Return to the incident list: Incident List Two PPG’s Collide PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: Weight: 170 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

July 24, 2011 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

From http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_martin_county HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. – Two persons were injured Saturday morning when two motorized paragliders collided in midair, said John Belding, spokesperson for the Martin County Fire Rescue. Belding said the two paragliders collided around 10:20 a.m. in the vicinity of Bob Graham Beach. One of the paragliders “stumbled about 50 to 60 feet and landed in the area of the dune line,” Belding said. He said the operator sustained serious injuries and was transported by LifeStar to Lawnwood Regional Trauma Center. Belding said the second glider landed nearby and the operator sustained minor injuries. That operator was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Later Report from http://m.tcpalm.com/news/2011/jul/25/1-hospitalized-after-para-gliders-collide-over-mar/ An accidental mid-air collision of two motor-powered paragliders that left a Vero Beach man hospitalized on Saturday involved two men who knew each other and were flying together. At about 10:20 a.m. Saturday, Arthur Levy, 42, of the 5900 block of Brae Burn Circle, Vero Beach, plummeted 50 feet after the collision above Pasley Beach Park. He is hospitalized in good condition at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce. His flying partner, Richard Weston, 75, of Palm City, walked away after landing with a parachute. He sustained minor injuries that medical personnel treated at the scene. Just before the accident Weston was in the air and waiting for Levy to take off so he could land. As Levy took off to the south, Weston descended, but Levy turned to the north and collided with Weston, according to a Martin County Sheriff’s Office report. Stuart resident Jeni Batton was filming Levy and saw the two collide. She declined to comment. Weston inflated his parachute and safely descended. Levy fell directly to the ground, severely fracturing his right ankle. He also complained of neck and back pain, according to the report. Weston declined to comment until he can meet with Levy and “try to figure out what happened,” he said Monday. Each of them had flown at the beach before, said Weston, who has seven years of experience flying paragliders. The Sheriff’s Office determined the collision was accidental. The Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t regulate paragliders — basically a large parachute — because they aren’t classified as aircraft. The flying machines are not registered with the FAA and operators don’t need to get pilot certificates. Saturday’s accident was at an unguarded beach access between the county’s Jensen Beach and Stuart Beach parks that have lifeguards. County Ocean Rescue Capt. Emily Hall saw one paraglider in the air. Then someone ran up yelling that there was a “bad accident, come quick,” Hall said. “They were fortunate they crashed on land because they are strapped in and if they fell into the ocean we may have not been able to get to them in time,” Hall said. Martin County Fire Rescue rushed to the crash scene after getting a 911 call.

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