Return to the incident list: Incident List Power line “guy” wire contact; PPG pilot pushed on PPG Type: Type of Injury:

Pilot Details

Age: 36 Weight: 330 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Power Atlas DHV1-2 XL 33meter Size: Paramotor Frame: Freshbreeze Monster 70lbs / over 8 years old. with

Incident Details

August 5, 2013 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

Went to a small fly in; flew up to 6000’ AGL chasing some balloons. Flight was going fine and was on way back to airfield with 1000’s of feet to spare. Decided to spiral down to around 400’AGL, and head over to the field low to avoid the fly in traffic. At a distance to far to make the primary LZ my motor quit. (Cause later to be found as a loose spark plug wire.) I decided to land in a small dirt parking lot next to a ball diamond. I saw a set of power poles and planed my approach accordingly to go above them. However the lot was short enough that I could not go over them very high so I added an large S-turn to bring my glide path down to a spot well inside the parking area. When I started my final I spotted the 2nd set of lines about 20’directly in front of me I pumped a good amount brake to try to get the glider to pop me over but it was too little too late. I did manage to get a foot on the wire and pushed off but it landed across my chest, I felt my weight loading on to the wire, the glider over flying me; and I started to plan for the worse when all of a sudden the tension dropped off and I felt the glider. I immediately added a healthy brake check and restored the glider to flight. At this point I saw I was only 5-10’ feet from the ground and my mind said; “Your good you could fall this far and be ok with a little PLF and a bent up frame / broken props; land this sucker in case you suffered unseen rigging damage or still got a line tanged in your rigging going back to the pole:” So I landed; on my feet and with a fine flair. Upon looking at my gear only minor scrapes & rubs were notable. Also I managed to break the “guy” wire on the pole somehow. My body only suffered a small scrape like rope burn on my left wrist. I have 1,000’s of PG/PPG flights, and I should have remembered; make the LZ first from my unpowered side, but we all get complacent with time and trust our motors more than we should. — F.Y.I. [“guy”wire] a unpowered cable that keeps poles in place, it does not carry electricity.

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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