Return to the incident list: Incident List Loss of Power – Emergency Landing PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 54 Weight: 195 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Muse DHV-1 Size: Paramotor Frame: HE-120 with

Incident Details

July 13, 2006 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

It was an ideal flight day. Winds 0-5mph with perfect visibility. The pilot flies a beautiful country club community on a 960 acre peninsula surrounded by water with a view of the Smokey Mountains. There are only 250 homes in a proposed 1,400 homesite community. With the golf course and empty lots, there are plenty of places to emergency land while enjoying breathtaking views.

Following a normal frontal takeoff and flying approximately 200 ft AGL approximately 1/2 mile from my take-off point, I began slowly sinking and losing altitude. Looking at my RPM’s I was only at 7,800 RPM’s at full throttle. Being over the golf course at the time, I simply killed the engine and made a normal standup landing into the wind. Inspection of my engine revealed a 1/2 inch opening approximately 6 inches long in my exhaust pipe.

This incident underscores the importance of always leaving yourself a way out and a place to safely land because an engine failure/malfunction can and will happen at any time. What could have resulted in equipment damage minimally, and perhaps personal injury had I been over a wooded area or water, ended up being only a minor inconvenience.

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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