Return to the incident list: Incident List The danger of distraction – prop safety again PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 47 Weight: 180 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: NA Size: Paramotor Frame: Walkerjet Superhawk, 65 lbs with

Incident Details

January 28, 2007 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

We all (hopefully) know that starting your motor on the ground is one of the major sources of PPG injuries. We also know that distractions can break your routine and lead to an accident.

I was flying at a new, very large, field. Intending to do some touch and goes I blipped my kill switch (as I always do before a power on landing) to make sure it was working… and it wasn’t. I climbed to get some altitude, set the cruise control to leave my hands free so I could take off my glove, and tried the secondary kill switch, and again nothing. Fortunately I can reach my carburetor in flight, so I pressed the metering diaphragm, which flooded the engine and killed it. The power off landing was a non event, and I saw that the ground wire had come loose from the connector, easily fixed by stripping some insulation and clamping the end under an engine mount bolt.

Next was to start the engine and verify the kill switch was working. Just as I was getting ready to start, two other pilots walked by and I waited for them to get clear, then I moved the motor so the prop blast wouldn’t blow another wing around. A normal part of my preflight routine is to check for proper throttle action before starting the engine (see where this is going?), but the normal routine was broken. First pull didn’t start it, second pull did, and I was immediately fighting the full throttle thrust as the motor and I went down, grabbing for the throttle (which clips to the frame). My friend was watching from 10 feet away but knew there was nothing he could do. As soon as I looked at the throttle handle I knew what had happened, yup, the cruise control was still on. Score one for the Walkerjet style distance bars, which saved my wing (right in front of the motor) and doubtless me, too. A quick throttle squeeze and the cruise goes off, and yes, the now-working kill switch stopped the engine immediately afterwards. Foutunately no injury, no equipment damage, my wrist was a bit sore for an hour or so.

Moral of the story, don’t let distractions break your routine.

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):

Video (if available):
Other Files (if available):

Return to the incident list: Incident List