Return to the incident list: Incident List Parachutal Stall after big ears release PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 48 Weight: 215 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Apco Thrust HP with 400 hours of use Size: Paramotor Frame: N/A with

Incident Details

January 16, 2009 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

I want to start out by telling everyone that I had many great flights on this wing over 1 1/2 years. I fly almost every day. I have many wings to choose from. During a flight with about 300 hours of flying that wing I exited big ears and the wing went parachutal. I never use throttle during big-ears or upon exit. No big deal I was 3000’+ and thought “cool this is what parachutal is like” so after riding it down to 2500′ or so I pushed the A’s forward and the wing started to fly again right away. After about 20 more hours of use or so the same thing happened again, parachutal upon exiting big-ears. I was 1000’+ so again pushing the A’s got the wing flying again without a problem. I sent the wing in for inspection and was told that the fabric was well used but flyable but the lines needed replacement. All lines were replaced. I started flying the wing again almost every day with out an issue. Fast forward in time about 150 hours of flying, a few months. I had a nice 20 minute flight near sunset with almost no wind at all. As the sun was starting to set I wanted to get down quickly so I killed the engine and pulled big-ears at 500′ and quickly remembered that I was flying my old wing and not the brand new replacement! I exited big-ears right away and went parachutal. Pushing the A’s did not get the wing flying. Twice I pushed and then pulled the A’s – the wing finally surged forward when I was about twice the height of the palm trees. I thought “this is going to hurt” while noticing how nice the tops of the palm trees looked from up close. I landed very hard on my feet felt pain in my back and then fell forward. I talked with everyone on the radio and told them I was hurt but ok and please bring the truck over to that side of the field – I knew I was going to need help to pick it up. I walked the 50 yards out of the palm trees to the truck and had one of the guys take me to the hospital. The result? I broke L5 & L4 in my back. The doctor said that I was blessed that my legs were so strong – if I landed on by backside I would have been hurt much more. I am already up and flying and have a large supply of oxycodone & valium because my back has not hurt that much and I haven’t felt the need to take the pills. What did I learn? 1) Do not be in a rush – I did not have much time before sunset and I was too quick to grab the equipment (any equipment) and fly. (This was a total violation of one of my main rules!) 2) I flew a wing that had 400 hours on it and I had retired it. It gave me many hours of pleasure and had lived it’s life. If you retire a wing (or any equipment) – put it someplace where you can’t grab it when you are in a rush to fly. 3) Check your equipment – If a wing goes parachutal upon big-ears exit something is wrong with the wing – don’t fly it anymore. 4) Fly with a radio – if I did not have that communication ability things would have been harder on me and my flying friends. 5) Fly with others or have others nearby to provide help if you need it. 6) Fly with a helmet. If I did not have one on I bet I would have smashed my coconut!

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):
Other Files (if available):

Return to the incident list: Incident List