Return to the incident list: Incident List Encounter with the Devil PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 62 Weight: 170 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Eden III Size: Paramotor Frame: RDM SD 100 with

Incident Details

May 31, 2006 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

I was launching from the top of a very large flat mesa, elevation 4,700 feet ABSL. I was somewhat limited in my launch site because of the cactus. I parked my truck and walked about 30 yards to the front and to the right to set up my wing. I was launching into a perfect 2 MPH wind at a 40 degree angle to the truck, which I have done many times in my 700 plus flights with no problem. There were a few fair weather cumulo-stratus (no verga) and no real movement to the clouds. This country is made up of very deep and rocky canyons toped with mesas, which I have flown many times in the past. Upon launching I made a perfect forward launch and had reached the altitude of approx. 15-20 feet when all of a sudden evrything went to h**l. I felt myself making a total change in my flight direction and a very sharp rate of descent, with no control what so ever of the wing. The next thing that I remember is becoming a hood/grill fixture on my Ford truck. I bounched off the truck and made a hard impact landing about 15 feet past the truck in the dirt. I still had no idea what had happened. My wife and some other people came running up to me and stated that I had just encountered a powerful whirl wind (dust devil). The dust devil was completely void of any dust, thus rendering it invisible. I have never seen a dust devil that late in the evening, (7:40 P.M.) and is why I had waited so late to launch. It had gotten very hot this day (102 degrees F) and I suspect that the rock walls in the canyons had stored enough heat to produce a dust devil well beyond the hour that you would even look for one. When one thinks about it a dust devil is just a mini toronado and if a pilot encounters one with these rag wings we are going to lose everytime. The wittness stated that I lost the whole left side of my wing and half of the right side. My impact to the truck did several hundred dollars damgage to the truck. My body damage was a severe ankle sprain, massive brusing and cuts to the calf, lots of damage to my left knee, probably ACL, Meniscus and Lateral. The doctor removed 200cc’s of blood from my knee three days after the accident. I was wearing a knee brace and felt that it saved it from being totally destroyed. I developed a blood clot, lost circulation to my left foot and spent several days in the hospital for blood thinner treatment. I will have to take the blame in this incident and say that it was pilot error. I should have known that with such super heating that day there was a great potential for bad air in this canyon environment. Damage to my equipment was a prop and a little netting damage, the brunt of this accident was taken with my body, I am very fortunate to be alive and writing this report.

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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