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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6 | 27/02/2021 | 14:00:00 | Tasman | Accident with damage to glider ( significant structural damage) | Competition | Climbing | Experienced collapse & spin while thermalling in lee of spine at base of mountain. Deployed reserve & glider was damaged upon landing in pine forest "slash", or the debris left behind by tree fellers. | 140 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Deployed and effective | Mt Blowhard near Blenheim | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Strong gusts, Thermals, Turbulent | This was 100% pilot error. I misjudged the turbulence produced by these spines & then failed to watch my wing during the rough climb. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
7 | 27/02/2021 | 13:15:00 | Marlborough | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Climbing | Task 3 of Nelson PG open 2021 competition at site Blowhard and close to 50 gliders in the air thermalling waiting for start gate to open. I was tring to stay in a core and focussed on my left turn looking down and was not aware of glider behind and above me.As I was climbing I heard a loud shout and found another pilot just meters away to my right side. Fortunately he was few meters higher then me and we both took evasive action and turned away. I later discussed with the pilot who was more experienced and we agreed that it was a near miss and possible reason this near miss happened, could be : 1. I (red) glider should have been more aware of my sorroundings and looking around to see the thermal drift as the wind was strong and we were being pushed to the hill and most gliders will converge at some point. Lesson learnt for me is to look above, behind , around and watching the glider drift as it can come in someone's line of flight and not be just foccused on my own thermal. 2. Other person(blue) glider a very experienced pilot was able to see me thermalling lower and he was already aware the potential of me drifting into his line of flight so took evasive action but what surprised him was with the wind strengthing, my circles were very elongated and he was surprised with how close I came to him inspite of his effort to avoid me drifting into his path. Both of us agreed the wind factor played an important role in a near miss. The wind pushed our line of flight to merge but glad nothing happended and this is just a minor incident. The main reason for my reporting is for all pilots who will fly in a competition/gaggle to be aware and watch 360 degree for traffic, as on a strong wind day we can all be pushed into each others path. | 80 | None | Full face | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Blowhard | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Strong gusts, Thermals | sanand114@gmail.com | Just Wind Strengthning | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
8 | 22/02/2021 | 13:00:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Take off run | Slipped on bum wing over shot, walked up relaunched no damage | 200 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Mount Murchison | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
9 | 22/02/2021 | 13:15:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Launch | Pilot changed to a different harness, leg straps were extended in T configuration. On launch this felt loose, resulted in pilot having some doubt legstraps were properly attached. A quick decision was made to abort the launch and glider was intentionally stalled. | 127 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Mt Murchison, Murchison | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | Switching W | Variable, Moderate gusts | Clip in sequence was varied to protect the variometer mounted on the front flap. This caused doubt in clip in intergrity. Never depart from the clip in sequence! | Fine | Paraglider | Tandem | ||||
10 | 21/02/2021 | 13:00:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Gliding | Almost hit powerline. Had to spin the glider to avoid. Its location was well briefed and I had flown past it the day before. Focussing too much on instruments for competition. I would definitely be keen to donate money towards some orange markers on this single line to make it more visible. | None | Takaka | Less than 10 flights at this site | Paraglider | ||||||||||||||
11 | 20/02/2021 | 13:00:00 | Tasman | 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). | Take off run | Pilot took plenty of time to prepare for launch to one side of takeoff as others launched. After a 30 minute wait for takeoff to clear, pilot performed a faultless backward launch, turned and commenced her takeoff run. Harness rode up her back and she aborted the takeoff, sat down, glider overshot. | 2.5 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Takaka Hill, Motueka | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Variable | Pilot has a nervous disposition, mire nervous than usual on takeoff, but nerves had subsided after the wait, and observing her partner and fellow studenrs launch. She explained the omission of clipping in legstraps as setting up her glider and getting into her harness in the carpark, left the legstraps undone to walk across the road. | Forecast light NE | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | |||
12 | 20/02/2021 | 12:30:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | coming into land when I had a asymmetric collapse at about 10m. instantly dropped and pendulumed, hit the ground with force. my friend had landed approximately 3 minutes before me and watched everything happen. An ambulance was called and a helicopter dispatched. I was flown to Dunedin hospital. Diagnosed with 2 fractured spinal vertebrae and broken ankle. I believe there was a wind rotor that hit me. the landing was fine with no significant wind or conditions that stood out at the time . | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine, Lower limbs, Lower spine | 4 | None | Open face, Damaged | Stirrup | Carried but not deployed | Wanaka | Not known | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Calm, Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
13 | 20/02/2021 | 13:30:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Ground handling | Passenger was disabled on his right side with a stroke. In view of the constraints this placed on landing, I made the decision to replace the inflatable airbag passenger harness with one including foam type backprotection, and used a solo pilot harness for this purpose. The passenger had to commence launch from a seated position on the ground, supported by 2 bystanders holding either side. As the glider was pulled off the ground the passenger tilted slightly to one side, dragging the reserve handle and releasing the reserve. Launch was aborted before the glider reached overhead, reserve was detached, and launch was resumed. In this situation(a disabled passenger requiring a seated ground launch as against standing) a reserve in the passenger harness could be a hazard. | 43 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Takaka Hill, Takaka | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Variable | Forecast light NE | Paraglider | Tandem | ||||
14 | 12/02/2021 | 07:30:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Hit fence on landing | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Head | Large egg on forehead | 10 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Flight park | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Changing but light | Variable | Mild, quite consistent | Paraglider | Tandem | |
15 | 08/02/2021 | 14:00:00 | Canterbury | Accident with damage to glider ( significant structural damage) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Launch | Wing came up not straight. Pilot corrected but the wing was off course. He attempted to steer around a tree but his right wing tip clipped a large branch. The wing and pilot ended up being 25 ft off the ground. Pilot was not hurt. Fire crew was alerted and ropes was used to get him down. | 2 | Destroyed | Open face | With certified back protection | Not carried | Twin towers | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Variable | Have flown this site over the last 10 years with students with no incidents. It is one of our main flying sites. But on review of what happened I will be avoiding this site for teaching purposes and will endevour to get back a lower site that was lost in the past that has fewer obstacles | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | ||||
16 | 07/02/2021 | 20:20:00 | Marlborough | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Soaring | I launched late in the day, near Cape Campbell, for a short flight to the beach. Wind at the hill top launch was 15-17km/h. Shortly after launch I entered much stronger lift and wind and began to drift back. I applied speedbar. I briefly tried big ears too but lost ground rapidly. Continuing to climb and get blown back, I kept pointing into wind with full speed bar, staying over rising ground to keep out of the deep gullies in this area. After 1.5km I was able to land safely in a large open valley. | 18 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Cape Campbell | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | North east | Steady | I wasn't expecting this much wind gradient. Identifying this and always carrying my inreach and first aid kit, even on 'short' flights, are the take away lessons for me. | Scattered white caps | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
17 | 03/02/2021 | 16:00:00 | Tasman | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | reconected with ground after launch, foot connected with tree stump at speed | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | 30 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | pohara launch birds clearing | Not known | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
18 | 01/02/2021 | 10:15:00 | Southern | 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). | Gliding | The forecast for the day was light winds. The pilot launched into a light, early morning, anabatic flow. As the pilot flew away from launch he was experiencing some roll in the glider. Student was instructed to stabilise the glider by not fighting the roll, holding minimum sink and crossing his legs or tucking them under the harness to help minimise his body movement under the glider. As the pilot was on glide he experienced a light early morning bubble of lift in which he decided the turn 90 degrees left (further into the valley) to see if he could get anymore lift. The bubble petered out and the student turned back left and continued on his original heading. Next the student turned 90 degrees left again but this time he spun the glider. Glider started spinning out of control. The student was instructed to put his hands, the gilder continued to with quite a flat spin and the student landed on the hill. The student was uninjured and hiked back up the launch after a rest and a coffee the student continued flying for the rest of the day. | 4 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Coronet Peak, Rocky Gully | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Calm | Paraglider | Student | |||||
19 | 01/02/2021 | 12:45:00 | Auckland | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Landing | Students description of accident: "I was doing S turns and trying to do spot landing on the white spot on the beach. So it was probably 2 meters above the ground and the spot is almost 10 meters away, and suddenly I decided to release the brake a little to fly a bit more forward to do spot landing. But there is a slight slope on the ground and my leg stuck in the bushes". | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | 13 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Maioro | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Paraglider | Student | |||
20 | 31/01/2021 | 17:00:00 | Waikato | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Cross country | Gliding | Had a major collapse at low altitude which didn't give much recovery time so threw my reserve and landed on the side of a hill straining my right ankle. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | 25 | None | Open face | Pod | Deployed and effective | Kaimais launch | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Steady | Incident location 37.488245,175.712064 | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
21 | 30/01/2021 | 14:00:00 | Tasman | Accident with damage to glider ( significant structural damage) | Competition | Landing | Pilot set up an approach land in the middle of a large paddock at 215 Tutaki north road. Due to buoyant conditions glider flew the full length of the landing field. Nearing the fence at the far end of the field Pilot slowed glider down in order to clear the fence and land in the next paddock. At 10ft from the ground, glider stalled and rolled to the right and contacted the ground. Pilot hit the ground and sustained a broken Shoulder. Pilot walked to nearby farmhouse and called for assistance. | 10 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face, Certified for flight | Pod | Carried but not deployed | 215 Tutaki North road, Murchison | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Variable, Thermals | Hot day, good thermal activity. Possibility that a thermal was set off during landing. | Hang glider | PG2 or Int | ||||
22 | 24/01/2021 | 13:30:00 | Tasman | Accident with damage to glider ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Landing | Thermic conditions. Port wind dropped as I landed (running out on ground) just as a strong gust came from starboard side, causing glider to do a slow ground loop. | 450 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face | Powered | Carried but not deployed | Murchison airfield | Not rated | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | West but highly thermic, with winds switching direction | Moderate gusts, Thermals, Turbulent | Fine and dry | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | ||||
23 | 15/01/2021 | 20:00:00 | Marlborough | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Final approach to slope landing in end of day wind and lift rapidly dropping conditions. Pilot misjudged the final turn landing heavily on right ankle. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Broken right heel | None | Certified for flight | Pod, Powered | Carried but not deployed | Yearlands flying site | Not rated | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Wind was rapidly dropping from 15km down to next to nil | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
24 | 15/01/2021 | 20:30:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation, Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Launch | While launching the glider, failed to reach a speed, with low wind, where the glider was under flying speed, just. Caught tussocks. Fell and rolled down several times. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | Fractured wrist | 20 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Top of coronet peak. | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm | Paraglider | Tandem | ||
25 | 12/01/2021 | 11:00:00 | Tasman | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Climbing | Accidental reserve deployment soon after launch resulted in pilot and aircraft landing in a tree | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine, Abdomen | The injury was the result of the climb down from the tree, which resulted in lost footing as branches broke. NOT the landing in the tree | 30 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Deployed accidentally | Barnicoat Hill. | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
26 | 12/01/2021 | 15:30:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Cross country | Landing | Stalled glider coming in for top landing, fell 3m flat onto my back. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper spine | T11 Fracture | 83 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Naumann Range, 3km SW of Glenmary | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North | Variable | Paraglider | Tandem | ||
27 | 11/01/2021 | 12:20:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | Got caught in lee side rotor and sunk into a forested valley. Flew as far down the valley as I could before choosing a site to attempt a landing. Descended through the canopy and made a PLF into the creek. Minor damage to the paraglider (20cm tear on one panel of the lower surface near wingtip). I suffered a slightly bruised elbow and very bruised ego. | 13.28 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Barnicoat takeoff, Brook Valley landing landing (coordinates -41.32042932462964, 173.2890057563782) | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North | Moderate gusts | Strengthening sea breeze shortly before incident | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
28 | 07/01/2021 | 15:15:00 | Waikato | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | Was launching and began to go sideways along the ridge instead of out and I felt I wasn't really getting out onto the ridge. I then began focusing too much on the upcoming fences, which sped things up as my weight shifted. I subsequently ended up hitting the ground on my left side which caused my left wrist to become broken as I slid/crashed into a farming fence. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | From my own perspective and that of an experienced pilot, I was ground handling well. I was in control of the wing as I navigated around other pilots and had launched over a portion of the hill we were on with ease. I lost a bit of height after I thought I had managed a successful launch. I was then sort of bouncing on the ground and drifting along the top of the ridge. Then the events that followed are on the main description of incident. | 13.9 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Stirrup | Not carried | Raglan | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West, North West | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
29 | 07/01/2021 | 11:30:00 | Wellington | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | Leg caught fence on take off on top of a hill | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Sutured wound | 9 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Kaurarau hill wairarapa | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Very light. | Top wire of fence was not barbed. Would have aborted if it was. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
30 | 03/01/2021 | 11:20:00 | Tasman | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | I went for a flight after evaluating the weather. Appeared that the big low centered of the SW coast of the D island creating strong NE winds in the Nelson region had moved to the SE of the lower South and wind were forecast to be around 10 km out of the North. I hiked to the top of the Barnicote launch site since I wanted the exercise instead of catching a ride. Took a bit longer than I wanted and when I got there wind had started to pick up but still easily flyable. Checked the local wind stations and home owned stations (wxunderground) and saw that the main landing site that is a big field was a touch windy (15km gusting 27) and you first need to thermal up a100 m for clearance across power lines so I decided to land at the base of the hill in the bomb out zone which is on a narrow ridge As the stations surrounding it were still reporting less than 10km. As soon as I launched it felt very different than normal with big strong thermals (+10m/s) and sharp down drafts. Used big airs to descend and about halfway down the air calmed significantly. Came in to land with s turns and wind wasn't doing much and the air felt a bit more settled. On a stretched final to clear fences I saw wind flag was calm but could see wind in the grass. Was getting ready to flare about 2-3m above ground when a big gust of wind appeared lifted me up 10-15mm (well above the ridgeline) then just as sudden my right side of wing had a massive collapse (at least 70%) and I dropped. I remember right before I impacted wing recovered but then the inflated wing dragged me causing me to fall/tumble down the slope. I unbuckled and laid there stunned and realized all wind was calm again so assessed myself. I had feeling in toes and could move. In a state of shock/denial/embarrassment I crawled to my wing and packed it up and began walking to my vehicle (about 1.5km). At my truck realized my toes were numb and felt it was smart to drive and get checked out. Hospital did a CT scan and determined I fractured and compressed my L1 vertebra and is still keeping me confined at I write this. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | Fracture and compression of L1 vertebrae with no spinal cord damage | 20 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Barnicote. Landing at -41.3316784, 173.2435812 | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable, Thermals | Reviewing weather after accident the upper level winds remained strong NE unlike predicted | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
31 | 01/01/2021 | 14:00:00 | Waikato | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | Second flight of the day. Poor choice of launch, being too on the hill low for lighter wind, so only just airborne [1metre] and hit the top fence wire with harness but fell back on the launch side of the fence with glider on the other side. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | Abrasions to one lower leg from top fence wire, a little blood, common to a person of my vintage. Verbal abuse from my wife was more painful. | 25 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Ngarunui Beach Reserve | Not known | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West | Moderate gusts | I would attribute this incident simply to lack of currency, since I had done little flying since March the previous year for the obvious reason. With my lifetime aviation experience [outside of PG] I should have known better. I have an aviation poster on just this topic which I would like to have attached to this report. | Wind vector only slightly variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int |
32 | 22/12/2020 | 11:00:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Spiral landing, got boosted up as I straightened out (possibly made the mistake to exit too high or too fast, the air getting quite thermic could have had an impact as well). Then no energy in the wing, it started diving and accelerating towards the ground, I couldn't stop it and smashed myself on the ground with a lot of speed. Feet first but I think my bum took most of the impact. Not impact on upper body or head. Strong lower back pain and couldn't feel my legs for a minute or two. I stayed lying on my side on the ground. As the pain in the back didn't ease over the next 10 minutes ambulance was called (feeling in legs was coming back). | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | 30 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Flightpark | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Calm, Variable, Thermals | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
33 | 20/12/2020 | 18:00:00 | Auckland | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | Pulled the glider up after ground handling for a few minutes. Turned to take off, tripped and stumbed to my right, inadvertently pulling on my right brake which caused me to get pulled into the hill awkwardly onto my right leg then went to brace as I rolled with my left arm. Small hairline fracture below elbow and a bruised leg | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | 40 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Kariotahi High Side | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
34 | 15/12/2020 | 12:05:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | While flying my mini wing on final landing approach I hit a thermal low to the ground, The wing pitched back then dived forward slamming me into the ground. My flair was ineffective. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | A badly sprained ankle (cant walk for a few days) | 1 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Taylors Mistake | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady, Moderate gusts, Thermals | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
35 | 09/12/2020 | 14:00:00 | Tasman | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Landing | First day of training. First five flights from Mt Heslington training hill went well. Sixth flight the student took off at 30 degrees to intended flight path, which was within acceptable parameters. The student then "froze" and failed to respond to radio instructions and flew into the side of hill without attempting to flair. Broke wrist on impact. Instuctor report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JyeXw6p22GdGQO9SOIcIH-Z3e6JpEE8Y/view?usp=sharing. Student report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16EHucp1KNSF29jS8dSVMOziPKrI0YHXD/view?usp=sharing | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | Also suffered bruised ankles | 0.1 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Not carried | Mt Heslington, Brightwater, Nelson | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Calm | N/A | Paraglider | Student | |
36 | 28/11/2020 | 12:30:00 | Waikato | 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). | Ground handling | ground handling session. while waiting for a brief gust to dissipate, student allowed the glider to lift off the ground. brakes were not applied quickly enough and when student ran toward wing applying brakes, tripped and fell sideways. energized wing dragged student several meters before control was re-gained by instructor grabbing the wing tip and rounding it up into wind. student received a graze on one shin and on one elbow. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | 0 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Thames Airfield | Not rated | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Variable | the wing is old and unknown age. this wing is only used for initial ground handling | Paraglider | Student | ||
37 | 21/11/2020 | 12:20:00 | Hawkes bay | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Tandem training, aborted launch | Tandem training on small coastal hill. Conditions were light and breeze straight on to the hill. After inflation pilot and passenger were moving forwards to launch, the wing moved over to the left with the left wingtip close to the hill. Pilot tripped and didn't manage to stop wing. Pilot and passenger fell on to the slope with the wing dragging them sideways and down the hill which was rutted and steep. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | Collarbone fracture | 0 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Te Awanga | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Calm | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||
38 | 15/11/2020 | 13:00:00 | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Climbing | While thermalling in the start cylinder infront of launch another pilot was climbing faster below me. The lower wing briefly touched the underside of my harness and I was able to weight shift away. The lower pilot was unaware of the very brief mid-air collision and we both continued to thermal and continue our flight. | 112 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Moirs | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
39 | 14/11/2020 | 14:11:00 | Auckland | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Competition | Gliding | I was competing in Task 1 of the Auckland Regional Paragliding competition and had just entered cloud after taking a climb at the edge of a large convergence line. I proceeded to glide in a westerly direction to make it to clear air (most likely with around 2/3 speedbar applied, although I'm not certain) when my glider suddenly surged violently forwards to a point roughly 45 degrees in front of me. I immediately applied both brakes simultaneously in an attempt to check the surge and prevent a collapse, but the sudden surge and consequent high brake pressure served to jolt my arms and resulted in a dislocation of my right shoulder. Having been unable to fully prevent the surge, the glider sustained a large collapse to the left-hand side, which created a small cravat in the left wingtip. My right arm had been largely incapacitated due to the dislocation, so my immediate concern was to regain control of the glider in the turbulent conditions. Fortunately the cravat was relatively minor and was not affecting the stability of the glider, so I was able to clear it quickly by tugging on the stabilo line. The initial incident occurred at an altitude of c. 4000ft ASL, so there was no immediate danger but I was conscious that I was flying in very rough conditions with strong lift from the convergence and with limited ability to maintain control of the glider in the event of a further large collapse. My reserve is also mounted on the right side of my harness in an under-seat position, making it very difficult to deploy with an incapacitated right arm. Having dealt with numerous dislocations of my right shoulder previously I attempted to move and stretch my arm in the hopes that this would re-seat the joint, but this was unsuccessful. I was able to hold my right brake in my right hand and grip the right-hand riser to support my arm but any major movement was painful, so control of the wing was substantially compromised. After regaining control of the glider and clearing the cravat my main focus was to lose height and land safely. This was made difficult by the extensive lift produced by the convergence, which resulted in me continuing to gain height - reaching a maximum of c. 4900ft ASL - while trying to find an area of sinking air so that I could safely descend. With my right arm incapacitated I was unable to use standard descent techniques such as big-ears or spirals, so I was restricted to performing gentle left-hand 360s to lose height. I was very conscious of not allowing the glider to enter a spiral, as I was uncertain as to whether I would be able to apply sufficient right brake to countersteer out of it. At approximately 14:26, while descending in gently drifting 360s over paddocks that appeared to offer the safest landing options, my right shoulder re-located itself back into the socket. This brought immediate relief in terms of pain and meant that I regained full use of my right arm again. I had been flying with a dislocated shoulder for roughly 15 minutes at this point and was at an altitude of about 2900ft ASL. Having escaped the turbulent conditions close to cloudbase and in full control of the glider again, I decided to continue flying the task. I then ended up gliding north-west for another 12 minutes before eventually landing at 14:38. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | I have a history of instability in my right shoulder and have so far had two operations to repair it. In April this year I reaggravated the injury, resulting in a dislocation, and dislocated it again around a month prior to this incident. The usual range of motion undertaken during paragliding is not a risk factor for aggravating this injury, as all of my dislocations have occurred when my right arm is elevated above my head and subject to a short, sharp force. In this case the powerful surge of the glider resulted in a sudden increase in the brake pressure which jolted my extended right arm while I was attempted to check the surge and resulted in the dislocation of my shoulder. | 200 | None | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | S36 15 57.00 E174 38 49.50 | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | West | Turbulent | The incident occurred in turbulent air towards the western edge of a large line of convergence cloud where the western meteo wind met the easterly seabreeze. Conditions were uncomfortably rough, with active flying and large control inputs required at times to prevent significant collapses from occurring. I was in the process of crossing the convergence line from east to west to what I was anticipating would be smoother air and a higher cloudbase when the incident occurred. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
40 | 12/11/2020 | 19:40:00 | Canterbury | Fatality | Local recreation | Unknown pending CAA investigation | Unknown pending CAA Investigation | Fatal | Chest | Injuries unknown pending CAA Investigation - Form asks for an answer put Chest | 100000000000 | Destroyed | Damaged | Powered | Unknown Pending CAA Investigation | Near Harihari on West Coast | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | Unknown Pending CAA Investigation | It is important to log the accident despite lack of known details, therfore filled in as CEO of the NZHGPA. Most of the answers in this AIRS report other than the pilot name and contact details are unknown, no pilot was flying with John and no witnesses to the accident. Can not confirm glider in use or equipment flown, or pilot hours except being low hour pilot just out of training, form requests an answer to move onto next page so numerics are entered as 100000000 or dates 101010, other answers given as: Unknown Pending CAA Investigation. | Unknown Pending CAA Investigation | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | ||
41 | 08/11/2020 | 13:00:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Cross wind landing, did not turn into wind enough, came into land with speed and had a hard landing, fracturing left ankle when contact was made with ground. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | 35 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Allandale Launch | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
42 | 01/11/2020 | 15:55:00 | Waikato | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | I was setting up to execute a dbf landing over the beach. I banked right /downwind and noticed a truck with digger on trailer had pulled through my anticipated final path- It was sitting between the toilet and picknick Table . I initially planned my final into wind was to the left of a toilet block on Leeward the side of the landing zone touching down in the middle of the field. I turned back towards the sea and then back again , ( completing a 180) Now resigning to s turns to loose height and while trying to figure out whether the truck was still an issue( the truck had started moving after I first saw it- but I was not sure where he was going) I was not sure where he was going and I think I became a bit fixated on this. Over the beach I turned once more towards what I planned to make my downwind but I felt that I was now not high enough, so went further downwind, anticipating making my final approach to the far right of the toilet block. At this point I was behind the Toilet block and moving fast downwind- I made one final hard turn left and aimed for the right of the toilet block and field , but as I did so I dragged my left wingtip on the ground and spun the glider. I was immediately mobile and unscathed but the glider had a broken downtube. | 14 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Thames | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady | None | Hang glider | PG1 or Nov | ||||
43 | 29/10/2020 | 17:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | I had taken off from the waterfall creek track up Mt Roy. We had waited around a while for conditions to calm before taking off. There were thermals, but also a wind component. Took off, and attempted to soar a bit, but conditions were bumpy and it felt like some weird air was mixing. So I decided to run downwind (towards Wanaka town) a little to escape the hill. Once I had turned back up into wind I realized I had no penetration. - I am in the top end of the weight range of my glider, but I'm light and the wing is an XS, so I don't seem to get much penetration into wind, or speed. - I started to look for landing options, as the closer to town you get from Mt Roy, the less options there are. I realized I wasn't going to make it to the optimal fields near the car, or across the street from the car, and I wasn't going to have the height to make it to town. So I looked around for fields that didn't have any live stock or power lines. I choose the largest field that did not have any animals, but there were horses and people nearby. My other options was a smaller field with power lines or a green space on what looked liked someone's person yard. When I landed I basically came straight down and had to put on speed bar to actually clear the fence. I barely moved a meter forward for the entire landing. My phone said I had a max of 62 km/h ground speed. So wind was stronger than expected. I choose what I thought was the safest landing spot - where I wouldn't injure myself or anyone or anything else. I landed safely, away from all people and animals, but it did turn out there were horses in the same paddock as me. They were around the corner, blocked by a dirt berm and trees, and completely out of sight. Unfortunately, I did not understand the skittish nature of horses. I apparently scared a few horses as I flew over an arena (I was still quite high), and I definitely managed to scare quite a few of the horse owners. I also landed in a field across and down the driveway from other horses and a couple of people. I did not notice any sudden movements from horses or people, but after talking and apologizing profusely to the people there I can understand how things could have ended up quite differently if I had really spooked a horse. A women there who owned a horse took my details, and described to me how the glider's movements (even while walking past to exit) could scare the horses. So I took quite a bit of care to pick up the glider carefully to walk off of the premises. As we walked past people she asked if everyone was OK, and everyone said yes. I told her it was an emergency landing, and that I would never have normally chosen to land in their vicinity. I did not have a good grasp on our PG insurance though, and did not mention anything about it. It probably would have helped, as one of her main concerns was spooking a horse and what that could have equalled in regards to an expensive vet bill. I did make sure to keep apologizing. I felt really badly for putting them out, scaring and worrying them, and for potentially giving the paragliding community a bad reputation. Looking back over the incident, what I should have done was push away from Mt Roy by ferrying across the wind (towards the larger, more ideal fields for landing over the road) and not run with the wind. This would have gotten me away from mixing, fast moving air near Mt Roy, and hopefully to a calmer open area. There was also some raining forming upwind though, so downwind made the most sense quickly tp get into calmer air. However, a lot of my landing options closed out really quickly and the wind picked up because I was completely pinned when trying to fly upwind. | 50 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | take off: waterfall creek take off mt roy / landing: waterfall equestrian centre | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | West | Variable, Moderate gusts, Thermals | Some rain forming in over mt alta, and some good size cumulous clouds as well. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
44 | 24/10/2020 | 15:00:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | The pilot sat down too early. The harness touched the ground and the wing overshot prior to launching | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | A graze on his right shin that required a couple of stitches | 1 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Not carried | taylors mistake | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Variable | The | Lights of 5km The previous day the wind were 15km plus. He and other students was told not to sit and keep running as it was alot lighter than the previous day. and the area he was launching from has less of a slope. He was expecting to clear the ground as easy as the day before. Previous launches were very good | Paraglider | Student |
45 | 24/10/2020 | 14:00:00 | Hawkes bay | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | PG reserve parachute snag and self deployment | 30 | None | Open face | Basic | Deployed accidentally | Te Mata peak | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
46 | 24/10/2020 | 16:00:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | The wind in the bomb-out area was stronger than I had anticipated and more than 45 degrees different from the wind direction in the air - in retrospect this was caused by topographical features. I set up an approach to land close to another pilot (already on the ground) but was unable to penetrate sufficiently and landed well in the leeside of a moderately steep ridge. I experienced a minor deflation and significant sink but landed safely. | 20 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Barnicoat | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Steady | Ideal wind direction for the site is north or slightly to the west, actual wind direction was somewhat to the east of ideal on takeoff, significantly east of ideal at landing | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
47 | 24/10/2020 | 08:40:00 | Auckland | Accident with damage to glider ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Take off run | On take off Glider slewed to one side, take off aborted, glider collapsed onto motor , prop damaged | 60 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Certified for flight | Powered, Wheeled | Carried but not deployed | Ag strip | Not known | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Variable | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | |||||
48 | 24/10/2020 | 09:09:00 | Auckland | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | wing oscillated and drew trike onto it's side | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | ambulance took me to middlemore for treatment to left fore arm | 8.1 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Full face, Certified for flight | Basic, Powered, Wheeled | Carried but not deployed | privare farm with owners permission 155 Mckenzie rd. Waiau Pa | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | clear sky perfect | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | |
49 | 17/10/2020 | 11:30:00 | Southern | 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). | Launch on Tow | The Pilot got himself set up I assisted attaching the tow bridal, the pilot instructed the Winch operator he was ready and the tow launch commenced. the pilot had not done up his leg straps nor done an adequate pre flight check. I believe his leg straps had been missed due to the use of a front mount rescue and a change in his usual procedure of steeping in and out of the leg straps without undoing them. He launched and got approx 50-80 ft off the ground hanging from his arms in the harness, he never called stop on the launch once I spotted something wasn't right I called for the tow to be stopped. The winch operator dropped tension, the pilot could have landed safely with the line attached but chose to detach from the tow and then proceeded to a safe landing. | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Cromwell Airstrip (Lowburn) | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South | Variable | I will request the pilot files his own report. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
50 | 17/10/2020 | 18:30:00 | Wellington | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Take off run, flight, and landing | Flight without legs in leg straps from approx 100ft grass hill. I was helping others on a training hill for the afternoon, including helping them with glider recovery, takeoffs, hang checks and leg strap checks. I then decided to have some spot landing practice. I used the clubs training glider and harness, not my normal glider and harness. 1st two flights went well. On 3rd (final) flight I changed into a different harness to give original one to a trainee. Climbed through the top of it and did not put legs into leg loops. At take off point, checked carabiner and lay prone for a hang check. I did a fast strong run into a slight breeze. Once airborne I knew immediately that my legs were not supported. I was not slipping and felt supported around my underarms. I was not scared but was aware of the situation I was in, and knew that I had to stay calm, handle the glider well in flight and in turns, and then to land properly. I kept a firm grip on the uprights, kept my forearms at 90 degrees to my body and elbows in at my sides. This did mean i was flying faster than trim, but that was better than flying too slow. I could not really push out or alter my pitch during flight. On final into wind I was flying fast, good landing, running it in though as I couldn't flare. Embarrassed, shouldn't have happened but lesson learned, I hope others can learn from my mistake. David Maule | 2 | None | Open face | Stirrup | Not carried | Western lake rd , Wairarapa approx 4km to coast | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm | N/A | Hang glider | PG1 or Nov | ||||
51 | 17/10/2020 | 13:00:00 | Southern | 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). | Launch | I was not accustomed to leaving my harness connected to the wing and not accustomed to using a front mount reserve. When I slipped into the harness I thought I had feed my feet though the leg straps but in fact was only feeding them behind the reserve. When it came to the preflight checks I looked down but vision of the leg straps was blocked by the reserve, instead of pulling on the leg straps to check them I just thought through the feeding in process and assumed they were connected. When the launch procedure commenced I was air bourne before I realised something was wrong. Calling STOP STOP STOP immediatley would have reduced my exposure to falling at height. Connecting the chest strap was what saved me from falling through the bottom of the harness. | 6 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Cromwell air strip | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
52 | 17/09/2020 | 10:28:00 | Waikato | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Landing | Suspected wind shear encounter resulting in sudden stall on Final approach through the wind gradient during a Top-landing at Raglan, Wainui reserve. Conditions were lower level Westerly 15kts Upper level WSW 20kts. During 30 min flight before the landing accident conditions had eased off from 15 kts to 10 kts and become buoyant. I decided to land due to a cloud-band / front approaching from upwind / seaward. Landing Approach was classic aircraft left hand D,B,F pattern . Left wing stalled 20ft above ground. Glider stalled, banked left and pitched nose down towards ground. I pulled it out of dive and roll at ground level but glider had gained energy from the dive & glider abruptly climbed with left wing still stalled, I could not regain control as I had rotated to an upright body position when I encountered the stall. I climbed without control into a slightly inverted ground loop. I let go of the control bar as I realised ground impact was unavoidable & got swung outside of right side of control frame. I impacted the ground facing backwards & on my left side, sideways crumpling through the flying left sidewire rearwire and left upright. | 5 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Wainui Reserve, Raglan | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | West | Steady | I had rebuilt this glider , using an old airframe. I replaced the sail with a reasonable condition 2nd hand sail. I was on my 5th test flight. For this reason the glider was not WoF'd. | pre-frontal westerlies , wind shear | Hang glider | Motor (PPG or PHG) | |||
53 | 12/09/2020 | 13:00:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Soaring - caught in downdraft and drift | Conditions were getting lighter on Taylor and it was getting hard to stay in the air. Most pilots were scratching the Quary and Taylor. There was a mixture of punchi thermals and sink. Lil was soaring 15-20 m infront of telephone cable on upwind side when she was caught in sudden sink (downdraft) while watching the wing she drifted towards to telephone cable. The air was probably drawn from other thermal. She avoided the power lines but she didn’t turn quickly enough and she hit the pole with her Boddy and harness and fell down from approximate 3 m. The glider stayed over the telephone cable. Some pilots noticed a thermal was realised after that and it was harder to landed closer to her within next few minutes. So it could be combination of thermal turbulence and downdraft. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs, Lower spine | Fracture of left heel | 18 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Full face | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Taylor’s mistake | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Variable, Thermals, Conditions were getting weak | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
54 | 07/09/2020 | 15:00:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | My flight was very sinky so I could not make my original planned landing. I decided to land in a Carpark where we had placed windsocks, windsocks were showing zero wind so I chose to land in the direction I was flying, on my landing approach I realised I was landing downwind. I overshot the Carpark and caught my wing tip in a tree. My wing stopped flying and my body was swung up, then pulled back by my wing and I landed on a quiet end of the line road flat in my back. My back protection worked well, the only pain I felt was in my wrist which had hit the ground. My wing fell from the tree. The next day I had whiplash in my neck. I didn’t realise this at the time as I didn’t hit my head and the pain was delayed. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Head | Neck injury not head | 18 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Clyde | Not rated | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South east | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
55 | 23/08/2020 | 13:00:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Turning back into wind too land, to much right break and spun glider | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | Right Shoulder | 70 | None | Open face | Basic, Stirrup, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Christchurch | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South east | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||
56 | 22/08/2020 | 03:30:00 | Wellington | 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). | Gliding | Graham had been progressing well, 5th day in, good site being grassy smooth slope, 30-40 degrees, moderate breeze straight in. launched well, proceeded to make a pass across slope (for the first time)and then reversed twice before on third turn out, continued on a very small bank angle till he was facing back against hill. Happened too quickly for me to make a call on radio. Graham failed to correct the turn, found himself in an unrecoverable situation before he had time to react and correct the turn by turning back away from the hill. He reacted well to the rising ground by pushing right out and flaring/stalling glider. Wheels and DT's took most of the rolling impact, Graham ended up on his stomach, a little surprised but unhurt. | 0 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Stirrup | Not carried | Bull Hill Tuhiturata area, 16 km south of Martinborough | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady | while I answered the question regarding Grahams airtime as zero, that is not entirely correct. His airtime would be measured in minutes but not zero and not 1 hour. | Hang glider | Student | ||||
57 | 21/08/2020 | 13:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | On landing I was worried about overshooting, I had half break on and believe I let off the brakes causing my wing to surge forward. I had a very hard landing, I rolled my ankle and landed on my knees with the wing overshooting me. | 18 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Clyde | Not rated | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
58 | 21/08/2020 | 13:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | On landing I was worried about overshooting, I had half break on and believe I let off the brakes causing my wing to surge forward. I had a very hard landing, I rolled my ankle and landed on my knees with the wing overshooting me. | 18 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Clyde | Not rated | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
59 | 08/08/2020 | 16:00:00 | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | Unable to arrest turn on final causing right wing to contact dunes leading to bent down tube. As there was a northerly wind component and relatively high tide the turn to final required a turn of approximately 120 deg as the approach was made from the north. Serval ways to avoid this issue would have been to make the approach from the south, make an earlier turn at a slightly higher altitude, or cross the dunes at 90 deg preventing the outboard faster wing entering lift first, although the later was difficult due to tide levels and a cross wind landing would have surficed. | 25 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Karioitahi | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady | Landing was initiated to avoid an approaching shower. | Hang glider | Novice | ||||
60 | 26/06/2020 | 12:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | Not flying my usual wing. Stable heli, stalled out and released to exit heli, but wing shot out of the stall strongly in the opposite direction (from the heli). Wing surged far forward asymmetrically and 75% collapsed, ending with maybe 50% of the wing in a cravat. Wing then started spiraling (possibly in auto rotation) and diving to the ground. I slowed the rotation as much as I could, vertical and rotation speeds were slow enough and I felt too low for reserve throw or restalling to clear the cravat, so I kept the rotation under control and prepared for ground impact. Landed on my feet and rolled sideways. No bruises or injury. | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Cardrona | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Calm | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||||||
61 | 28/05/2020 | 15:15:00 | Southern | 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 | The pilot had made 2 previous landings (Right hand Westerly) in the Rec ground without incident. On the 3rd landing, the wind had shifted from a Westerly to an Easterly wind, the instructor positioned the student at the Eastern end of the Rec Ground for a Left-hand westerly landing. The pilot was on the downwind approach over Robins St. They started a left turn just past the fence line at the western end of the recreation ground, as the started to come round they tried to turn the glider before the goalposts. Realizing they did not have enough room to clear the goalposts, they opted to go to the southern side of the posts. As they had more distance to cover they were getting lower, not wanting to be close to the goalposts, they opted to go wide. As they came around slowed up in to wind and started to sink as well. The bottom of the harness clipped a pile of fill, and then touched on to the top of the fence. RECOMMENDATION This entire incident could have been avoided if the use of Warren Park had been opted for, The Recreation Ground is not the place for training pilots for use of the Gondola. Use Warren Park for the training of Gondola flights. | 4 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Recreation ground, Queenstown | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | The pilot was under instruction of a Paragliding Instructor. The responsibility lays solely on the Instructor. The Recreation ground is not a place to have students learning to fly the Gondola. USE Warren Park for all landings involving training of students or new pilots to the Gondola. | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | ||||
62 | 17/05/2020 | 03:00:00 | Canterbury | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | applied to much brake and spun the glider | 5 | None | Certified for flight | Powered | Carried but not deployed | lake Brunner west coast no wind beautiful sunny day | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm | there was no west coast choice on the location are we that far off the map, | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | ||||
63 | 23/03/2020 | 14:00:00 | 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 | Head wind become be stronger during flight, I landed shortly but safe. | 170 | None | Certified for flight | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Crown Terrace | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North west | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||
64 | 21/02/2020 | 16:30:00 | Waikato | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Gliding | She was at low altitude, and after the front collapse she had hard landing on her right side. Her hips have broken. There was helicopter rescue in 30 minutes. | 30 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Raglan near take off palce | Not known | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady | - | Paraglider | Para Pro 4 | ||||
65 | 19/02/2020 | 11:31:00 | 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). | Take off run | Date of incident: Wednesday, 19 February 2020 Time of TO: 11:31 AM The result of this incident was 3 broken damaged lines on a company Niviuk Takoo 4 41 SN: NOT DISCLOSED CAA reg # NOT DISCLOSED: Listed below are the upper cascade lines that broke. 3BR1 - 3871mm - 120KG PPSL Line - Red 2BR1 - 1228mm - 120KG PPSL Line - Red 2BR2 - 1006mm - 120KG PPSL Line - Red Root cause; Either P-I-C failed to notice line issue or noticed something but went ahead with the launch anyway. Video has been reviewed. Shows SOP reverse launch off westside TO Pub Corner, Treble Cone. A minor canopy distortion on inflation is visible on the video. OM shouts a warning about the line issue to P-I-C during acceleration phase which is not heeded. Wind at the measured by the weather station at launch: MAX GUST 24kph AVG 8kph. It is significant that 30 minutes later at 11:59 wind strength was GUST49.5 AVG30kph so this was one of the last opportunities to launch and there was business efficiency pressure of the pilot to get into the air first time and not abort to fix the evident line issue. PAX weight was 112KG so total flying weight was 206KG which is at the top but well inside the 120-220KG placard for the wing. SM note: It is often the safest option to carry on through with a takeoff on a glider with line issues, especially at late stages or in stronger winds and this is what the pilot chose to do. Aborting a tandem launch with a heavy passenger during the later stage in strong winds creates another whole set of risk factors. Pilot believed that he could fix the lines in-flight. The flight and landing were standard. Landing Video has been reviewed and shows a standard approach with a well-executed round out and flare and soft safe landing. Lines were replaced overnight by the OM and glider was operating the next day. Summary Root cause. The decision not to abort a launch of a glider with a line problem. Pilot-in-Command Report Summarised: “Obviously line check but looks like inner brake tangled with D on line tension pull up . I purposefully tried to unlock lines by Ds first and due to being last flight of the day and strong wind approaching, I tried to unlock with breakers but friction managed to snap 1 of the 3 120kg uppers, the other two lost their sheeting and broke off later in flight too” | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Pub Corner, Treble Cone | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Moderate gusts | Wind at the measured by the weather station at launch: MAX GUST 24kph AVG 8kph. It is significant that 30 minutes later at 11:59 wind strength was GUST49.5 AVG30kph | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||
66 | 15/02/2020 | 02:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Gliding | Flying close to the hill, hit a tree and landed on my air bag, at the bottom of the trees. No injury. | 150 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Damaged | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Gondola | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | The wind was perfect on launch. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
67 | 12/02/2020 | 06:30:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Pilot landed hard and fast due to miss judgement of hight and speed of final approach due to flying with trimmer fully open (not common practise for this pilot) and making a 270 degree turn before final approach. This resulted in not enough hight for a final glide and a steeper angle than wanted Coming into land | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | Fractured Coxis | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | 45. 2’ 9.8” S 168. 46, 8.2” E (accident site) | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Steady | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | |||
68 | 09/02/2020 | 13:30:00 | Wellington | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Gliding | Frontal collapse | 1 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Paekakareki | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Calm, Thermals | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
69 | 06/02/2020 | 19:00:00 | Canterbury | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation, Cross country | Landing | Landing on unknown spot for bivouac for the night. I did a few fly-bys to determine wind direction but did not pay sufficient attention to examine the terrain. Decided for landing and spotted a large rock hidden in the high grass too late. Caused a twisted ankle. No other injury, able to walk, not medical treatment. Was a good flight in the end. Lesson learned> if the grass is high, rocks may not be visible form the side while flying over at higher speeds. | 40 | None | Certified for flight | Powered | Carried but not deployed | near Rangitata river | Not known | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | variable katabatic | Calm | all good | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | ||||
70 | 04/02/2020 | 14:20:00 | Hawkes bay | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | On the main launch at Te Mata peak (the trig) the pilot raised his wing above his head and lost his footing as he turned catching his reserve handle on the ground as he flew out form the hill, about 20 meters out his reserve deployed causing him to land on the front of the hill. he was able to self extract him self back to the top of hill with a slightly sore foot. emergency servicers had been called by a member of the public but where not needed . | Open face | Basic | Deployed accidentally | TE Mata Peak | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||||
71 | 02/02/2020 | 13:00:00 | Northland | 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). | Soaring | Student was soaring and completing manoeuvres namely big ears and soaring with the view of approaching back to launch. Student had been soaring for over 15 mins and completed big ears and soaring back up to regain height. On his last approach he was close to the terrain and did not follow the instruction to turn land froze. In Turning into wind His right foot caught some bushes and he landed heavily on that foot. He aggravated a previous injury and caused a severe soft tissue sprain . Due to the access he was able to be assisted to be extracted by air to the hospital for a check | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Soft tissue sprain placed in a moonboot discharged same day | 5 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Glinks Gully | Nov or PG1 | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West | Steady | Was a light soaring day and good conditions | Paraglider | Student | |
72 | 27/01/2020 | 17:00:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | Wing Stall on Launch, Wing tip touched bush, Flared into scrub. | 150 | None | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Takaka Hill | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Variable, Thermals | Sea breeze from over the back | Hang glider | Instructor | ||||
73 | 25/01/2020 | 16:00:00 | Auckland | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Coming in for top landing at Karioitahi. Normally I would take one or two passes to assess approach, but at first pass approach felt ok. Turned back into wind for final descent. I may have been a bit too far back from the front of the ridge, as the lift was quite strong. Getting ready for actual landing, legs out of pod, I think I experienced a bit of rotor and had a collapse about 2m above ground. I fell backwards and sideways and landed on my side. (I'm still contemplating whether it was a stall on one side, or rotor). At first I felt ok, and was able to walk around a bit, but that suddenly changed to no movement at all. I was able to drag myself back to my gear, and called on the radio for someone to walk up. Westpac Rescue helicopter transported me to hospital, where fractured hip and wrist were diagnosed. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | Hip | 90 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Karioitahi, High Side | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Steady, Moderate gusts | At take off an hour and a half prior, it was quite strong and gusty. Some Whitecaps on waves. It became smoother at the end, maybe a bit more SSW | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
74 | 19/01/2020 | 18:00:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Landing at flight park in a strong sw and got a series of frontals the last being 70% which took me to the ground | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | Landed heavy on my acro back protector which took at lot of the force | 40 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Flight park | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | South west | Strong gusts | Sea breeze was in on coronet coming threw west on the ground with rotor | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |
75 | 19/01/2020 | 15:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | I got twisted multiple times when practising deep stall. I had to deploy my rescue parachute. I have landed on the slope with no injury. | 20 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Deployed and effective | Coronet Peak, underneath the Bush creek saddle | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Calm | The incident got nothing to do with the weather conditions. | Paraglider | |||||
76 | 19/01/2020 | 16:00:00 | Southern | Accident with damage to glider ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Gliding | I flew in Soho basin (other side of Cadrona skifield) for 45 min. It was a soaring spot over a 10 metre cliff. The conditions were good (about 20 km/h South consistent wind) I was alone in the air but my partner was watching me from the ground. After 45 min in the air, I decided to fly with my skis on. The wind dropped and I was flying lower than previously. After 5 min in the air with my skis on, I crashed into a massive rock (about 2 or 3 metres hight). The impact was directly on my feet and the speed that I had made me jump over this rock and I fell down on the other side of the rock (about 3 m). I ended up at Dunedin Hospital with 2 broken feet for about 1 month. I had one surgery on each foot. | 10 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Stirrup | Not carried | SOHO BASIN | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South | Variable, Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
77 | 14/01/2020 | 13:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Cross country | Gliding | In a thermal about 900 ft above and slightly north of Brow Peak ( Queenstown) I entered some abrupt turbulence that collapsed my left wingtip. I became unbalanced and the wing dived a bit and possibly cravated. When my weight came back onto the wing it rapidly flew around and twisted the lines. I noticed, and then it flew around again and was twice twisted and I think still cravated. "I won't be able to fix this" I thought and then there was a sudden centripetal acceleration as the wing was winding up real fast. I was pretty much upside down now but reached for my new reserve and threw it. It came out almost immediately but the wing was still fully loaded, now beneath me, and flying around me. At times it accelerated me towards the ground and at times it interfered with the reserve. I was unable to pull in any of the main wing. Close to the ground I got out of the pod in preparation for impact and noticed I wasn't descending very fast but the main wing was still a problem. The ground I impacted was tussocky with a few rocks scattered about and sloping downhill ( I was lucky) On impact ( which didn't feel that hard and perhaps on my butt) my head fell back and was banged quite hard. I was ok. Nothing broken. A bit shook up. I radioed I'd had a reserve deployment but heard no reply. There was no phone reception. I packed up the wings and walked steeply about 400m to the summit of Brow Peak where I rested and made calls on the radion and phone to let people know. It was now 2:40pm. | 14.25 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod | Deployed and effective | Cornet Peak, Queenstown | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South | Steady | Nil | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
78 | 14/01/2020 | 13:30:00 | Canterbury | Fatality | Cross country | Climbing | Witness accounts: She was flying above the scree slope facing south, when Trudi experienced a big collapse, estimated at 80%. There was a quick recovery and no change of direction. However she was still in a lateral pendulum (roll). About 15 seconds after the collapse, her wing went into a 60-70% right sided collapse and she spun out of view of the witnesses. From the air, one pilot noticed the crashed wing and the pilot on the scree slope, not moving. | Fatal | Head, Lower limbs, Abdomen | Conditions described as rough and bumpy, but flyable. South east / south west direction, approx 30-40 kph. approx 18kph at launch. | 50 | None | Open face, Certified for flight, Damaged | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Mount Cheeseman | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | South east | Turbulent | As above | Paraglider | be more accurate than those for moderate and minor accidents which are voluntary and probably not fully reported. | |
79 | 10/01/2020 | 00:30:00 | Southern | 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)., Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Approach to landing | Flight Park, Coronet Peak, Queenstown After finishing my manoeuvres I set up for a left hand approach, heading towards the East, towards the Flight Park Cafe. Tandem was heading South in front, slightly above. Tandem turned WSW, onto collision course. I thought “Do I turn left ?” But I knew that the rules state that I need to turn right, but he was at my right. I thought maybe he was higher than I thought as he didn’t change any course. We then hit, on the right at about 20 - 25 % I turned down to my right and tracked SSW toward the road & lowers carpark Chris (my instructor) called “HANDS UP” repeatedly & I shot my hands up & the wing recovered quickly. I weight shifted to the right to turn into open space to land. I then flared & landed in a dead tree. Chris was moments behind I sustained only a small puncture to the left shin, but no other physical harm. My mental state was a little shaky but mainly just worried about my instructor. My emotional state was a little shaky but really quite good. No damage to the glider or harness. As a result I stood down for the next 2 rounds flying @ then flew the last round of the day. Sarah Harvey 10 Jan 2020 | 3 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Flight Park, Queenstown | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Variable | Paraglider | Student | |||||
80 | 08/01/2020 | 16:00:00 | Canterbury | 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 | Rolled his ankle on landing - sprained ankle | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Sprained ankle | 3 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Taylors mistake | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | Ankle supporting boots would have reduced the chance of rolling and incurring an injury.. He was coming in for a top landing. He ended up being slightly too low to land on the flat plateau and landed on the side of hill at our lower take off area. It was a good landing into wind but rolled his ankle. In hind sight when it became obvious that he was too low to land on the flat area, I should have instructed him to turn away and head to the bottom | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | |
81 | 02/01/2020 | 10:50:00 | 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 | Description: On slide landing pilot caught L(?) on uneven ground and sprained/strained ankle. The pilot reported some ankle discomfort but continued to work for the rest of the day and went to Medical Centre at the end of the day for a check-up. No ongoing injury or ACC claim.Analysis: Immediate Causes (Active failures) The areas where we have replaced the turf are still very uneven and present a trip hazard. Technique Error Pilot had PAX feet up but was dangling his own. Final Analysis: Pilot Error. The decision to land in an area marked as a Hazard and used a body posture ( not feet up )that was unsuitable for the landing style chosen ( Slide Landing). Contributory Factors Situational Awareness Deficiency: Pilot ignored Safety Advisory of Safety Advisory by SM Wednesday, 3 January 17:11 PM | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Treble Cone Cattle Flat | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Weather Station Reading at time of incident MAX GUST 12.6 KPH. AVERAGE 6.5KPH, Within Limits NOT A FACTOR . | Weather Station Reading at time of incident MAX GUST 12.6 KPH. AVERAGE 6.5KPH, Within Limits NOT A FACTOR . | Variable | Weather Station Reading at time of incident MAX GUST 12.6 KPH. AVERAGE 6.5KPH, Within Limits NOT A FACTOR . | Paraglider | Tandem | |||
82 | 28/12/2019 | 05:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | The pilot was advised by a local pilot on takeoff about the conditions, apparently that they were fine and that he should fly. It's important to note that pilots should be cautious of the advise they give to other pilots whom they are not aware of the skill or experience of that pilot. An afternoon southerly was in and was potentially strengthening, I don't know the ability/experience of the pilot but all reports were that he got blown back behind the forestry at flight park and left pilots on the ground were very concerned for his safety due to the position he put himself in. He luckily managed to fly out around the end of the ridge and landed near arrowtown at the cricket pitch beside millbrook. The reportable part of this is that he broke airspace and landed within the CTR, however this is a good outcome since he landed safely. | None | coronet peak | Nov or PG1 | Pilots first flight at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South | Moderate gusts, Strong gusts | southerly, valley wind. | Paraglider | |||||||||
83 | 26/12/2019 | 13:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Gliding | I was enjoying a close proximity flight above the pine forest near the landing zone at Coronet peak. Misjudgment of one of the light right turns towards the ridge caused loss of valuable few meters and this resulted into diving between the trees left from me while trying to escape the situation. Unfortunately I was already too low and the impact with the trees was unavoidable. Just before the impact I weight-shifted my entire body to right, so the lines and the glider can better hook to a tree in attempt to get out of this situation as safe as possible. Luckily this worked and I was hanging in between 2 trees. The entire right half of the glider was hooked to the closer to me tree that was my actual catch and the other end was hooked to the other tree about 3m from me, however the situation was not perfect, because I was not sure how secure the lines are around both trees. I decided that is not safe to stay in the harness and pulled myself as much as possible to the closer tree, which was also the bigger one and managed to get out of the harness while hanging on 4 thick branches. Then I managed to pull out the glider from the second tree quite easily, so this made my decision to get out of the harness the right one. The glider ear got attached to another small tree top near by, but at least this action made the glider more manageable to be taken down later. Took out my power bank and charging cable from the back of the harness to make sure I have enough battery on my phone, so I can keep up the live location on and to be able to communicate with the rescue. Decided that I had enough of moving and sat on those 4 branches to better analyze the situation. The branches below me were so many that I could not see how high I am, some sun came out 10 min later and I was able to see that I am at least 15-20m above the ground, 2/3 of all branches on my tree were dry and not very thick. I realized that it's not a good idea to climb down on my own and it is better to wait for the rescue. I was in communication with the ground almost the whole time and not injured at all. Spent about an 1 hour on the tree until I was finally found. The fire department also arrived at the bottom of the tree approximately at the same time like the guy who found me. This very same guy decided to climb almost the half of the tree, which inhaled some hope that I can try to climb down. Then a mutual decision was made that I can try to climb down on my own. Having some climbing skills and no fear of heights definitely helped to get myself down and call it a day - in fact my birthday! However, I am not sure the fire department would have been able to help in this situation and my personal opinion is that the rescue had to be done from the arborist team that was called on the site by the police and who were able to get my glider down the next day without a problem. I managed to get down safe with the hope that the branches will hold (and they did) and the fact I am not alone anymore, but I am 100% positive this was not the right safe rescue decision. Based on the scale of the rescue operation and the absurd media presence on site I believe similar situations need to be managed differently. Of course I am very thankful to everyone involved helping me and I appreciate every effort and I am surely happy to be alive! Happy holidays and happy flying! | 300 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Coronet Peak, GPS: -44.9357,168.7811 | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South east | Calm | none | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
84 | 22/12/2019 | 11:40:00 | Hawkes bay | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Cross country, Tandem ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of any other people involved). | Launch | When pulling up the wing it didn't come up straight.Passenger then sat down on the ground. I corrected with right brake to stop wing veering left, but as we went to run to take off, the wing turned slightly to the right, left wingtip collapsed and reinflated, and we were dragged along the ground to the right before getting airborne. The wing was kept as straight as possible with the left brake to launch straight off the hill. Pilot and Passenger unharmed, and normal flight resumed for a 35km cross country. Footage is available on the hawkes bay today site | 20 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Te Mata Peak Trig Take Off | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady, Thermals | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||
85 | 09/12/2019 | 14:30:00 | Auckland | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Gliding | Paragliding Incident Monday, 9th of December Whilst testing out a new harness at the Maioro Launch of Karioitahi I had an incident which caused a crash landing into the flax 20ft below the top of the hill. Conditions were of moderate wind strength but cross and varying in direction. Approximately 35 to 40 kmh from 185° to 205°. After flying for about 40min on my Ozone Zero 15 and the Ozone Atak 2 harness I was testing, I was feeling overconfident as my flying was feeling very good. The Zero was new to me, having purchased it only three weeks prior and had logged 7 hours on the new wing. Despite my newness, I was flying too aggressively for my experience level as well as the conditions. The wind was quite cross causing the airflow to be slightly less than laminar below the ridge and lift was greatly reduced and found only very close to the ridge. Oddly, at Maioro the wind direction was variable in approximately 5-10 minute intervals from 185° to 205°. During the 40-minute demo flight, I made several top landings. After one such landing, I launched and turned downwind just after crossing the edge of the ridge. I failed to consider how much this new wing leans in, toward the hill, with such weight-shift and even small inputs. As I turned downwind, coupled with less lift than I anticipated, my altitude dropped by about 10 feet during the turn and my right-side lines brushed against a tall flax bush (starting to flower) at the top of the hill. As soon as I sensed the drag and knew fighting it was futile as I was being turned toward the hill. I immediately prepared for plf. However, as the wing tip then caught, I was spun and fell backwards through the flax and impacted the ground with my very upper back, neck, and head. I remembered the whole incident and though it happened very fast, I believe that I maintained consciousness throughout. I observed my position, checked myself out, and reported via radio to those at the site that I was okay. I uncoupled the risers and speed system and a helpful a fellow pilot balled up my wing and carry it to the top without much trouble. I intend to do a very thorough check of my equipment before I fly again. I did not fly after the incident and got a ride home just in the case there may have been a chance that I could possibly have a slow onset mild concussion. Contributing factors to the incident: 1. Premature confidence after an initial familiarity with new wing (lending to flying manoeuvres outside of my normal behaviour) 2. New harness 3 .Not keeping enough margin of safety (especially considering the variable, inconsistent conditions) I feel very fortunate to be okay and have a stong sense of newfound respect for the sport, the weather, the equipment, my limitations, margin for error, and how hard the ground can be even though the flax is rather soft. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Head | At the time of the incident I showed no signs or symptoms of head injury. No loss of consciousness, no pupil dilation, no memory loss, and no confusion. However, the next day I did feel a bit "off" and my cognitive performance seemed to be less than normal. After much consideration I decided to visit the Urgent Care in Pukekohe. The doctor suspected that I had sustained a mild concussion and may have sprained my neck. There was no treatment and I was sent home being told I could take ibuprofen or paracetamol as needed and that I should avoid getting another concussion while I recovered. | 7 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face, Certified for flight, Damaged | Basic | Not carried | Karioitahi, Maioro launch | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | South | Variable, Moderate gusts | Please accept my apologies for not sending this through earlier, I thought I had submitted the report two days ago and only just noticed this evening that it had not sent. | Myself and other pilots observed intervals of changing direction, and therefore resulting lift, from aproximately 185 to 205 degrees. Speed was mostly consistent between 30-40kmh. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int |
86 | 03/12/2019 | 16:00:00 | Hawkes bay | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | Risers twisted and locked during launch, induced turn, downwind landing on ridge | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
87 | 30/11/2019 | 14:30:00 | Auckland | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Launch | Launching with motor harness from inland field at Te Arai. Flying out to The Araia beach, up and down coast. Forcast was for unstable day (tall Cus forming about 10km inland) wind around 10 knts NE, 6 knts verified on ground. Dunes approx 30ft high about 600 meters in front of launch point and a very unstable forecast so expected some turbulance at low level. Chose to fly with single surface wing for better handling. Initial flight went well. Strong lift and sink pockets down low but climbed sufficiently well clear of dunes and got into clean smooth air towards beach. Flew coast, returned, experienced significant thermal activity again on landing but all within control and made a good landing. Had lunch, refueled, relaunched about 1430. Was conscious it would be peak thermal activity and wind had increased to 10 knts on ground do expected stronger turbulance. Launched, hit stronger lift and sink pockets. Was not happy with my average climb rate conscious of dunes to my front so elected early to abort and land in the field immediately in front of me. Powered off and pulled in at approx 30 feet to glide into paddock. Glider started turning left. Corrected but it didn't respond, lost all penetration and suddenly dropped towards fence glider still turning left. Flared hard on imminent impact. Left leg impacted strainer post (good bruising) glider tipped over fence with me following. Landed on face (more bruising) bent DT that my body landed on, broke propellor tips as they hit the fence, and put a slight bend on one leg of the power harness when it landed on the ground. Other pilot was in air, came back, landed then came to help me but I was ok, just a bit sore. 3 lessons: 1. Don't motor launch in turbulant air. They are a minimum power machine. I have experienced similar conditions when flying at Kaikohe airfield and opted not to refly after experiencing it. 2. Beware social proof. Other pilot was happy with location and conditions, I was not but elected to fly anyway. 3. the co-ordination between powering off and pulling in - I think I pulled in after I powered off. At power off, C of G would have moved back putting me close to stall. Pulling in then dropped altitude and turbulant air has tip stalled left wing. | Minor ( first aid only or no treatment | Lower limbs | Just good bruising. | 80 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face | Powered | Carried but not deployed | 36.155905,174.622884 | Not rated | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady, Moderate gusts | Very unstable forecast. Tall Cus out back | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | |
88 | 30/11/2019 | 14:30:00 | Marlborough | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Gliding | While flying slightly downwind at clifftop height, a gust caught the wing and pushed it over behind the cliff edge and dumped me on a barbed wire fence. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Cuts and abrasions to both legs requiring several stitches. | 17 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Yealands | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Steady, Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
89 | 29/11/2019 | 15:00:00 | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | Flying site: Kennedy Park. Wind conditions: Moderate to strong. Outgoing tide - half low Arrived at site and monitored conditions for 30mins. Tiri reading 13ave.and 16gust. from N, Bean Rock reading 11 and 14 but both appearing to trend down. Wind lines apparent on harbour from Tiri. Slight whitecap on outgoing tide. Sea birds flying slow upwind, moderately fast downwind, slightly folded winds. Grass had recently been cut with some 30cm kakuia strands drying on launch. Decision made to set up over the fence, pilot standing at the lowest point of the launch, the glider 5m in front of the gate. No problem with setup but shortly after taking launch position wind speed increased and controlling glider on ground required firm input through controls. Waited for gust to ease before positive launch. Glider launched well and symmetrically but starboard side control lines snagged a strand of grass at a cascade and locked in giving a starboard bias to flight. Take off was instant, giving no time to abort launch or easily shake out the interfering strand of grass. Flew forward and up over the trees to the right of launch and, encountering the full force of the airflow, was pushed along and over the tree line. Knowing this site well, I was instantly aware that this was a lethal situation. I estimate it took 4 seconds to get blown to the southern end of the park where there is larger grassed area before the downhill houses, road, power lines, gully, etc. Height to ground was 40-50 feet and knowing what lay beyond that point, I made the decision to stall the glider momentarily, releasing at about 10 feet above ground - basically a last chance before it all went REALLY bad. The associated pull and surge of the stall miraculously allowed landing on both feet and parachute landing roll below and behind the trees in rotor. | 70 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Kennedy Park | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||
90 | 26/11/2019 | 18:00:00 | 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). | Landing | There was a table that was set up on the landing area, including 2 cars, for a photo shoot for a new product.line. It was approximately in the middle of the field. I had picked up 3 other students from the bottom and we noticed they were setting up. My thoughts were that the students could easily land prior to it or fly to the left of it. There was still at least 100 meters of landing area prior to it. This is a public car park area used for the general public as a overflow when there's high numbers of people at the beach. The first 3 students landed with any probs. Edward had flown previously in stronger winds with reduced glides. Today was light. He glided a bit further than he thought he was going to do and basically landed where the table was set up,. He broke 2 legs of the table where the legs are bolted onto the table. | 2 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Not carried | taylors mistake | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm, Strong gusts | In hind site I should have told he people who were setting up to move their table further to the side. But I believed at the the time I would not create any probs for the students with their current skill levels Edward had not flown for a couple of weeks and this may have also been a factor. Did they have permission from the council to do a commercial photo shoot? | light and lifty | Paraglider | Student | |||
91 | 23/11/2019 | 11:25:00 | Waikato | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Climbing | I drifted too close to a helicopter (which was refuelling) as I climbed out. It was not my intension to vear in the direction of the helicopter, but the winds were light and thermic. A thermal must have pushed me in the direction of the helicopter. | 380 | None | Full face, Certified for flight | Powered | Carried but not deployed | Thames Airfield | Not known | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Thermals | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | |||||
92 | 21/11/2019 | 17:30:00 | Hawkes bay | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Pre-launch | Launching from "The Gut" Te Mata Peak. The Gut is a lower, but extremely steep launch. The wing had been laid out and I was preparing to launch. The wind had dropped and I tried to semi inflate the wing to check lines etc. At this point I toppled over backwards hitting my head on the ground as I tumbled back like a Jaffa on Baldwin Street. After a couple of backwards somersaults my downward descent was halted by my paraglider. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Head, Upper spine | Injury is superficial just soft tissue damage. | 50 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Te Mata Peak "The Gut" | Not rated | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
93 | 03/11/2019 | 15:00:00 | Hawkes bay | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | Coming in for straightforward landing at beach with minimal wind---distracted by a car load of girls shouting "get it boy!!" at pilot, just long enough to get too close to lifeguard tower. Left tip of wing brushed against side wall of tower with no incident or effect on flight path/landing. | 50 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Ocean Beach | Not known | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm, Steady | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
94 | 03/11/2019 | 16:30:00 | Waikato | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | Coastal flight..Wind at time on launch was SSW 8/9knts . After launching wind went around to the south .which ment no lift on the hill..tried to get back to bomb out area..didn't make it got caught between the hill and power lines..options were landing on the road ,landing on coastal rocks,, flying into power lines or choosing the flattest roof around. I choose the roof.. soft touch down no cuts scratches or bruises.. no damage to wing.climbed down off the roof packed up and went and had a beer | 25 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Thames coast | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
95 | 01/11/2019 | 00:00:00 | 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). | Pre-launch | 2nd (and last) tandem to launch in a group. I spotted them, immediately prior to launch, with their reserve handle dangling, pins completely about, and just about to inflate their wing. I shouted to stop and alerted them of the issue. They were completely unaware. Deployment would have been highly likely if they had launched. Very lucky! | Carried, risk of accidental deployment, but avoided. | Coronet Peak, Rocky Gully | Nov or PG1 | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Thermals | Paraglider | Tandem | ||||||||||
96 | 01/11/2019 | 13:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | Low acro over the forestry block at flight park with no height check. exited final helicopter. then flew into the pine trees and fell through the canopy | 40 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Coronet peak/ flight park | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South east | Calm | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||
97 | 19/10/2019 | 13:00:00 | Tasman | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | just prior to take off run | Standing on take off, I asked the nose man to release and stand clear. I was able to stand holding the glider with ease to assess conditions. The wind was steady, moderate but not strong,(12- 15knots) and blowing straight up. I said I was launching, so the noseman took a further step back and to my left, just as he began to move a sudden strong unexpected gust of wind from the right came and lifted the right wing. I yelled for assistance and the noseman grabbed the right sidewire, but was unable to stop the rotation. Both me and the noseman rotated to the left contacting the ground hard. | 70 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Full face, Certified for flight, Damaged | Pod | Carried but not deployed | takaka hill | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South west | Steady | unexpected gust from the right causing rotation. | Hang glider | PG2 or Int | ||||
98 | 16/10/2019 | 11:30:00 | Southern | 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). | Landing | Second flight of the day. Farmer working with tractor in the landing field. There was a significant amount of space available, but student became fixated on the tractor from a long way off. There was little reaction to radio instruction to turn. The tractor saw the paraglider and stopped and the pilot collided with the trailer. Had the tractor continued, the pilot would have landed behind the tractor. Pilot sustained cut to leg, but was otherwise ok. | 1 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Wanaka | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Variable, Thermals | Paraglider | Student | ||||||
99 | 06/10/2019 | 15:45:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Climbing | Had been flying for 50 minutes in light scratchy conditions with less thn 10kph W-NW w/v. Suffered a frontal which put me onto the ground (as reported by witness). Loss of consciousnesss, broken right ankle, facial lacerations, medical helicopter evacuation to Dunedin hospital. Moderate damage to glider cells and lines | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Head, Lower limbs | Fracture of right ankle, concussion + facial lacerations | 3 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face, Certified for flight, Damaged | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Pakituhi (Lake Hawea) | Not rated | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Thermals, Reported inversion at approx 2900ft | Fight data & Tracklog: https://www.xcontest.org/newzealand/flights/detail:bryanmoore/6.10.2019/01:56 | Stable airmass - 2 x other pilots launched at the same time and went down due inability to climb through inversion. Typical mild day. | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv |
100 | 22/09/2019 | 11:00:00 | Canterbury | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | 15 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Taylors | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Coming into top land with some brake about 3m above takeoff, applied to much brake stalling the wing and sending me in a clockwise spin onto the landing/take off area onto my harness airbag. Talking with other experienced pilots that notice my wing was pretty damp, which i did not put to much thought into while soaring. so lighter easterly wind and a damp wing is how i found the stall point the hard way. | Damp Air | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
101 | 01/09/2019 | 13:00:00 | Canterbury | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Take off run | wing did not lift enough | 100 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | CRAIGIEBURN RANGE | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Calm | Occasional anabatic | Hang glider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
102 | 11/07/2019 | 16:00:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Coming in to land after a long straight glide turned into the anticipated wind direction, but there was no wind and didn’t lose enough speed to land considering all below me at that low height were large tussocks. Should have realised earlier the landing would have been in tussocks and slowed speed better. Right foot clipped a tussock head rotating foot backwards rupturing ankle and breaking fibula. Called friends who were present and the came immediately. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | Textbook Maisonneuve fracture - rupture of ankle ligaments and displacement of foot and fractured fibula. | 60 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Little Mt Ida 5017627N 1368598E | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Wind at landing was zero | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
103 | 07/07/2019 | 11:00:00 | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Flying the gondola site in Christchurch. Coming into land at Heathcote Park. Made a sharp turn too close to the ground, caught a tree with wing, wing deflated, causing a fall straight onto nearby shed. Hit shed and bounced to ground. Police were alerted, came to the site and spoke to bystanders. I was taken to hospital by ambulance. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Head, Upper limbs, Lower limbs, Lower spine, Chest | 4 | None | Full face | Basic | Not carried | Gondola, Port Hills, Christchurch | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | None | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||
104 | 29/06/2019 | 15:10:00 | Bay of Plenty | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Gliding | I was soaring the east face of the Mount in light winds, flying south to north. I was just above the top of the face and about 50 metres out from the face when I saw an small object directly in front of me, at my level, flying towards me. Initially I thought it was a bird, then looked again a few seconds later as it closed rapidly and realised it was a small drone. I tried to turn right to avoid collision at the last moment, then felt it hit my Left lines. I lost a little bit of height and turned away from the face. I then flew a few passes checking my lines and then flew to the beach and landed without further incident. I have checked my equipment several times and find no signs of damage. | 27 | None | Certified for flight | Basic | Not carried | Mauao (Mount Maunganui) | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | East | Steady | Fine, visibility unlimited. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
105 | 12/05/2019 | 14:00:00 | Canterbury | 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 | Pilot overturned on landing approach then over corrected and landed heavily without flaring. 37th flight | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | compression L1/2, released home for recovery, no surgery | 5 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Taylors Mistake landing area | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable | wind was increasing and student was requested to go and land | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | |
106 | 30/04/2019 | 00:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Shortly after takeoff | Very soon after takeoff, the main B line released from the mallion it was attached to. The line had been replaced after a previous accident. The line had been spliced but not stitched. | 10 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Skyline Gondola | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Calm | The lines on the glider are unsheathed and have been replaced with unsheathed lines. The lines on the glider are silver in colour and have been stitched with black thread which makes inspecting the glider a lot easier. There were 10 or more lines replaced on the glider stitched with white thread so that is over 20 splices which had been made. There were 3 splices in total that had not been stitched, Two were attached to other lines with a larks foot so they were less likely to release. The one that released was the outer main B line attached to the riser's mallion, it released at the mallion. | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||||||
107 | 14/04/2019 | 11:30:00 | Northland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Ground handling | Whilst ground handling a wing to lay it out, I was lofted and continued to rise. I was unable to gain forward penetration and after attempting to fly away was unable to escape compression. Once established this and was stable I big ears and top landed. | None | Not worn | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Te Mairie | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | West | Strong gusts | Lesson in rushing and not following protocols while getting caught up with a larger then expected amount of pilots attending. Should focusing on the task in hand and although pilots had flown before the task was undertaken not taking stock of weather again prior. Reported to club safety officer | Squall front came through unobserved by pilot | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
108 | 13/04/2019 | 14:00:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Miss judged spiral landing | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | 50 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Treble cone | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
109 | 08/04/2019 | 11:00:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Climbing | 3rd flight of the day. Climbing in a weak thermal shortly after launch. They were close to the terrain and were concerned they were going to get too close. Tightened up on a 360 turn whilst pointing at the hill. Glider spun. Went hands up after about 180 degrees. Glider started to recover, but insufficient altitude and too much rotational momentum. Hit the ground having rotated approximately 360 degrees. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Head | Concussion. Cut to arm. Possible broken left arm and sore back, but both cleared after x-ray. | 12 | None | Full face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Cardrona | Nov or PG1 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Variable | Paraglider | HGFA PG4 | ||
110 | 01/04/2019 | 20:00:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Pilot arrived at takeoff with suspected broken wrist. He had been flying below and in front of takeoff. I would avoid this location in these conditions. Paula Race and I packed away wing, while Paula's partner drove accident victim to hospital. I had flown Taylors Mistake earlier. Wind meter on takeoff read 22-25kmh at 7PM, in air the airspeed was 26-30kmh.(using vario/gps) I found strong lift over takeoff, with moderate turbulence - so I soared Scarborough Cliffs and landed at Sumner Beach (LZ3). I did not want to fly in gut, top land or land in gut (LZ2) due to venturi in gut and possible rotor. IMHO the injured pilot should not have flown in the gut, and probably should have waited for less windy conditions. The safety suggestions I'd say are 1 ) Familiarize self with site before flying. 2 ) consider whether your experience is adequate for current conditions. 3 ) be careful of strong wind, it cause strong turbulence | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | Paula Race PIN 6052 & pilot with her may know the injured pilot's details. | None | Open face | Taylors Mistake, Sumner, Christchurch | Nov or PG1 | 26 - 35 kmh | East | Moderate gusts, Turbulent | Paraglider | |||||||
111 | 23/03/2019 | 11:33:00 | 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). | Take off run | Preliminary Accident Report Day, Date, Time: Saturday, 23 March 2019, 11:33AM. Short description: Aborted Tandem Launch, Wing drags pilot & passenger across the hill. Passenger: no injury. Pilot: minor injury to left knee. Details Tandem Commercial 115 Adventure Aviation Operation. Treble Cone Ski Area. Pub Corner Launch Site. 1100M AMSL. Weather: Clear, good visibility, light winds, light thermic cycle. Wind Record from Pub Corner Weather Station from 11AM-12Noon. North East Average 6.6-8.5 kph and max gust to 10.5 kph. Weather was not a factor. Pilot: 83KG Passenger: 82KG All up weight: 188KG Glider OZONE Magnum 2 CAA#32Q. Weight range 130-220KG (58KG from bottom, 32KG from top). Wing Loading was not a factor. Preliminary Investigation by CEO. Takeoff video collected, pilot interviewed, pilot drug screened (negative). Further Investigation by OIO to find root cause to follow. Report to CAA 005, WhatsApp/Investigations, WhatsApp/Safety, TC ZeroHarm/Notifications, NZHGPA AIRS | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | None | Certified for flight | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Treble Cone Ski Area. Pub Corner Launch Site | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | Thermals | Paraglider | Tandem | |||||
112 | 18/03/2019 | 13:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Aerobatic maneouvre | flying on a familiar site, Coronet Peak, weather conditions were light winds, bright sunny autumn day. Intention was to practice wingovers, got into position flying along performed some wingovers follow by spiral dive, spiral had more momentum than previous attempts and unable to recover the glider and landed on a tree. Climbed down the tree assisted by another pilot. Wing was recovered undamaged. Went to hospital for a check up, released with no injuries identify further physio needed for calf muscle. | 50 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | flight park | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Calm | nothing | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
113 | 11/03/2019 | 14:30:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Took off from Gondola south west takeoff. Had a nice flight briefly soaring the hill of take off, then made way over town. Come into approach as normal, headed down robins road, then right turn onto crosswind leg over the edge of the rugby field. Had slightly too much height so did a figure eight. Got to correct height and turned onto final approach where I unexpectedly hit sink and fell approx 5 meters landing on my butt on the rugby field. Club member suggested I may have been on brakes too much also. Someone watching called ambo as I tried to get up and fell down and had lower back pain and numbness in leg. Got xrays and scans etc and all clear. Just deep bruising and pain thankfully. Very thankful for harness with back protector. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower spine | 35 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Skyline Gondola | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
114 | 05/03/2019 | 12:10:00 | Overseas | 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 | after completing siv flight, made approach to land and was flapping to come down when my wing shot forward, i over braked drive and stalled wing falling from approx 3m. landed heavily and dislocated shoulder | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | 45 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, Stirrup, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | lake st claire nsw | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South east | Variable | slightly thermic | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
115 | 05/03/2019 | 18:10:00 | Hawkes bay | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Launch | after seeing video of the incident shortly after the accident and speaking with Graham Willan in hospital it would appear Graham has had a failed launch which resulted in Graham being dragged at speed into a fixed farm gate. Conditions at the time of launch were in the pilots opinion and from what I'd observed prior to the failed launch within the pilots ability. The video shows no issues with the initial phase of the launch, however it was noted by the pilot and seen in the video that to much break input was applied after the pilot had turned into wind after the reverse launch. The pilot has then been lightly lifted into the air a small distance before touching down again which caused the left side of the paraglider to lose line tension. The wing has then dipped significantly on the opposite side and caused the pilot to be dragged at speed across the launch. The pilot has ended up contacting a farm gate at speed and been swung under the wing before coming to rest a short distance down the back of launch, a few witnesses where quickly on the scene soon after. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs, Lower limbs | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Te Mata Peak (Telecom Tower Launch) | Not known | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Steady | none | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
116 | 03/03/2019 | 14:00:00 | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Coming into land from a paragliding flight at Little RIver, I experienced some turbulence As I got closer to the ground approx 4-5 metres I had a major assymetric collapse which spun me around & dropped me to the ground on my back with some force. I immediately felt lower back pain. After visiting the after hours clinic & getting an xray, I was sent to Christchurch hospital with a fractured T12 vertabrae. After CT scan & MRI I was fitted with a back support brace & released on 05 Mar 2019 | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | 12 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Little River, | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
117 | 03/03/2019 | 13:20:00 | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Competition | Climbing | I was flying in a thermal very close to the ground. I let the wing fly with no brake and got a big frontal. I was around 40 meters to the ground at the time and no altitude to throw the rescue. I tried my best to reopen the wing but no enough time to do it. Landed on a slope with not friendly rocks. was around 40 pilot at the time of the accident so few pilots saw me on the ground. 1 pilot landed next to me and help me. I have my gps and inreach, I didnt call the rescue team as another pilot did it. this is the link from my flyght https://ayvri.com/scene/31jnmng2kd/cjtrxi7xg00012c6diveokwn7?fbclid=IwAR1OFm4t3qL13K8z907F-cKrX0bjL5vwK905VYbZc13CW3JkHzQfx3ZbmFM | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Head, Lower spine, Chest | Leg, arm | 50 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Mt Cheeseman Ski Field Rd, Castle Hill 7580 | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Variable, Moderate gusts, Thermals | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||
118 | 02/03/2019 | 05:45:00 | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Lost height suddenly on approach to top landing and got caught between a concrete building and a tree. Thought I could save it and tried to land on the path but got an extra inch of lift just at the edge which took me down the slope, and the wing onto the tree. Minor graze to shin, wing damaged whilst recovering from tree. | 30 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Steady, Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
119 | 02/03/2019 | 16:50:00 | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Competition | Climbing | I was crossing from the Craigieburn range towards the Torlesse range via Broken hill. I reached the Torlesse range at 3/4 of the way up to the ridge top. I found a thermal to climb up along the ridge, which was leading to the Torlesse ridge top. I was 15 meters above one of these side ridges when I lost my thermal and I accidently flew into some descending air, which led to my glider pitching forward. I caught this, saving myself from frontal collapse, then I sank into the ridge with a crash landing onto steep rocks. After that I contacted the competition organiser, but my phone was extremely damaged from the impact and I lost reception. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | middle spine (7,8,9 Vertebrates) | 50 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Torlesse range | Above Int or Pg2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West | Variable, Moderate gusts, Thermals | thermal acrivity | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |
120 | 23/02/2019 | 17:00:00 | Canterbury | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | After landing ( e.g. dragged on ground) | After a good strong wind soaring session and successful landing, I lost my balance as I was bringing the wing down, accidentally pulled one brake hard to keep balance and got taken for a small ride as the wing spun around. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | Fracture of radial head in right arm | 1 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Allendale | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 40 to 50 (22 to 27 kn) | East | Strong and steady varying high 30 to low 40 km/h with small gust range. | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||
121 | 23/02/2019 | 15:20:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Climbing | Climbing out of valley shortly after takeoff in strong thermal. Experienced major frontal collapse, negative spin, wing recovered but caught rock ledge with trailing edge. Heavy impact backward, left hanging in harness on rock face with wing fully inflated over head hooked on by trailing edge. Able to get footing on ledge, release risers, remove harness. Phoned 111. Rescued on long line by local SAR. Flown to hospital in rescue helicopter . | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs, Lower limbs, Chest | L Pneumothorax, L 11th Rib Fracture, L Femur Greater Trachantor Fracture and Skin Lacerations | 35 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Pakatuhi (Breast hill) track. Lake Hawea. Lat -44.58702 Long 169.3353 | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Thermals | Northerly building later that day. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |
122 | 20/02/2019 | 14:00:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | An eye whitness said he was coming in on approach deep on the breaks, potentially the glider pre stalled or was close to it when he released the breaks it pitched forward and he dove into the ground. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | Not sure of injuries he was taken from the accident site by Ambulance. | Flight Park, Queenstown | Nov or PG1 | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North | Variable | Paraglider | Not Licensed | ||||||||
123 | 12/02/2019 | 17:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | Either a cascade has caught or a knot was in the C & B lines on launch. I have flown away from take off and realised the problem. Right side of wing was vert deformed m glide ratio was about 2-1. I had no option but to make an emergency crash landing in shallow trees I was able to pick out | 0 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic | Carried but not deployed | West Launch of gondola | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
124 | 07/02/2019 | 15:51:00 | Tasman | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Competition | Climbing | At the time: I had just started to turn in a thermal to the left and had another pilot brush over the top left of my wing which made a pop sound as the wing reinflated. After reviewing the flight logs: The other pilot had started to circle before I flew under them. I entered the same thermal underneath the pilot and as I turned the pilot above tightened their turn. This was when they touched the wing. Neither of us had seen each other. If I had paid closer attention to what they were doing before I entered the thermal I would have seen them climbing. With that information I should have waited to enter the thermal because where I entered was too close to the same height. | None | Full face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Mt Murchison | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts, Thermals | Some ridge lift with thermals and a bit of congestion | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
125 | 07/02/2019 | 16:00:00 | Tasman | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Competition | Gliding | After losing height in a transition glide decided to return to the previous thermal.Strong sink was encountered trying to cross a ridge and sank into the trees. While initially holding onto a branch in the canopy trying to secure to the tree with the reserve fell approximately 20 meters to the ground. Reserve opened during the fall. Broken Tibia and Fibula on impact. Cell phone service was available to call emergency services. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | None | Open face | Basic | Deployed and effective | Mt Murchison | Int or PG2 | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts, Thermals, Some ridge lift | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
126 | 02/02/2019 | 16:30:00 | Marlborough | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Take off run | When I started to inflate my wing, a strong wind blow me up when I was still in reverse position. When I was pulling the brakes to stop it, my arm hit the hill and I broke my wrist, then I've been dragged by my wing for few meters. Finally I've been able to stand up and go to the hospital. | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Seddon, yealands winery | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South east | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
127 | 21/01/2019 | 15:00:00 | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation, Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | After landing ( e.g. dragged on ground) | Shane dad done around 45 flights and was practicing soaring, top landings, and reverse launches. He drifted into the front of the launch area , contemplated to top land but decided not to. He tried to clear the hill but his foot a rock which was probably not that obvious being partially hidden among some tussocks. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | fracture to the ankle | 5 | None | Open face | With certified back protection | Not carried | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Steady | Paraglider | PG1 or Nov | |||
128 | 16/01/2019 | 21:25:00 | Southern | Accident with damage ( significant structural damage) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Big frontal collapse on cross wind leg prior to landing, low to ground, not able to recover control. Wing stalled and I fell 5m onto asphalt, straight onto my airbag. Airbag was amazingly effective, with my only injuries being to my arms where i instinctively put my hands down to catch my fall (broken left arm and right wrist). | 10 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Skyline Queenstown | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Variable, Calm conditions at take-off and landing, but W wind coming in, visible on lake. | Gusts from incoming west wind arrived just as I was approaching landing. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||
129 | 08/01/2019 | 12:00:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Launch | Big Wack | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | T12 burst fracture, no surgery | 250 | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Treble Cone | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North west | Variable, Thermals, Turbulent | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||
130 | 03/01/2019 | 14:00:00 | Northland | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Heavy Landing onto rocks | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs | 50 | Minor (glider flies normally) | Open face, Certified for flight | With certified back protection | unsure if carried | Between Tapeka Point and Long Beach, Russell | Not rated | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | west of north | Variable, Steady | Due to light conditions, pilot had to land on rocky beach below launch, misjudged the landing and landed heavy Birth date of Pilot is a guess only | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
131 | 25/12/2018 | 11:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | SIV | Reserve thrown due to twisted Glider during Stall | 90 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Deployed and effective | Coronet Peak - Flight Park | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | South west | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
132 | 24/12/2018 | 14:00:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Cross country | Landing | On landing I did not flare, aiming to get over a hump, however I misjudged my height and did not clear the hump, resulting in me landing at full speed which made me lose my footing. I put an arm out to catch my fall and broke my wrist. | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Upper limbs | 50 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | St Bathans - Dunstan Creek Valley | Not rated | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||
133 | 23/12/2018 | 15:00:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Low, slow turn on landing approach resulting in left wing tip contacting the ground. Pilot swung through A frame resulting in a broken upper right arm from contact with the right down tube. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper limbs | 50 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Certified for flight | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Flight Park, Queenstown, Coronet | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | Switching | Hang glider | Figure 2 Total accidents and incidents last 24 months. | ||||
134 | 22/12/2018 | 14:00:00 | Hawkes bay | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | 110 | None | Full face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | South east | Moderate gusts | A bit strong at times. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
135 | 22/12/2018 | 18:45:00 | Taranaki | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Gliding | Pilot flying along a 200 foot high coastal ridge in smooth 11 knot winds, flew into rotor turbulence, attempting to round a promontory while only 10 feet above the cliff top. Glider's left wing collapsed and the pilot used excessive right brake to counter steer. This initiated a full stall that the pilot maintained to avoid contacting the vertical cliff face. Descent rate was very slow, allowing a safe landing on a sloping plateau 80 feet above beach. I was flying above and behind the pilot, so after witnessing the incident landed above the pilot and called 111. The Fire Service safely retrieved him from the accident scene, using expert climbers and ropes. | 65 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West | Steady | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
136 | 21/12/2018 | 12:00:00 | Canterbury | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Instruction ( if you have not done so please go back to provide details of other people involved). | Landing | while attempting a Landing in Heathcote park, Michael crept forward while doing a figure eight approach. He then did a too aggressive turn to turn in for his final, His flare was ineffective and landed heavily on his butt. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower spine | fractured vertibra lower | 4 | None | Open face | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | Michael had done around 55 flights, 7hrs plus and was going to be signed off with the other 2 pilots who was with us that day. We checked out the landing area prior, discussed the flight plan and landing approach,. We then preceded with a hike and fly to the top. At top there was 10-15 km wind at launch. At ground level it was calm. He allowed himself to drift forward off his base line at the landing area. That meant he had to do low level turns to lose height. His last turn into wind was too sharp and combined with a flare that was too late he landed hard on his butt. I had taken off in a tandem after Michael and had landed prior to Michael. I was quiet close to him at the time and had told him to flare but he had not or was to late to react. When he saw the ground rush up I think he had a brain freeze. We originally thought it was not that serious and we drove him to the hospital for a checkup. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
137 | 10/12/2018 | 10:00:00 | Southern | 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). | Landing | Luka was on his first high flight off of rocky gully. He was being brought in for his landing approach. Luka made his turn on final and was instructed to being getting out of his harness to prepare for landing. At this time Luka started to drift off course to the right towards mount smile. There is a small group of pine trees just south of smile. Luka was instructed to turn the glider to the left to avoid the trees. But he did not react to the commands given to him. Luka landed his glider in this small group of trees. When I got over to him Luka still in the harness and on the ground with the middle of the wing hung up in the trees. Luka was uninjured and the glider had no damage. At this Luka stated that he could not see the trees for he had taken off his eye glasses that he needs to see because they where giving him a head ach. | 0 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Coronet Peak | Int or PG2 | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | West | Calm | Paraglider | Student | |||||
138 | 02/12/2018 | 18:20:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | We were flying two local pilots over the skyline gondola and misjudged a potential storm coming rather quickly than expected, at the moment we took off there was light conditions at launch, not strong wind noticiable, no wind on the lake, etc. As we saw some cumulonimbus coming over the top of Ben Lomond we decided to quickly take off before a potential thread could come, truth was that few minutes after we were airborn, we were flying over 55kph gusts, which make us decided undesired but safer landing options. | None | Open face | Basic | Carried but not deployed | Skyline Gondola | Above Int or Pg2 | More than 10 flights | More than 50 kph ( >27 kn) | strong gusts coming through the gorge/valley | Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||||||
139 | 25/11/2018 | 10:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Non Flying | Reserve repack | Upon inspection of a reserve setup, as part of an annual repack, the maillons connecting the reserve to the harness was found to be completely undone. The reserve and harness had been purchased overseas as a package, and had been setup by a French school/shop. This is the second time I have come across a reserve where the maillon has been found open during a repack. | Basic, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Paraglider | |||||||||||||||
140 | 17/11/2018 | 17:00:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Cross country | Climbing | In a right hand turn near the slope, I stalled the right (inside) wingtip. I felt it happening but decided it was best to keep it stalled and face land as I was, rather than have it surge. I was oriented slightly towards the slope but turning away for a good face landing angle, albeit with a higher descent rate and no flare. Despite feet being in the pod my legs absorbed the impact and I was not hurt. No damage to glider although some effort to remove from matagouri bushes. It was just a heavy landing - but relied on forgiving terrain. Had it happened over cliffs the situation would have been different. I fly more carefully next to cliffs. The situation arose when doing a 360 fairly close to terrain - I gave it too much of a squeeze. The glider is also starting to get worn out so with porosity and line shrinkage will be closer to stall point. It was a good reminder to keep an airspeed margin while flying. | 300 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Richardson range south of Glenorchy about 500m above lake | Not known | Pilots first flight at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North | Variable | Sultry day, weather not dangerous | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | ||||
141 | 13/11/2018 | 11:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Landing | Koichi was flying the skyline gondola in Queenstown. As he was on the final approach from the east landing toward the west he approached with big ears in as the air was fairly turbulent/thermic. As he released the big ears within the final 50-100 metres he encountered sinking air which did not give him enough height to clear the trees on the edge of the recreation ground. This left him dropping into a willow tree, where fortunately his lines reached full extension just above the ground and he was able to unclip and walk away. | 150 | None | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Skyline gondola | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | West | Moderate gusts | Paraglider | PG3 or Adv | |||||
142 | 03/11/2018 | 14:13:00 | 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 | ||
143 | 14/10/2018 | 08:30:00 | Southern | Fatality | Local recreation | After Launch | Information I have received are that he clipped the ground shortly after launch. Wind conditions were Lee side with strong wind around from the SW. He launched from Isthmus Peak towards the Lake Hawea. A detailed report has been filled with the Police. | Fatal | Head, Upper limbs, Upper spine, Lower limbs, Lower spine, Chest, Abdomen | Injuries unknown. Pilot was rescued by helicopter but died later that day in Dunedin Hospital. | Not carried | Isthmus Peak, Wanaka | Not rated | Reported that it was whitecapping strong on the lakes and very windy on the summit that morning. | South west | Leeside where he Launched and planned on flying. | Details are limited due to the nature of this accident. Go Pro footage as well as a full report has been filled with the police. | Conditions were observed about an hour after the accident. | Speed wing | not licensed | |||||
144 | 13/10/2018 | 12:00:00 | Southern | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Landing | Exited spiral/B-roll close to the ground facing the car park, I made a quick turn to the centre of the rugby field which put me in another dive toward the fround | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Lower limbs, Lower spine | 2 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Queenstown rugby field | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | None | Calm | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | |||
145 | 03/10/2018 | 13:30:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | Inflated my wing to take off at the top of Greengates chair lift on Coronet peak. Wind blew me back toward the wooden post at the top of the NW launch. My wing became stuck over the post. | 10 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Coronet Peak | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North west | Strong gusts, Thermals | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
146 | 30/09/2018 | 15:00:00 | Tasman | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Shortly after launch ( 1Min Approx) | Description from Site witness ( Paraglider pilot ) Pilot Launched fine and began climbing steadily. Pilot turned to the right of take-off. shortly thereafter the glider was observed to enter a right hand turn and then proceeded downwind and glider impacted with the hill just behind take- off. Glider came to rest on keel. pilot was knocked unconscious and and was found facing rearward. Pilot regained consciousness after 10 mins. Pilot taken to hospital by ambulance. Witness mentioned that it was at maximum wind speed on site for paragliding but the conditions were OK for hang gliding ( Pilot used to be a Hang Glider Pilot). Witness also observed that the pilot made a thorough pre-flight inspection of his glider. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Head | Pilot was found unconscious, regained consciousness within 10 minutes. MRI scan performed on pilot found nothing untoward however one eye remained very dilated and swollen. Pilot put into induced Coma as a precautionary measure. | Minor (glider flies normally) | Full face, Certified for flight | Pod | Carried but not deployed | Barnicoat Hill | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 20 to 30 (11 to 16 kn) | North east | Moderate gusts, Strong gusts | The Area in which this pilot entered shortly after take-off can be very turbulent in a North Easterly. Suspect that Glider may have stalled a wing causing the right hand turn to down wind. | Hang glider | PG2 or Int | ||
147 | 30/09/2018 | 17:30:00 | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | After landing ( e.g. dragged on ground) | Paraglider flying at north head in a northerly wind, took off to the north and turned to the right, I ended up travelling too far to the east around the head and, when I turned to go back I could not make any head way, I landed in a small area on the eastern side of the headland near the water but couldn't deflate my wing before I started to get pulled back towards the rocks. I quickly relaunched to 'hop' past the rocks and oysters behind me and land in the sand and shin deep water on the other side. | 20 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Basic, With certified back protection | Not carried | North Head | Not known | Less than 10 flights at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North | Calm, Variable | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
148 | 23/09/2018 | 17:00:00 | Hawkes bay | Minor Injury accident ( medical treatment or ACC claim) | Local recreation | Take off run | During a routine forward launch and well into take off run the right side of the wing collapsed 40-50% causing pilot to fall forward onto hands. Was unable to stall the wing as had insufficient brake travel and a steepening slop which increased pilots overall speed, was unable to stop before roughly 2m high bank and proceeds over the edge before coming to rest on the road bellow | Moderate ( Doctor visit or ACC claim) | Lower limbs | Checked over by GP and given all clear | 66 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Pod, With certified back protection | Carried but not deployed | Temata Peak western face (launch) | Nov or PG1 | More than 10 flights | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | North east | Calm | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | ||
149 | 16/09/2018 | 16:00:00 | Auckland | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | At my local site, Army Bay, North, had great flight on 777 Queen 2 in the morning. In the afternoon the wind had freshened up and I wanted to practise on my "miniwing" 777, P light 19. It was low tide and safe to land in front of cliff. I just used a basic mountain harness, without speedbar connected or back protector (never again!). Ultimately, got blown high, then could not pentrate, then went to the wrong part of the cliff and tried to get down and forward, wing dived forward more than anticipated when going from wind into rotor, brakes were not as effective as expected, swung under the wing too low, things were then happening very fast, for PLT I only got feet together, knees together, knees bent, impact! Squat straight down. About 10m behind cliff edge at top landing site. Severe pain lower back. Crawled forward to lay flat and rolled onto my back (thanks for recent First Aid course!). Forced myself to breath, called ambulance. Wiggled toes and fingers happily and in agony. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Upper spine, Lower spine | 5 | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Army Bay, North | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 30 to 40 (16 to 22 kn) | North | Steady | The problem was several poor decisions by myself: When drifting back and pulling As 100%, even to 50% collapses, I felt rushed and missed two important considerations: One, try the speed system of the wing, I did not even think of it as it was not connected to a stirrup, and two, just turn left instead of right, where I most likely could have come lower and penetrated. I just turned right out of habit (mind clouded by panic), because it is the top landing and bottom landing site. Then when over the landing site, I still could not penetrate and did steep turns to speed up, increase wing loading and get down to try to penetrate or land. I did not consider a controlled crash in bushes or going downwind over flax and soft ground. My mind was set on landing, not crashing. | Wind direction was 20 degrees further left than usual, resulting in more lift | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | |
150 | 22/08/2018 | 16:08:00 | Southern | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Descent maneouvre | Pulled turn to low and landed in tree | 5.5 | Significant ( glider requires repair before flying) | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Int or PG2 | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | South west | Moderate gusts | Shear layer | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | |||||
151 | 10/08/2018 | 15:00:00 | Waikato | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Approach to landing | Misjudged setup a little on landingNC and just cut it a bit fine. Came in between a tree and a container. No issue, perfect landing, but.. should have given myself more height, and not cut it as fine. If I'd got something wrong, could have clipped the tree with my lines, at a couple of metres off the ground. Next time will give myself more space. | 218 | None | Open face, Certified for flight | Powered | Carried but not deployed | Thames Aerodrome | Not rated | More than 10 flights | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | North west | Steady | possible rain approaching, but not related. | Powered glider ( Hang or Para) | Motor (PPG or PHG) | ||||
152 | 30/07/2018 | 00:08:00 | 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 | |||
153 | 16/07/2018 | 13:00:00 | 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 | ||||||||
154 | 18/06/2018 | 16:00:00 | 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 | |||
155 | 08/05/2018 | 17:00:00 | 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 |
156 | 05/05/2018 | 14:00:00 | 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 | ||
157 | 22/04/2018 | 10:00:00 | 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 | ||
158 | 19/04/2018 | 16:30:00 | 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 | ||||
159 | 14/04/2018 | 11:20:00 | 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 | ||
160 | 13/04/2018 | 13:30:00 | 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 | ||||
161 | 09/04/2018 | 12:30:00 | Southern | Serious Accident (Serious injury, person missing) | Local recreation | Landing | Speed landing on skis in thermic conditions, potential misjudgment of terrain in turbulent conditions. | Serious ( Hospital admission, major fracture, internal organ damage) | Head, Lower limbs, Lower spine | Head injury, Tib fin fracture and lower spine. | 5 | None | Open face, Damaged | Basic | Not carried | Not rated | Less than 10 flights at this site | Less than 10 km/h (5 kn) | East | Thermals | Calm and light up high. Thermic and changeable in the valley. | Speed wing | PG2 or Int | ||
162 | 31/03/2018 | 13:00:00 | Auckland | Near miss or Minor incident ( minor or no damage, no injury) | Local recreation | Launch | Reconnaissance of a new flying spot south of Bethells beach, Pukekowhai Point (Raised Saddle summit?) Ground wind ~10knts WNW (~280) The wind was a bit too Western (straight to the ridge head). Launching a bit on the right side of the ridge I was dragged to my left (North) and forced to take off with crossed risers. When I was just in the air and tried to rotate in normal position strong upstream raised glider's left wing and put me in a spiral with following crash on the hill. The situation was pretty dangerous, but luckily ended up without serious injures. | None | Open face | Basic | Not carried | Pukekowhai Point, Bethells beach south | Not rated | Pilots first flight at this site | 10 to 20 ( 5 to 11 kn) | WNW (~280) | Steady | There were few experience things for me to learn from this accident. The main one is: doing reverse launch on a slope side, turn toward the slope (looking up), not away from it (anticlockwise in this case, not clockwise as I did following my normal custom), which would let me easily manage the situation and launch successfully. | Paraglider | PG2 or Int | |||||
163 | 30/03/2018 | 12:05:00 | 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 | |
164 | 08/03/2018 | 07:15:00 | 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 | ||||
165 | 08/03/2018 | 15:30:00 | 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 | |
166 | 28/02/2018 | 07:30:00 | 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 | ||||||
167 | 17/02/2018 | 15:00:00 | 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 | |||||||||
168 | 14/02/2018 | 10:00:00 | 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 | |||
169 | 13/02/2018 | 12:45:00 | 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 | ||
170 | 10/02/2018 | 16:00:00 | 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 | ||
171 | 03/02/2018 | 13:30:00 | 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 | |||||
172 | 02/02/2018 | 13:15:00 | 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 | ||||
173 | 01/02/2018 | 02:45:00 | 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 | |||||
174 | 29/01/2018 | 14:15:00 | 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 | ||||
175 | 29/01/2018 | 14:00:00 | 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 | ||||
176 | 28/01/2018 | 14:30:00 | 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 | |||||
177 | 28/01/2018 | 16:14:00 | 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 | |||||
178 | 23/01/2018 | 09:15:00 | 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 | ||
179 | 23/01/2018 | 12:00:00 | 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 | ||
180 | 07/01/2018 | 16:15:00 | 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 | ||
181 | 28/12/2017 | 15:00:00 | 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 | |||||||
182 | 26/12/2017 | 10:00:00 | 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 | |||
183 | 04/12/2017 | 13:45:00 | 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 | |
184 | 26/11/2017 | 15:00:00 | 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 | ||||
185 | 23/11/2017 | 18:00:00 | 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 | ||||
186 | 14/11/2017 | 10:00:00 | 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 | |||||
187 | 13/11/2017 | 11:02:00 | 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 | ||
188 | 28/10/2017 | 15:30:00 | 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 | ||||
189 | 28/10/2017 | 13:30:00 | 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 | ||
190 | 28/10/2017 | 12:00:00 | 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 | ||
191 | 23/10/2017 | 14:00:00 | 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 | |||||
192 | 05/10/2017 | 13:30:00 | 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 | |||
193 | 24/09/2017 | 14:15:00 | 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 | ||
194 | 24/09/2017 | 09:45:00 | 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) | ||
195 | 23/09/2017 | 16:00:00 | 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 | |||
196 | 15/09/2017 | 12:30:00 | 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 | ||||
197 | 18/08/2017 | 16:00:00 | 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 | |||||||
198 | 06/08/2017 | 14:00:00 | 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 | ||||
199 | 01/08/2017 | 13:00:00 | 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) | |||||||
200 | 24/07/2017 | 12:15:00 | 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 | ||||
201 | 12/07/2017 | 12:40:00 | 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 | |||
202 | 26/06/2017 | 15:00:00 | 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 | |||||
203 | 20/06/2017 | 16:30:00 | 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 | |||
204 | 17/05/2017 | 16:00:00 | 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 | |||
205 | 07/05/2017 | 14:40:00 | 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 | |||
206 | 25/04/2017 | 14:00:00 | 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 | ||||||||||
207 | 22/04/2017 | 17:00:00 | 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 | |||||||||
208 | 18/04/2017 | 11:35:00 | 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 | ||||
209 | 24/03/2017 | 19:45:00 | 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 | |
210 | 20/03/2017 | 17:45:00 | 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 | ||
211 | 19/03/2017 | 14:00:00 | 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 | |
212 | 17/03/2017 | 16:15:00 | 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 | ||
213 | 16/03/2017 | 10:00:00 | 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 |
214 | 11/03/2017 | 13:00:00 | 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 | |||
215 | 10/03/2017 | 12:00:00 | 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 | |||
216 | 05/03/2017 | 14:15:00 | 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 | ||
217 | 02/03/2017 | 15:45:00 | 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 | ||||
218 | 28/02/2017 | 17:40:00 | 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 | |
219 | 26/02/2017 | 13:00:00 | 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 | ||
220 | 26/02/2017 | 16:00:00 | 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 | |||
221 | 25/02/2017 | 06:45:00 | 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) | |||||
222 | 23/02/2017 | 15:00:00 | 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 | |
223 | 20/02/2017 | 19:00:00 | 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 | ||||||
224 | 18/02/2017 | 16:00:00 | 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 | |||||
225 | 17/02/2017 | 14:30:00 | 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 | ||
226 | 11/02/2017 | 13:00:00 | 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 | ||||||||
227 | 09/02/2017 | 17:30:00 | 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 | |
228 | 06/02/2017 | 14:40:00 | 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 | ||
229 | 04/02/2017 | 12:00:00 | 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 | |||||||||||
230 | 30/01/2017 | 13:30:00 | Auckland | Minor Incident ( minor damage or minor injury) | Local recreation | 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 | |||||||||||||
231 | 29/01/2017 | 15:00:00 | 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 |
232 | 28/01/2017 | 11:22:00 | 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 | |
233 | 28/01/2017 | 13:30:00 | 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 | ||
234 | 22/01/2017 | 10:00:00 | 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 | |
235 | 21/01/2017 | 10:00:00 | 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 | ||
236 | 15/01/2017 | 12:00:00 | 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 | ||||||
237 | 10/01/2017 | 12:15:00 | 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 | ||||
238 | 06/01/2017 | 14:00:00 | 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) | |||
239 | 31/12/2016 | 16:20:00 | 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 | |
240 | 28/12/2016 | 13:30:00 | 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 | |
241 | 27/12/2016 | 15:15:00 | 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 | |||
242 | 24/12/2016 | 09:00:00 | 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 | |||||
243 | 20/12/2016 | 19:00:00 | 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 | |||
244 | 7-12-2016 | 18:45:00 | 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 | ||
245 | 06/12/2016 | 06:00:00 | 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 | ||
246 | 3-12-2016 | 14:15:00 | 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 |
247 | 3-12-2016 | 14:05:00 | 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 |
248 | 19-11-2016 | 10:30:00 | 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 | |
249 | 19-11-2016 | 10:30:00 | 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 | |||||||||||
250 | 14-11-2016 | 12:30:00 | 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 | ||||||
251 | 13-11-2016 | 13:00:00 | 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 | ||||||
252 | 10-11-2016 | 13:30:00 | 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 | |
253 | 22-10-2016 | 18:00:00 | 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 | ||||
254 | 8-10-2016 | 14:30:00 | 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 | ||||
255 | 2-10-2016 | 15:30:00 | 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 | ||||
256 | 1-10-2016 | 14:30:00 | 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 | ||
257 | 16-08-2016 | 11:00:00 | 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 | ||
258 | 1-07-2016 | 15:30:00 | 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 |