Return to the incident list: Incident List Hands hit by prop jumpstarting motor PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 46 Weight: 200 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: MacPara Eden II28 DHV 1-2 Size: Paramotor Frame: Fly Products, Gold 115, 75 lbs with

Incident Details

August 31, 2007 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

Note: Report submitted 2007-08-15. Battery on paramotor was dead. I jump started the paramotor with jumper cables and my car. After starting the paramotor I was removing the jumper cables from the car. I was facing the car and the paramotor was running, sitting on the ground to my right and slightly behind me. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the paramotor was falling towards me and I stuck my hands out to catch the paramotor. Both hands went through or around the netting and into the spinning propeller. Injury to left hand was just a small cut and some bruises. Injury to my right hand: Cut to the tip of middle finger requiring a few stitches. Sever trauma to the right hand thumb. Bone and skin graphs required. There have been a total of four operations on the thumb. Two operations were performed the first two days after the incident. A third operation 6 months after the incident. A forth operation to remove hardware 2 years after the incident. Pilot added in a letter: “People ask why I still fly after that happened and my response is that it did not happen flying, it happened being a mechanic. What am I doing differently? I only start the motor on my back. That is the only thing that I could have done differently. I did not purposely decide to attempt to catch a falling motor, I reached out instinctively, I did not think about what to do.”

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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