified as the tennis court beside the Hertage Hotel. Using max right weight shift and no braking input, I managed to keep directional control. I was very close to the treetops, actually kicking two trees as I was so low. I was within 50 lateral metres of the landing and about 20m AGL when it completely stalled and I dropped almost vertically, landing between two cars. I do not know why it stalled, it all happened in a split second. Maybe I hit a shear layer or a bit of turbulent air, (wind was extremely light) or I used too much brake on approach. I sustained an injured wrist, bumped elbow and two grazes on my legs, but I walked away. I was brought to hospital by a friend, no emergency services were required. My wrist was dislocated, I broke my scaphoid and triquetrum, all realigned by surgery. I dented a Subaru Legacy and scratched a Mercedes. Blake Round found the vehicle owners and gave them contact details. Had I not been flying with an Advance Axxess Air harness with airbag/foam and back protection I think I would have sustained much more serious injuries. I also flew with Salewa boots which afforded ankle protection too. My go-pro was knocked off my helmet by the impact. | 41 | None | Open face, Damaged | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | queenstown skyline | Not rated | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm | http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/1657950 | n/a | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
61 | 6/26/2017 | 3:00:00 PM | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Gliding | Got a cravat after sharp turns/wing overs. Stalled the glider to try and recover the wing from the cravat. Did not clear so threw my reserve. Reserve opened without issue and paraglider was pulled in. Landed softly on my feet. Walked away without injury or damage to any equipment. | 75 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Deployed and effective | Coronet Peak Summit | Not known | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
62 | 7/24/2017 | 12:15:00 PM | Auckland | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Frontcolaps boom | 250 | None | Full face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Karioitahi | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | West | Moderate gusts | Rain | Paraglider | Tandem | ||||
63 | 8/6/2017 | 2:00:00 PM | Auckland | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Launch | Wind was fresh and gusty, 10-20 knots, and slightly off to the north of ideal direction. Takeoff area has been compromised by erection of a fence which has reduced available launch area. after successfully assist to launch 2 other pilots (myself included) Mark decided to self launch. After he maneuvered his gilder to the take-off zone, he felt he was sucked off the launch before he was ready to go. he was not able to regain control of his glider and was turned back towards the hillside and crashed into a few scrubby bushes. I witnessed his impact while flying 1000ft above launch. After loosing height to get a better visual, i saw him wave to me so knew he was conscious and could move a little at least. we flew to the landing which is several kilometers up the coast and jumped in the vehicle and returned to launch. we walked down the steep hillside to Mark. he had managed to get out of his harness but was in severe pain. At this point we called for an ambulance. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine, Chest | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Pakiri | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | North | Strong gusts | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
64 | 8/18/2017 | 4:00:00 PM | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | The wind was shifting and light, at North head lower launch, pilot launched slightly cross wind and didnt gain height to clear the obstacle the pohutakawa tree. He crashed into it. No harm to him or glider, with assistance glider was taken out. | None | Full face | Basic | North Head | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Variable | Overcast and rain on the way | Paraglider | |||||||
65 | 9/24/2017 | 2:15:00 PM | Hawkes bay | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Practicing tight landing. fSmall strip of grass behind fence. On approach made a last minute decision not to fly over fence for safety reasons. Spun glider just before landing with right side wing collapse. Fell on outstretched arm resulting in dislocated wrist fracture of radius / ulnar. Contributing factors: didn't have vario to judge last minute sink and possible rotor from stock yards. Attendance immediately at time of crash by pilot doctor who administered morphine and subsequently by ambulance paramedics who relocated radius / ulnar. Admission to hospital with surgery required using plates to stabilise fracture. Expertly looked after by the Hawkes Bay Cub president. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | 60 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Two reserves carried not deployed | Te Mata Peak LZ | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable | Rotor | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||
66 | 9/23/2017 | 4:00:00 PM | Auckland | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Landing | Crash landing of wet glider with poor handling. Bent downtube, no injury | 0 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Kariotahi | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Rain on sail was major contributing factor to poor landing | Rain shower immediately after takeoff. Technora sail glider does not handle or perform well when wet. | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | |||
67 | 9/24/2017 | 9:45:00 AM | Waikato | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Climbing | The pilot set up his paramotor in to a west wind but appeared to take off slightly sw and towards a club building about 100m away. The climb rate was not sufficient to clear the building so at approx 8m height the pilot executed a tight left turn away from the building but downwind and towards power lines. The turn and dive resulted in contact with 1m high wooden bollards that bordered the adjacent road below the power lines. The pilot sustained serious injuries to the legs, internal injuries and major blood loss. He was saved by the actions of a fellow pilot and an emergency care doctor that happened to be on site and witnessed the crash. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Compound fractures of the leg with major blood loss. 18 hrs surgery and long term hospital care. Probably permanent disability. | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Powered | Not carried | Dr John Lightbody reserve, Tuakau | Not rated | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Steady | Another pilot had launched only 1 min before Pierre and climbed safely away after taking a right turn after launch. He was able to see Pierre from above shortly after the start of his take off run and was immediately concerned as to the direction he took and particularly the turn direction which took him towards more obstacles. | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | ||
68 | 10/5/2017 | 1:30:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | Dropped wing on take off slight left trun | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Suspected broken femur | 1 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Steady | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | |||
69 | 9/15/2017 | 12:30:00 PM | Canterbury | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Approach to landing | While doing a figure eight landing approach, he flew beyond the park boundary, hesitated when a tree was in sight and reacted to late to a void it. He landed in the tree. | 2 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Flew from brittain into heathcote park | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Calm | There was very light thermal in valley but 0-5 km wind at landing area | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | ||||
70 | 8/1/2017 | 1:00:00 PM | Wellington | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | very close to terrain just after launch. Launching motorharness from uncompromising site, when overenthusiastic over prospect of flying, hurrying preparation because of scheduled soccer game starting in a half hour. Weather perfect. First time ever experiencing airlock in fuel line, cutting power back to 2/3. lauched, but climb very shallow, and shrubbery and trees surrounding park only just cleared. Engine soon recovered, and remaining flight was uneventful though somewhat shorter than planned ;-) Classic accident scenario - several factors coming together. | 100 | None | Full face | Powered | Carried but not deployed | Above Int or Pg2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | |||||||
71 | 10/23/2017 | 2:00:00 PM | Canterbury | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Paragliding at Scarborough cliffs, went out to point. Started getting pushed backwards over to sumner and losing height. Made call to fly to sumner rather than getting pushed into cliff. Went close to beach so easier for me to get in. Landed in water. About 30 metres from sumner boat ramp. Got out of harness and someone got to me on a paddle board and paddled in. | 5 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Scarborough cliffs | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | East | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
72 | 10/28/2017 | 3:30:00 PM | Wellington | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | Arrived at site, mt climbie, conditions were not suitable for flying, with wind coming from behind take off. Take off was getting good heating and on occasion very light puffs up the face. However the puffs very short in duration and variable in direction, switching to the side quickly. Rigged up, moved to take of and waited for a window of opportunity to launch. About an hour later I felt there was chance, picked up the glider and ran before the wind changed direct - I only got a couple of feet down the ramp and the starboard wing lifted and the glider left the ramp with left turn. Port wing tip dragged the hill and the glider spun round, both downtubes collapsed. | 100 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Mt Climbie | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Variable | Predominately over the back (easterly) but with small periods with very light wind from the west and longer periods with wind from the south | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
73 | 10/28/2017 | 1:30:00 PM | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Lost altitude quickly due to combination of heavy sink, in tail wind and turbulent air, forced landing in nearby field strewn with large rocks. Approach was very fast & flare largely ineffective, so used harness to take brunt of impact and protect my legs. I slid into a large, partially buried rock, which flipped me forwards towards another protruding rock. I raised my arms and twisted to protect against head impact and my left side hit the rock square on, before being dragged to a stop. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Abdomen | Fractured left side ribs 6-9. | 20 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Taylors Mistake, Christchurch | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts, Thermals | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
74 | 11/23/2017 | 6:00:00 PM | Bay of Plenty | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Gliding | More then 50% wing collapse at top of mount maunganui North side launch. Spiral and crash on launch site before the wing could be fully reinflated. Both heel bones broken due to impact. No other serious injuries. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | None | Open face, Damaged | Basic | Carried but not deployed | North side of Mt Maunganui | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
75 | 11/26/2017 | 3:00:00 PM | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | Connected Little cloud Spiruline (fat risers) with a yeti lightweight harness (very narrow attachment point) using a standard rectangular PG carabiner. Due to the narrow attachment loop of the harness it's quite normal for the carabiner to rotate and be loaded diagonally (it slides into one of the corners), but this time, with help of the front reserve attachment loop sitting on gate, it was crossloaded and the gate rotated into unlocked position. I landed asap once noticed. | 5 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried, partly cause of incident. Not deployed. | Mangawhai Heads | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Steady | Nothing really happened, but thought it could be useful to others to hear about it. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
76 | 10/28/2017 | 12:00:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | coming into landing. collapse or spin at around 15m feet not out of harness yet. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine | fractured t12 vert. broken wrist | 20 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | treble cone | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
77 | 12/4/2017 | 1:45:00 PM | Tasman | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Flying from Barnicote in Stoke, out to Ngawhatu Recreation Ground. Left the hill with plenty of altitude to clear the pylons and reach the park. On approach still had 400m of altitude and travelling into a head on sea breeze of around 20kph, still feeling that I had plenty of altitude and time to clear the pylons and land at the park as per my current flight plan. I began loosing altitude and not making a lot of headway, as I got closer to the pylons I began to feel unsure if I would actually make it over them so decided to abort and back track to an alternative landing close by. Travelling down wind my wing picked up significant speed as expected. I gained a little altitude passing over a small ridge line with trees on it. As soon as I had clear ground I began a gentle controlled turn into the wind hoping to land in the paddock on the ridge. As I turned I travelled side ways tracking down wind and loosing altitude as the ridge rose in my direction of travel. Rather than landing as hoped, on the ridge, I flew into the side of the hill, half way through my turn, at approximately 60kmh. Hitting feet first and then hitting hard on my buttocks, feeling significant pain in my back on impact and being almost completely winded. After a few minutes I was able to phone a member of the Tasman club and we decided I should not try to walk out. Soon after, two members of the Tasman club came to my assistance and decided I would need to be Helicoptered out to Hospital. We were all concerned about a possible spinal injury due to the nature and speed of the impact. At this point an ambulance and the Helicopter arrived simultaneously. I was checked on site by paramedics and deemed to be able to walk but not able to cross a 6 meter deer fence that was between myself and the access road so was taken out by helicopter. I was thoroughly checked out by hospital staff and released with many pain killers at 5 pm. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine, Chest | upon writing this report one day after the incident, I am fully mobile with a degree of muscular pain around the lower back region, bruising to the left side costal arch of the rib cage cartilage, possibly from the riser carabiner, and I also bruised the bone of both heals, landing feet first, buttocks soon after. | 40 | None | Open face | Stirrup, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Barnicote Range, | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Variable, Thermals | 20 kmh Sea breeze at lower levels | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
78 | 7/12/2017 | 12:40:00 PM | Tasman | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Cross country | Landing | Hard landing on tree surrounded skid site probably due to some wind rotor effect. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | 50 | None | Full face, Certified for flight | Basic, Stirrup, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Launch at Inwoods | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
79 | 1/15/2017 | 12:00:00 PM | Southern | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Launch | Witnesses saw pilot attempt to launch from Pub Corner, Treble Cone and collide with Pub Corner Weather Station, damaging the station and breaking lines on his glider. | 5000000000000 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Thermals | Paraglider | VISITOR | ||||||
80 | 11/14/2017 | 10:00:00 AM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Landing | New to the site, with new equipment, 10 km wind from south, very turbulent air. So I thought would land into wind approach I lost height came down for the final approach above the fence and the wing was lifted so I extended the figure of 8 so we weren't too high and as I was turning back to land got big sink… we were close to fence I tried to pull away to right instead but passengers foot clipped the fence and got caught so we were pulled towards the fence where we went parallel and caught the post with our feet. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | 1 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Turbulent | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||
81 | 11/13/2017 | 11:02:00 AM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Landing | A Landing Accident at Cattle Flat Landing Zone, Mt Aspiring Road, Wanaka 9305. Approximately 11:02 am 13 November 2017. Type of Operation: Tandem paragliding flight by Wanaka Paragliding under Certificate ADV 81572, CAR Part 115. Take Off: Was from Eastside Pub Corner, Treble Cone at 10:47 am. Take Off Conditions: At time of take off recorded at the Pub Corner weather station were Temp min 6.0C max 6.9C, wind Max gust 10.4kph NE, Average 5.3kph NE. Weather: High-Pressure Forecast Areas of morning cloud, then fine. Wind at 1000 metres: Light. Weather at Treble Cone at the time of accident: Middle level cloud above take off was breaking apart and sun had been getting through. A light thermal cycle on the mountain face was building as the NE face heating up. Heating in the valley was increasing as sun broke through to the valley floor in places. Cloud was in the process of burning off and an hour after the accident, the sky was completely clear apart from mountain top cumulus. Take Off Conditions: Light thermal, no wind Flying Conditions: Light thermal, no wind Landing Conditions: Light thermal, no wind Weather was normal and well within operating conditions. Pilot: Nicola Woods nicsinthewoods@gmail.com NZHGPA# 6132, CAA #92311, 60KG, a tandem pilot for Wanaka Paragliding Passenger: Camille Raffenne, 49KG, a French national, living in Singapore, on holiday in NZ with her husband t.pegat@gmail.com who was also flying with Wanaka Paragliding and landed five minutes after the accident. Glider: Ozone Magnum2 38 CAA# 29Z, owned and operated by Wanaka Paragliding. Weight range 110-185 KG. Flying All Up Weight 132KG Accident Description: Pilot was making a left hand circuit landing approach intending to land in a SW facing direction towards the mountain, on Wanaka Paragliding LZ1 beside the Ski Area Access road, Cattle Flat, Treble Cone Recreational Reserve. (The normal approach is to land in a NE facing direction away from the mountain but the pilot observed the wind socks were indicating a breeze away from the hill and was making a circuit to land into this breeze). On base heading NNW the pilot got lifted by a thermal and extended her base away from the LZ to lose height before turning left SSE to return to the LZ. The pilot then got unexpected sink. The passengers foot hit the top of a deer fence while the pilot was either trying to return back to the LZ or making an avoidance turn to land in the field beside the LZ. Camille hit her head during the impact with the fence and sustained a cut. The Pilot was uninjured apart from minor bruising. An ambulance was called and the passengers cut was treated by the pilot. The passenger was taken to Wanaka Medical Centre for a check up. The cut was minor and was not expected to require stitches and she is expected to make a full recovery. Pilot was stood down for the day, breathalysed, drug screened and interviewed by Wanaka Paragliding CEO and OIO. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | No | 1.5 | None | Damaged | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | Thermic only | Thermals | Conditions: At time of take off recorded at the Pub Corner weather station were Temp min 6.0C max 6.9C, wind Max gust 10.4kph NE, Average 5.3kph NE. Weather: High-Pressure Forecast Areas of morning cloud, then fine. Wind at 1000 metres: Light. Weather at Treble Cone at the time of accident: Middle level cloud above take off was breaking apart and sun had been getting through. A light thermal cycle on the mountain face was building as the NE face heating up. Heating in the valley was increasing as sun broke through to the valley floor in places. Cloud was in the process of burning off and an hour after the accident, the sky was completely clear apart from mountain top cumulus. Take Off Conditions: Light thermal, no wind Flying Conditions: Light thermal, no wind Landing Conditions: Light thermal, no wind Weather was normal and well within operating conditions. | Paraglider | Tandem | ||
82 | 12/28/2017 | 3:00:00 PM | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Approach to landing | Near miss with a drone 10ft off left wing tip | 10 | None | Carried but not deployed | G756 gondola queenstown | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Calm | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||||
83 | 2/1/2018 | 2:45:00 AM | Southern | Fatality | Cross country | Climbing | Pilot launched from TC and was heading towards Wanaka via Roy's Peak. Pilot suffered and asymmetric collapse and collided with the ground. | Fatal | Chest | This is a compulsory field so I have to select something, however details of the injuries are unknown at this point in time. | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried. Further details not known. | Launched from Pub Corner, Treble Cone. Accident occurred during an XC flight on Coromandel, at the northern end of Roy's Peak. | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Thermals | Witness statements have been taken by the police for the purpose of an investigation. | Increasing wind strength. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
84 | 1/7/2018 | 4:15:00 PM | Wellington | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | After landing ( e.g. dragged on ground) | When touch down and turning around and stalling glider I got lifted up in about 1m and then hit the ground with my right foot really hard. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Sprained right ankle | 25 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | PKK | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady, Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
85 | 1/23/2018 | 9:15:00 AM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Landing | Early morning incident, conditions were light to no wind on landing. Pilot was coming in on a long final glide. 1 meter from the ground pilot pushed through a strong flare causing the glider to pitch back at the same time the pilot flew through some very light lifting air. The glider was in stall as the pilot came down from about 2.5 meters landing feet first and falling backwards onto his bum. Pilot complained of lower back pain and was treated accordingly. An ambulance was called. Ambulance arrived approximately 30 minutes after the accident and pilot walked onto the stretcher. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | Contributing Factors: -Upon conducting first aid on the pilot, as part of a secondary survey, the pilot talked having lower back pain for quite some time before the incident. The pilot also mentioned having problems with muscle spasms in his lower back. Upon administration to hospital the radiologist asked the pilot if he had had any previous back injury to which the pilot replied that yes he suspected he had an old injury due to a mountain bike accident. -Due to the very dry hot summer that Central Otago is currently experiencing the ground at "Flight Park" is rock solid with little to no grass left. I feel it is important to note that the equipment the pilot was on was an Alpha 6 with very little hours on it and the harness was a Paratech D2 that has about 15-20cm of back protection in it. First on scene was myself Cathal, Instructor (PHEC qualified) and Joseph Lingham (Doctor) | 1 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Flight Park Queenstown/ Rocky Gully | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Calm | Paraglider | Student | ||
86 | 1/29/2018 | 2:15:00 PM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Competition | Landing | Descent techniques in sudden very strong wind not assertive enough, blown back into narrow area with turbulence and venturi, hard landing through tree branches | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | 225 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Not known | More than 10 flights | This wind came in suddenly, and was this strength on landing. 10km W on launch | North west | Strong gusts, Thermals, Turbulent | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
87 | 2/2/2018 | 1:15:00 PM | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Launch | Left-hand speed bar line from between two of the pulleys got caught in a buckle adjacent to the lowest speed bar pulley (level with the seat plate) and locked the left-hand side of the wing into full speed bar. I was unable to get into the seat. I flew out with the intention of landing, but after a few minutes figured out that I could leverage the buckle to release the line. I then was able to continue flying. A photo of a recreation of what happened will be sent separately. | 150 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Pub Corner (above road) | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | N/A | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
88 | 2/3/2018 | 1:30:00 PM | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Launch | Pod and speed bar set came detached on left side of harness. Didn’t notice pod loop had dropped off my Ozone Forza harness | 30 | None | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Wanaka | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Variable | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
89 | 1/28/2018 | 2:30:00 PM | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Climbing | I was flying from TC towards Aspiring. I went above Niger where i could see a glider scratching. I was probably too low so was on the Lee side. My left wing side collapsed and my wing started to dive and rotate left. I wasn't sure what to do to stop the spiraling. I tried to grab my risers to stabilise then I thought i was getting low so i tried to pull my reserve. I grabbed the handle and my wing recovered, then had a big frontal collapse and started to fly normally. I pushed back my reserve in its pocket and secured the handle so it doesn't get caught. Then I glided as far as I could and landed safely. | 30 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Niger (by Treeble Cone) | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | Variable | I never practiced pulling my reserve or tried to throw it before. Haven't done an sic course yet. It's planned. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
90 | 1/29/2018 | 2:00:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Cross country | Gliding | On glide to first turnpoint in national competition (not competing} from End Peak, near TC, i was approximately 6500m altitiude above the ridgeline at Pub Corner. I was relaxed and on glide when i was hit with severe turbulence which caused an aggressive full frontal of the glider. I struggled to stop the surge with full brake input which cravated the glider and put me into a spin with riser twists. I kicked the riser twists out and managed to stabilise the glider and was flying straight again with the cravat. I went to grab the a lines to induce an asymetric to try to clear the cravat but as i did this i was hit with another aggressive downwash. At this point i assessed my height and deployed my reserve. I landed very fast due to the stong winds and immediately assertained that i had broke my L1. I passed this info over to the launch marshall immediately on the phone and then got to my knees to depower the reserve and unclip from the harness. I then slid down the steep 50deg bank to a tussock were i lay and waited for assistance. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | 1 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod | Deployed and effective | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North | Strong gusts, Thermals, Turbulent | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
91 | 1/28/2018 | 4:14:00 PM | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Climbing | I was scratching for lift two thirds up mid triangle on the West slope of Mt Roy when I hit sink and clipped a matakauri bush. I was spun in my harness 360deg and when facing away from the hill again I considered flying away and dealing with the twist once I had clearance from terrain but noted that my wing was in a slow spin. I then opted to flair and land. There was no damage to pilot or equipment. | 40 | None | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Treble Cone, Wanaka. 44.38299S 168.5431E | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Variable, Thermals, Turbulent | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
92 | 2/14/2018 | 10:00:00 AM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | Pilot was launching on the East launch of TC. Canopy collapsed on launch, pilot rolled down the hill and landed heavily on her feet on the road cutting just below launch resulting in a minor stable compression fracture of the L1 vertebra. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | Damage resulted from pilot landing hard on her feet and shock loading being transferred through straight legs to her spine rather than landing on her backside. | 18 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Nov or PG1 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South east | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
93 | 2/10/2018 | 4:00:00 PM | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | Sat to Spiral to Wingover, then Misty fliped into Helico (unintentional) Stalled glider into tail slide, checked altitude - good. Thought I released hands high, but obviously not high enough, checked altitude again, not high enough to throw, impacted the ground in tail slide. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine | 30% compression of T11 | 1 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Flight Park Queenstown | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Calm | Paraglider | ISP | ||
94 | 1/23/2018 | 12:00:00 PM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation, Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Launch | Reverse launch and run in light wind, not enough brakes, big overshoot and 70% collapse just after lift off, left 90° turn an impact with ground. Twisted right knee resulting in torn ACL. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Torn ACL right knee | 29 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Coronet Peak | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
95 | 2/17/2018 | 3:00:00 PM | Bay of Plenty | Fatality | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | At approximately 15:00 on 17/02/2018 Josh was flying at the north face of Mt Maunganui adjacent to the north launch site. He was doing wing-over manoeuvres and appeared to be in control of his wing although he was starting to do these quite close to the terrain. During one of the wing-over manoeuvres Josh appeared to have turned towards the terrain and struck a rocky outcrop to the west side of launch with what appeared to be significant force. He appeared to be unconscious and was unresponsive to a number of people shouting to him for a response. Following the impact the wing turned 180 degrees and flew away from east to west and continued around the Mount while banking to the left due to Josh slumping to the left in the harness. The wing was still flying when it disappeared from our view moments later. A 111 call was placed immediately and we searched the west face of the Mount as best we could but were unable to locate Josh until, after approximately 1 hour, the rescue helicopter arrived and was successful in locating him higher up the face than where we were searching. Tragically Josh had passed by the time help reached him although, given the force of the impact, it is possible he did not survive the initial crash. | Fatal | Upper spine, Lower spine | I do not know the extent of his injuries although I have been told he had severe injuries to his back hence the response given - i.e. Upper Spine/Lower Spine | I don't know the details of Josh's equipment although I know he was wearing a helmet. | Int or PG2 | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | North east | Steady | Paraglider | |||||||||
96 | 2/13/2018 | 12:45:00 PM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | Performed wingovers close to terrain to descend and the wind strength wasn't enough to soar at Mt. Iron. Wing switched suddenly to NE while on descent, causing area flown to go into Lee conditions. Went too high on one wingover left, turned out of it early to avoid impacting the ground and the second wingover right felt strange, glider went behind close to stall and I sunk more than usual (rotor?) - collided with the hill on the swingthrough of turn. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper spine, Lower spine | Bruising of back muscles, no fractures found. | 90 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Mt Iron, Wanaka | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | Tandem | ||
97 | 2/28/2018 | 7:30:00 AM | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | Flying off the skyline gondola I was not going to make the main landing field (the rec) so used an emergency landing alternative on the road beside the rec. no cars where coming and no persons were crossing the road. after safely landing I had the glider packed up and off the road in seconds. | 10 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Above Int or Pg2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South east | Calm | Speed wing | Tandem | ||||||
98 | 3/8/2018 | 7:15:00 AM | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | While forward launching from the Summit Road (Port Hills) to Lyttelton, I touched down at speed and was unable to remain on my feet, and then got pulled a little further down the bank. The launch site was rocky. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | 5 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
99 | 11/3/2018 | 2:13:00 PM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | After landing ( e.g. dragged on ground) | I took off at lake Hawea and immediately recognised that i had made a mistake as the wind was to strong. Applied full bar and big ears in an attempt to land at the beach. As i got lower the wind strength increased and i ended up getting blown backwards and landing on the edge of the cliff and getting dragged over the fence as the wing dropped through the power zone. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | sprained ankle | 150 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face, Certified for flight, Damaged | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Not known | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | North west | Strong gusts | the sea breeze came in a lot stronger than i expected. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
100 | 3/30/2018 | 12:05:00 PM | Marlborough | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Approach to landing | Pilot was thoroughly briefed pre flight, detailed flight plan was established. Pilot responded well to radio instruction throughout the flight, approached the landing (Endeavour park, 2 rugby fields) at 300 ft, used figure eight approach along the downwind boundary to lose height. Wind light NW, diagonally corner to corner. After 3 legs pilot flew crosswind towards the opposite corner. About halfway pilot was instructed to turn left into wind (90 degrees), as agreed, for final approach. Pilot used severe left brake, causing the glider to enter a diving turn. Pilot continued the turn beyond the required 90 degrees, continuing through 270 before hitting the ground. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Broken right femur | 1 | None | Open face, Damaged | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Calm, Steady, Light, 5 to 10kmh, steady NW | Instructor had concerns over pilot's ability to follow instructions, and over one week of thorough groundhandling was undertaken to establish Ed's ability to undertake first low flights. Over this time Ed achieved and demonstrated satisfactory coordination and glider handling ability. Concerns were allayed when parent (headteacher) was contacted in England by phone to establish his ability. Reassurance was given that no learning disability was known, beyond being "forgetful at times". Instructors need to be circumspect when suspecting unreliability in student behaviour. | Sunny, pre thermal activity | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | |
101 | 3/8/2018 | 3:30:00 PM | Auckland | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Came in to topland - down wind leg, just initiated turn to crab in. The wind was quite shifty and gusty at times. Got a bit of a gust (or rotor?) that pushed me further in than I expected. Saw another pilot on the ground I was directly flying into - think I froze, too focussed on avoiding him, and rather than turning away from him and out to the sea I probably automatically weight shifted more into the hill. Crashed into slope (feet first and then onto my face). Immediately felt stinging, strong pain in the mid to lower back. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper spine | Fractured T12. No spinal injury, fracture is stable and should heal without surgery. | 10 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Karioitahi | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | West | Moderate gusts | To be honest, I knew better. I felt sluggish and tired that day (actually had a pretty silly top landing earlier too), and arrived with mild headaches and little motivation to fly. I only flew because everyone else seemed to have fun, but I was mentally absent. Just 10 min earlier I had a chat with some other pilots, making comments about how unfamiliar we all felt on our mini wings that day, given that we hardly flew them this year (but then, you don't get familiar again unless you fly!). I wanted to top land so my partner could fly the wing and I could grab my gear - otherwise I would have called it a day and landed on the beach. BIG THANKS to everyone who helped with the rescue!! Please learn from my mistake and only fly when you feel 100%. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
102 | 4/14/2018 | 11:30:00 AM | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Take off run | Sam launched At the speedwing launch at gondola. Running full speed stumbled on tussock at the cliffedge and tumbled down a series of drops to the road. Wing never inflated. Managed by other pilots and paramedics arrived and transferred to hospital by helicopter | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Head, Lower limbs, Chest | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Becoming thermic | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | |||||
103 | 4/13/2018 | 1:30:00 PM | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | On landing at approximately 10kmh touched down and placed left leg on grass , right leg on rock unsteady and rolled right leg leading to a significant ankle fracture. Ambulance called by pilot and passing by general public assisted. Occured at top landing area for Twin Towers . Transferred to hospital by ambulance | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Towers | Int or PG2 | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Steady | This information is not complete and collated from discussing the incident with the pilot and from my knowledge of the weather on the day. The pilot will be completing their own report when able to. | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||||
104 | 4/22/2018 | 10:00:00 AM | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Descent maneouvre | proximity flying. lines caught in bush resulting in a pendulum sharp turn into hillside. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | medical check up only. discharged with pain killers. | 0.3 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Treble Cone, wanaka | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Steady | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||
105 | 4/14/2018 | 11:20:00 AM | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Take off run | Ran and ankle fell in small hole. Tripped and fell down cliff face. Knocked unconscious | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Head, Lower spine, Chest, Abdomen | 5 | Destroyed | Open face, Damaged | Basic | Not carried | Chch gondola | Not known | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North | Thermals | No | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||
106 | 4/19/2018 | 4:30:00 PM | Waikato | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | After landing ( e.g. dragged on ground) | after being blown backwards in a gust front, after landing wing laid back onto a power pole. | 3 | None | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Te Puru | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Steady | light drizzle dissipating on far side of gulf | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
107 | 5/5/2018 | 2:00:00 PM | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Take off run | Reversed launched, turned, corrected the wing at it was to his left slightly, over corected and was pushed to the right. Stumbled and fell over towards his right. which made the wing turned further and dragged him into a rocky area. Stopped about 50 ft from launch area. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine, Lower limbs | L7 small fracture, a decent cut on fore arm and some abraisions. Needs neck support for 4 weeks. 3 days in hospital. May have left early but MRI scan diagnosed a medical issue that was not related to this accident. Hes on blood thinners to recify this issue. | 1 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | 10 - 12 km | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | ||
108 | 5/8/2018 | 5:00:00 PM | Bay of Plenty | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Flew through sinking air towards landing zone and glide ratio decreased so I didn't make landing zone. Landed heavy on side of hill | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Broken leg and ankle. No other injury | 8 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Mauao west face | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Variable | I need to check my wof date as I don't have my wing to check. It was within 12 months however. | Kaimais causes fluctuating wind from west | Paraglider | PG2 or Int |
109 | 6/18/2018 | 4:00:00 PM | Auckland | Fatality | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Climbing | Pilot had had a soaring flight of over an hour just previously ( launching off the top take off ). We were going to do some towed flights and practise spot landings . Launch went well. At a height of about 100 to 150 feet. Glider started to veer off the tow direction . I immediately stopped the vehicle and pulled the back up release. The back up release did not work and the glider started to enter a lock out scenario. I repeatedly pulled the back up release to no avail and the pilot impacted hard on the beach. | Fatal | Head, Chest | 1 | Destroyed | Open face | Pod | Not carried | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Steady | I believe the reason for this tragic accident is the failure of the back up release to operate. I have used this method of towing for many many years. Until this tragic accident I believed had an extremely safe towing system. I have had an extremely good record with no incidents towing. I believe there are only two possible causes for the back up release to not operate.1.0 Mechanical failure of some description 2.0 the release rope getting tangled and being prevented from being operational.As part of my standard operating procedure I have always previously checked it is operational before proceeding and thought I had done so before this flight As the release has not worked one of these causes must have come into being and I must accept complete responsibility for this tragic accident. My profound regrets to everyone involved. | Hang glider | Student | |||
110 | 7/19/2018 | 4:10:00 PM | Wellington | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Testing the accident reporting system | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | test | 50 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Carried but not deployed | Testing Place | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South east | Steady | just testing this after advisory meeting | hhehewrq | Hang glider | ||
111 | 1/7/2018 | 5:00:00 PM | Wellington | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Just testing accident repoting on mobile phone | Seems to work on phone ok but unable to enter today's date for day of accident | 30 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Wgtn | Not known | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | South west | Steady | Sorry to bother you Evan. Just testing it in mobile this time | Test | Hang glider | Advanced | |||
112 | 7/16/2018 | 1:00:00 PM | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | I was flying at Muriwai (the day the 2 fishermen died), I was at around 500ft at Janies in a WNW crossing from Janies to NW face when I heard the Fire station siren go off and then seconds later heard a helicopter, couldn’t see him but knew he was close …I immediately started doing wingovers and top landed on the NW face pretty quickly, the Heli which was dark blue or black did one circuit around the NW face TO quite low as I landed …I was a little uncomfortable at how close they were to me but I landed safely, they continued doing this circuit many times without issue, after about 20 mins they left and the Westpac Rescue heli arrived and landed near the Surf club somewhere …not sure where the original one was from. How can we make these guys aware of how vulnerable we are to them? …if there were beginner pilots there who may have taken longer to descend they may have been attending another rescue. | None | Muriwai, Maori Bay near Otakamiro Point | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady | I guess thats the point I want to make is that even though these guys are attending a life or in this case death rescue I wouldn’t like them to be the cause of another death, I am well aware that when they come to the beach its generally for a rescue and I will descend and land asap. | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||||||
113 | 7/30/2018 | 12:08:00 AM | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Proximity | Failed to account for a 1m high rock outcrop on the top of the ridge when beginning a turn | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs, Lower spine | 2 | None | Full face, Damaged | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Christchurch Gondola | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | Speed wing | PG2 or Int |