Incident Report Form

Report an Incident

We learn from each incident...

Submitting an Incident Report is quick and simple. Complete the form below and press, Submit. Private details are not visible to the public. The purpose of our incident database is to help our community to learn from each incident.

The primary goal of investigating an incident is to prevent future incidents from happening.

Ask yourself the right questions

The Five W’s - According to the principle of the Five Ws, a thorough investigation must answer these 5 questions: WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHAT, and WHY.

  1. WHO - List all parties involved, including witnesses. (This will not be visible to the public)
  2. WHEN - Date and time of the incident.
  3. WHERE - Location of the incident.
  4. WHAT - Describe in detail what happened. Use chronological order if possible.
  5. WHY - List all possible contributing factors including the root cause that gave rise to the incident.

How to uncover the root cause of the incident

Ask WHY at least 5 times…This technique is called FIVE WHYS. The method is remarkably simple: ask "Why?" at least five times. The goal is to reveal the root cause of the incident. One of the 5 answers will usually reveal the root cause.

Here is an example: I had a hard landing and I broke my leg.
Using the FIVE WHYS technique to help uncover the root cause:

  • Why was my landing so hard? I stalled the wing while trying to land.
  • Why did the wing stall? The brake inputs were too strong and aggressive.
  • Why was I using aggressive brake inputs? The wing was pitching due to gusty conditions.
  • Why was it so gusty? I was flying in strong midday conditions.
  • Why was I flying in those conditions? I wasn't aware of the risks of midday flying.
    This 5th question reveals the root cause of the incident. Understanding the root cause will allow you to share what can be learned from the incident and more importantly what actions can be taken to prevent a similar incident from happening again or to someone else.

Avoid making assumptions

Beware of confirmation bias - “The confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that causes people to search for, favor, interpret, and recall information in a way that confirms their preexisting beliefs.” If you approach the incident, believing that you already know how/why it happened, you may be blind to any evidence or clues that run contrary to the belief you have already formulated in your mind. Revisit the entire sequence of events with a blank slate. Perhaps you'll uncover more causal factors that you weren't aware of. Maybe the how/why will be different from what you originally thought.

Seek multiple perspectives

When possible, talk to multiple people to get various perspectives. Memory is a funny thing…it’s easy to get the details wrong. It’s best if we can hear from multiple witnesses while gathering the key findings and writing the report.

Analyze the contributing factors that caused the incident

Analyze the contributing causes of the incident. Remember that the incident is likely to have been caused by a number of factors that have several contributing causes and conditions. Try to list as many causal factors as possible. What were the other contributing factors? Weather? Location? Gear? Skill level? Poor judgment? Etc. Incidents rarely have one cause. It’s almost always a combination of several things that give rise to the incident. Try to identify as many as you can.

Summarize your findings and suggest safety procedures

Use the Incident Report Form to share as many details as possible about the incident. You can summarize your findings, share what can be learned from the incident, and suggest what actions can be taken to prevent a similar incident from happening to someone else.

Incident Report Form

Incident Report Form

Who is reporting this incident?

Your information will not be shown to the public. We may need to contact you simply for clarification.
Reporting parties name:
Reporting parties name:
First
Last

Pilot Details (Not visible to the public)

Enter details if available. Pilot details are for internal use only and to assist with any USPPA incident investigations. None of these details will be visible to the public.
Pilot Name:
Pilot Name:
First
Last
Approximate age is acceptable.
In pounds
What was the highest rating the pilot possessed at the time of the incident?
These can be USPPA ratings or any equivalent ratings from another program. The idea is to help us gauge the pilot's experience level.
Pilot experience | Flight hours at the time of the incident:

Gear Details

Leave blank if unknown.
Example: Ozone, BGD, Macpara, Gin, Dudek, etc...
Example: Roadster 3, Flacon, Hadron XX, Luna 2, etc...
If known
Enter the make and model of the motor.

Incident Details

Please provide as much information as possible. This information helps our community to learn. Reports are subject to editing and are only intended for educational purposes. We share these to make the sport safer, not to place blame.
Example: Pilot sustains a minor injury while landing.
Time of the incident:
Enter an approximate time if needed.
Morning is 30 minutes before sunrise till 2 hours after sunrise.
Evening is 2 hours before sunset and 30 minutes past sunset.
Midday is between those two flight windows.
Night is 31 min past sunset until 31 minutes before sunrise.
If the incident occurred outside of the U.S. please select "Other" and enter the information in the field.
Minor injuries are injuries that do not require hospitalization or medical attention.
Major injuries are injuries that require medical attention and/or hospitalization.
Collateral damage (any other injuries or damage?) - Select all that apply
What type of incident was this? (Select all that apply)
Please provide as much information as possible. This information helps our community to learn. Reports are subject to editing and are only intended for educational purposes. We share these to make the sport safer, not to place blame.

Maximum file size: 15MB

If there are any photos that are relevant to this incident. Please upload them here. Do not upload any insensitive or graphic images. Only photos that will help the community to learn from this incident.

Maximum file size: 516MB

If there is a relevant video of the incident, please include a link to watch it. (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
Do not upload any insensitive or graphic content. Only share videos that will help the community to learn from this incident.

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