NZHGPA AIRS (Responses)


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
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	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
53	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
54	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
55	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
56	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
57	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
58	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
59	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
60	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
61	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
62	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
63	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