Return to the incident list: Incident List Oscillation leads to crash on takeoff PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 44 Weight: 180 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Mac Para, Eden 3, 26 Size: Paramotor Frame: Fresh Breeze Simonini 122 with

Incident Details

November 2, 2008 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

Beautiful evening for flying. Wind was 6 mph out of the southeast. I kited well for about 10 minutes and I was feeling great about my upcoming 16th flight and very confident. After engine start I pulled the wing up into a wall to lay it out nicely, but didn’t raise it up enough to let it weathervane in case the wind direction had changed. I actually thought about it at the time, but for some reason I can’t explain, I didn’t do it. According to a PPG pilot about to launch after me, the wind had changed direction 20 to 30 degrees. After a nice inflation, turn around and power up, I felt an oscillation, tried to control out of it, thought I did and powered up to full throttle. I got off the ground a few feet but was still in oscillation. I came back down, had the wherewithal to keep running but then fell forward and landed hard prone. Broken cage on left side and broken prop. Lesson learned: ALWAYS double check for wind change immediately before launch, and NEVER continue takeoff if unstable.

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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