Return to the incident list: Incident List Hard Landing PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 0 Weight: 0 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Unknown Size: Paramotor Frame: Walkerjet with

Incident Details

January 1, 2006 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

At about 75 feet AGL and before I had turned from my final approach, I suddenly started loosing altitude fast. I added power but it didn’t change my decent. I added more power until I was at full throttle with the ground quickly approaching. I was by now screaming and waiting for what I was sure would be a severe beating. I hit the ground hard, flat on my back.

After the initial shock and with the smell of fuel growing more intense (I could hear it leaking onto the ground), I released by harness and stood up absolutely amazed, not a single scratch, bruise or bump. My paramotor was of course totaled. Every cage and frame section was either bent or broken. My WalkerJet paramotor had absorbed all of the impact and saved my body. I immediately sent the paraglider in for a full check up. It flunked the porosity check with a F for Fatal. I had purchased the glider “used” but was told that it was a demo model with very little air time.

I learned a couple of valuable lessons from my experience. First, look very closely at any equipment purchased used. I was going to send my wing in on it’s 1 year anniversary but never made it. Second, if your wing ever does go parachutal and you are flying powered, do not add power as this just deepens the stall. Kill your engine and let your brake lines out. In a parachutal stall, you are falling 15-20 mph more or less vertical so let the paramotor frame take the hit. You would do serious damage to your legs and back if you hit them first.

If you are wondering why I fell flat on my back, it is because at full throttle, the thrust of my paramotor swung me into that position about the last 20 feet of my fall. Too bad it didn’t act like a hovercraft. The most important lesson I learned is never fly past the recommended time between inspections and have any used wings inspected before you start flying them. $75-100 dollars for an inspection is cheap insurance.

Flight Window: Wind Speed: Type: Phase of Flight: Type of Injury: Collateral Damage: Analysis of the incident (additional input by the incident investigation team): Photos (if available):

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