Return to the incident list: Incident List Plastic harness buckle broke, harness strap went into the prop PPG Type: Foot Launch – Single Occupant Type of Injury: No Injury

Pilot Details

Age: 43 Weight: 210 Gender: Male Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Intermediate – PPG 2 Pilot experience level: 10-50 hours

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Size: Paramotor Frame: Parajet Maverick with Moster 185

Incident Details

August 3, 2025 8:30 AM Location of the incident: Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania Type of Incident: Prop Strike

Last year I adjusted the straps on my harness to make the motor sit higher on my back. That increased the length of loose ends of both bottom harness straps, but I checked that they’re short enough and do not interfere with the prop.

This year, I replaced my E-Prop with Vitto Fast Acceleration prop and removed the prop spacer. It didn’t cross my mind to check whether the loose ends of the harness straps are now long enough to catch the prop.

The incident flight was flight #4 after the prop was replaced. Flights 1-3 before that didn’t uncover the issue as loose ends were wrapped around the straps and were not “dangling”. During the incident flight, during climb out, at about 40-50′, I heard something catching the prop and felt excessive vibration. Initially I thought the part of my windbreaker jacket got sucked into the prop, so I decided to do the “impossible turn” and landed safely on the field.

After landing, I discovered the starboard lower strap of the harness loose, the plastic buckle missing and about an inch of the strap’s end showing damage from the contact with prop (“fluffy”). The trailing(!) edge on one of the prop blades had a damaged area of about 2×0.5″.

From the video recording its not clear whether the strap buckle broke first and that allowed the strap to go into prop, or the loose end of strap was able to reach the prop first and that broke the buckle. I believe I did not see the straps end being loose during preflight check. That said, after checking the length of loose end of the port side harness strap (was still wrapped around the strap), it was determined it is long enough to catch the prop.

Bottom line:
1. Add an extra buckle to the bottom straps to keep loose ends secured. Wrapping them around is not a solution. Also consider other methods to secure loose ends especially if you’re not that tall.
2. Any change in configuration (like replacement of one prop with another model) should be considered a high risk and the whole frame should be checked for any possible loose elements that could reach the prop.

Flight Window: Morning Wind Speed: Light Wind (1-5 mph) Type: Light and Variable Phase of Flight: Takeoff Type of Injury: No Injury Collateral Damage: None Analysis of the incident (additional input by the incident investigation team): Photos (if available):

Video (if available):
Other Files (if available):

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