Return to the incident list: Incident List Spiral Recovery Gone Bad PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

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

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: n/r Size: Paramotor Frame: n/r with

Incident Details

January 21, 2009 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

Pilot started by performing slow turn for a filming pilot then entered a steep spiral. On recovery, he let the wing roll out out quickly to go into a wingover.

The climb that resulted from rolling out quickly caused him to get slack in the lines which allowed the wing to go limp and deform. He fell through the loose lines but didn’t snag anything. When the lines went taut, the wing inflated immediately and he recovered nicely but too low to the ground, impacting a 20 foot tall tree at about the 6 foot high point with his feet sticking out. The tree cushioned the impact which was fortunate because a hill rose just beyond the tree. He limped away with some amount of ankle injury.

Other very similar accidents, with low-level steep maneuvering, have resulted in fatalities. He was quite fortunate.

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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