Return to the incident list: Incident List Wrapped Tip Steer pushed Pilot toward Trees, Vehicles PPG Type: Foot Launch – Single Occupant Type of Injury: Minor Injury

Pilot Details

Age: 49 Weight: 260 Gender: Male Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Advanced – PPG 3 Pilot experience level: 50+ hours

Gear Details

Wing Brand: MacPara Model: Charger Size: 31 Paramotor Frame: P2F Titan XL with Polini Thor 202

Incident Details

June 25, 2023 7:45 AM Location of the incident: Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina Type of Incident: Hard Landing

Wing was set up at First Flight Airport in Kill Devil Hills, NC on the aircraft parking area. Many cracks in the surface had small, resilient weeds growing through them, creating line snag potential. On first takeoff attempt, it is believed that one or more lines were snagged and prevented the wing from coming up well. Pilot set the wing down and reset in the grass safety area to the west, aiming for a generally south to southwest takeoff heading, into the wind.

While the pilot believes they cleared all of their lines while setting up the wing, it is believed that while moving the wing or after clearing the lines that the split tip-steer lines of the charger went through the riser.

When the pilot clipped in, they did not notice that the tip steer line on the left side went through the riser. The brake lines were clear to the pulleys.

The pilot was able to kite and successfully take off, but immediately drifted to the left toward vehicles and the airport entry road.

At the time the winds were squirrely and the pilot believed it was a weird cross wind. They attempted to gain altitude and aim to the west, but continued to drift southeast toward the road.

After realizing that going full throttle would not get over the trees, the pilot managed to do a hard landing on the tree-lined roadway, between two parked vehicles, with no damage to any 3rd party property.

The frame was gently scraped, one prop tip made contact with the pavement but can be easily sanded, and the pilots knees were scraped. No medical attention, beyond cleaning and bandaging, was necessary.

The pilot had 197 flights and 211 hours in flight over about 4 years of experience at the time of the incident. This is the worst injury the pilot had experienced.

Flight Window: Morning Wind Speed: Moderate Wind (5-9 mph) Type: Gusty / Thermal Activity / Dust Devil Phase of Flight: Takeoff Type of Injury: Minor Injury Collateral Damage: None Analysis of the incident (additional input by the incident investigation team): Photos (if available): https://usppa.org/frm_file/aWQ6MTA4NDl8ZmlsZW5hbWU6SU1HXzY2NjAtY29weS5qcGd8c2l6ZTp0aHVtYm5haWw=

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