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Pilot Details

Age: 35 Weight: 210 Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Size: Paramotor Frame: Power 2 Fly EVO 8 GT – Moster 185+ with

Incident Details

February 13, 2018 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

This incident-accident occurred post repair/replacement of a throttle cable and handle assembly. The original stock cable and handle was functioning normally. The student pilot wanted a different style handle.

Pilot removed stock cable and handle and replaced with a new style cable and handle.

There was concern with the kill switch wiring because the two throttles had different wires.

An immediate communication was attempted to find out about the proper wiring. There was no immediate answer. Pilot completed the job as best as he knew how to proceed.

The pilot was positioned along the edge of a flying field. There were 7 witnesses in the area including his wife. The instructor had not yet arrived on site to inspect the work.

The pilot positioned his paramotor on the ground, unsecured. Before starting the motor he exercised the throttle to verify a safe range and the appropriate return to idle. The throttle operated normally.

The student pilot handed the throttle to his wife and asked her to operate the throttle as he started the motor. The motor started normally. After a few seconds the motor RPM’s began increasing without input. The pilot told his wife to kill the motor. She attempted to kill the motor but the kill switch would not work. The motor RPM’s continued to increase. The pilot and his wife began to panic and yell for help. The motor RPM’s increased to a level where the pilot could no longer safely secure the rig. The pilot yelled at his wife to run away.

As the wife ran away the pilot threw the operating motor up into the air in an attempt to flee. The motor crashed on the ground near the pilot. The propeller continued spinning at a very high RPM. Upon impact the propeller exploded. Multiple prop shards flew away at a high rate of speed. One of the shards struck the pilots wife in the upper left arm, slicing away a 4″ circular radius of flesh.

After the propeller broke, the engine quickly over-revved. Nearby witnesses ran to the motor and pulled the spark plug and the motor stopped.

At that point the pilot realized that he had severely twisted his knee while throwing the paramotor. Both individuals bandaged themselves and drove to a hospital for treatment.

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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