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Pilot Details

Age: 0 Weight: 180 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Mac Para Eden II 28 DHV1-2 Size: Paramotor Frame: Walkerjet Superhawk (Solo) with

Incident Details

January 1, 2006 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

IT STARTED OUT good… the breeze settled down by around 6:30 or so. After an easy forward launch I joined Angelo in his ppg and Brendan in his PPC for awhile, then headed out over the water off the state park beach to do some wingovers, then dropped down low along the uninhabited part of the shoreline. As I rounded the end of Cedar Island, some people in a boat waved to me, so instead of continuing to follow the shoreline I turned to circle the boat, intending to climb and head back to the airport. Big mistake, as it put me too far out to glide to shore… surely it’s OK just for a moment? Nope. As I came around the boat and added power to climb out, the engine quit cold, as if it had been shut off. At this point I was maybe 50-100′ high, and I knew I wasn’t going to make the shore. I hit the water with one hand on the brake and one hand on a leg strap buckle, and yelled “HELP!” just before I splashed down about 20′ from the boat.

Contrary to popular belief, the motor doesn’t immediately sink like a stone. I was able to unbuckle one leg strap and my chest strap, and slip out of the other leg strap before sinking. The lines were more of a problem, wrapping around my feet, but by moving slowly I was able to untangle myself. (Thanks to lifeguard training, though it was many years ago, which included swimming amongst lines.)

Lesson: Don’t count on people being able or prepared to help. The people on the boat just stared stupidly for awhile, drifting about 20′ away from me, as I was trying to wave them closer and Angelo circled overhead shouting “THROW HIM SOMETHING!” Eventually they threw a seat cushion, as if that’d help, but nowhere near close enough to me to reach it still tangled in lines, then finally their ski tow rope, which I was able to get a hold of around the same time I got untangled. They then moved closer, got a hold of my wing, which was still floating on the surface, still connected to the motor which by now was on the bottom in about 15′ of water.

I swam around to the back of the boat and climbed up on the ladder and got my boots off, and the guy on the boat started yelling at me not to get his boat wet! The girl with him gave him a dirty look and told him to chill out. Around this time two guys arrived in a 13′ Whaler and asked if I needed help. Yes, and I told the first boat to back off… they tossed me my boots and disappeared. We (carefully, a wing full of water is HEAVY and easily damaged) got the wing into the boat and were starting to pull the motor up as the police boat arrived (the guys in the Whaler had radioed in). I was in the water trying to help get the motor up as the police pulled alongside… way too close for comfort with me in the water between the two. The cops were alternately asking if anybody else was in the water and screaming at me to get out of the water… “we’re going to cut that thing loose.” “No way”… and I put a foot against their hull and shoved off, then we got the motor up onto the smaller boat and headed to the town dock.

After getting my stuff on shore, letting the cops and firemen take their report (I had to refuse medical treatment, in writing) and thanking all who helped. In may ways, I was lucky… not only was I not hurt, but I had been planning on some flying soon in a mountainous area… if the motor had quit 35 minutes into that flight it could have been much worse. Also, I almost always fly with my cell phone and digital camera, both of which would have been destroyed by the water, but I had forgotten both of them. I also always fly with a helmet but had forgotten it and flown anyway… who knows, if luck was smiling on me perhaps the helmet would have tangled on lines?

Thanks to Angelo and Sheila for transportation and moral support, and to Brendan who took all the pictures.

Lessons learned:

1. Don’t fly over water beyond gliding distance to land.

2. DON’T FLY OVER WATER BEYOND GLIDING DISTANCE TO LAND!

3. Don’t expect any bystander to be willing or able to help… some are (as I saw) plain stupid, and even trained rescue personnel aren’t familiar with our equipment.

4. I had a hook knife, attached to my harness… but by the time it could have been useful (when I was out of the harness but the lines were tangled around my legs) it would have been out of reach. Could have been ugly if the water was deeper than the line length.

5. DON’T FLY OVER WATER BEYOND GLIDING DISTANCE TO LAND!

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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