Return to the incident list: Incident List Kill Switch Failure and Stuck Throttle PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 55 Weight: 185 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Sting 140 Size: Paramotor Frame: SD RDM-100 with

Incident Details

January 3, 2007 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

I was on a refresher course, partly to experience launches at higher elevations. The inflation seemed OK and I was gradually applying power, anticipating another successful take-off. During the run I noticed that my left hand was gripping the brake handle such that I couldn’t squeeze the throttle beyond half-way. “Darwin Award” candidate move: I let go of the right brake and attempted to use my right hand to get the offending left fingers from beneath the throttle. Miraculously, the wing stayed overhead, but my “landing gear” lost interest before problem resolution. Nice 3-pointer: Toes-Knees-Nose. I’d pressed the kill-switch and released the throttle on the way down, but as the dust was clearing I could still feel thrust on my back. Press and hold it again with a death-grip: no more response than from a dead telephone. The instructor and another pilot had come running towards this spectacle – keeping a safe distance, naturally. I’m holding up my left hand hoping to demonstrate that I’ve tried “A” and “B”. The fact that I couldn’t see their expression in my current position is a moot point. The instructor defused the situation by pulling the choke lever (and later advised me that I could have done it). I had performed a pre-flight inspection and can aver that the throttle was functional. I cannot remember checking the ground-wire connection. Post-incident inspection revealed that the ground plug was disconnected (and functioned once back in place), and that my “Superman” landing had bunged-up the throttle cable with sand so that it was as useless as a brake line caught in a riser twist. I should have aborted the take-off as soon as I perceived the throttle problem. I had some kind of mental hang-up about having an instructor resetting my wing for another launch attempt – and yes, that doesn’t make any sense. My instructor had me back in the air within 10 minutes, had restored my confidence, and pointed out that I should note that the other pilot was just as supportive. There’s one sign of a professional!

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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