Return to the incident list: Incident List Wing Collapse on Takeoff PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 59 Weight: 182 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Power Pluto 25 Size: Paramotor Frame: SD RDM-100 on SD Trike with

Incident Details

August 3, 2010 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

Perfect summer morning; zero wind; 3000 ft. grass airstrip; glider & lines laid out neatly. Strap into my trike harness; head tilted back to watch for the glider coming overhead as I apply power; there it is, fully inflated and centered; release the “A’s”; lower my gaze to look at the horizon; sense the toggle pressure as the trike accelerates; the wheels leave the ground. Aah, just the way it should be. In a few minutes I’ll be alongside one of my buddies circling the field; then my other buddy, waiting his turn behind me, will join us, and off we go. Life is good. This will be flight 173. I’ve worked long and hard to gain skill and confidence with takeoffs; a far cry from the days of gritted teeth and squinted eyes just hoping and praying it’s going to work OK like the last one. Snap; the horizon goes vertical; I feel as though I’ve been lassoed from the left rear. There’s just enough time to realize it’s going to hurt and there’s nothing I can do about it – the stuff of nightmares. We, the trike and I, are on our left side, and my left arm is numb; fingers are Popsicle sticks. I’m scared to look in case there’s a bone sticking out – there isn’t. But, there’s also no way I can try to unbuckle from the harness. Then my buddy is there and rights the trike. The top-left cage quarter will have to be replaced. I have no idea what happened. I quote from the PPG pilot who was waiting to takeoff after me: “Your launch was perfect until @ 2 feet off the left wing tip collapsed and then things seemed to happen very fast. I remember you watching straight up for the wing then proceeding to standard take-off form.” There’s no video of the incident so I may never know the cause. It wasn’t the weather or the glider, and from what I and the witness felt/saw, it wasn’t pilot error. I would welcome any comments/speculations. I can only offer an ancillary caveat. I’ve flipped a trike on several previous occasions with no damage. I was alone on the LZ and had to extricate myself. One time it took almost 15 minutes to finally grope for a leg-strap release button, and all the while the twisted harness was tight on my chest making breathing difficult. That could be a bad scenario if compounded by a serious bleeding injury. I’m going to be more circumspect when I feel the need for a flying fix and no one else is available.

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