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Pilot Details

Age: 45 Weight: 160 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: ParaToys 25m Size: Paramotor Frame: Black Hawk MZ 100 with

Incident Details

June 11, 2006 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

I was attempting to launch from a high altitude field. At this altitude, my wing/motor combo is marginal for my weight, but I had successfully flown here before, using this same equipment. This day was warm and humid (the altitude density was higher than usual), and there was very little wind to help me out. After a good inflation, I ran as fast as I could, and went to full throttle. I soon reached what should have been sufficient speed for lift off, but with the conditions that day I still could not quite get airborne, even with some brake input. By the time I realized that I needed to abort, I was moving much faster than I could ever run without the assistance of the motor and wing. (It had never occurred to me that you actually CAN run at superhuman speeds with the thrust of the motor pushing you and the wing making you nearly weightless.) I wanted to abort, but there was a powerful illusion that this would result in a bad fall, since I knew that I could not run this fast on my own, especially with 60lbs of motor on my back. Of course, I should have simply cut the engine and used the brakes to keep the wing overhead. The lift would have allowed me to continue running until I slowed to ‘natural’ velocity, and I could have just run it out like a hot landing with inadequate flare. Instead, as I started running out of room, I finally turned crosswind (bad idea, I know) and fell on my knees/side. Except for a little ‘road rash’ on my elbow, there was no damage to anything but my pride. Lessons learned: 1)If you fly with marginally adequate gear, the atmospheric conditions can mean the difference between launching and failure. 2)Rehearse procedures for everything that might go wrong. When you encounter the unexpected, you are much more likely to make poor choices based upon illusions rather than reality.

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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