Return to the incident list: Incident List Pilot loses grip of brake toggle at low alititude causing fatal asymetric spiral PPG Type: Wheel Launch – Single Occupant Type of Injury: Fatality
Pilot Details
Age: 35 Weight: 145 Gender: Male Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Unknown Pilot experience level: 50+ hours
Gear Details
Wing Brand: BGD Model: Luna 3 Size: 20 Paramotor Frame: Parajet Maverick with Vittorazi Moster 185+
Incident Details
August 31, 2025 9:20 AM Location of the incident: Portsmouth, Ohio Type of Incident: Collision with terrain or ground obstacle
At the time of the incident the pilot had 189 hours and 206 flights logged YTD. The pilot was experienced in trike acrobatics on his Retracta brand unit flying both his Viper XC 18m and Sirocco 20m pairing together wingovers and barrel rolls regularly and comfortably.
Concluding his first flight of the morning at 0733 to refuel; the pilot was given the opportunity to demo a stock Luna 3 20m with only 8 flight hours. The owner of the wing, along with another pilot who had flown the same make and model, extensively briefed the pilot on the difference in handling characteristics versus the Luna 2 along with covering the riser topography and tip steering toggles (which were stock/not tied in).
The pilot launched and exited the flight pattern to the south at 0910 and could be seen making shallow, slalom-style turns with both brake and tip toggles in his middle two fingers in each hand as he climbed to around 1,000 feet. After a few increasingly steep (wingtip to horizon) turns, the pilot climbed again to around 400 feet where he initiated a wingover after a single, opposite left turn. During the wingover maneuver the wing took a 30% collapse, that violently reinflated at the bottom of the gate jerking the tip and brake toggle out of the pilot’s left hand while at full throttle, with the pilot at treetop level. This resulted in a sharp and immediate right turn and subsequent downward plane spiral.
Complete and catastrophic damage to airframe, trike and motor.
Wing landed leading-edge first against the beans resulting in one, quarter-sized hole and 3″ tear in the inner rib fabric.
The aircraft was equipped with a reserve parachute that was not deployed. Performing maneuvers at altitude is essential for recovery and/or reserve deployment.
Flight Window: Morning Wind Speed: Moderate Wind (5-9 mph) Type: Steady / Laminar Phase of Flight: Other/Unknown Type of Injury: Fatality Collateral Damage: None Analysis of the incident (additional input by the incident investigation team): Photos (if available):
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