Return to the incident list: Incident List Crash into pole on landing PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: Weight: 200 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Ozone Rush Power (Large) Size: Paramotor Frame: FB Simonini 62 lbs. with

Incident Details

March 7, 2007 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

On approach to landing, I lined up with a 20 foot-wide road on a small hill above a beach site. I fixed my attention on a small tree in the far distance (which happened to lie in a direct line of sight with the center of the road.) At about 20 feet AGL, I cut the engine and prepared to flare. At this point, I noticed that I was off-line with the center of the road, drifting to the left. Before I had time to correct this, I saw that I was heading for a 10-foot high metal pole next to the road. I had less than a second to react and did not want to make any drastic control inputs, so to keep my crotch from smacking into the pole, I turned my legs to the right. Since I was fully engaged with a flare at that point, groundspeed was about 2 or 3 MPH, and I was able to get my legs under the harness to cushion the fall. My left leg glanced off the pole and the harness seat took the rest of the forward impact.

My instructors were watching and videotaping my flight. One of them told me that I was pulling left brake during the last part of the final approach. I was fully fixated on the center of the “runway,” which makes my actions curious in retrospect. I should have remembered that full attention and control is required all the way to the ground. If it were not for the 8-10 MPH headwind, things might have turned out worse.

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):
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