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Incident Reports (Informal)

Incident reports received by the BHPA are available in summary form on this page. If you're looking for reports of formal investigations undertaken in the case of a serious incident, please visit our Incident Reports (formal investigations) page.

Powered hang glider (Courtesy Gary Shaw)

Incident reports are available in summary form for the following wing types:

Incident reports for all wing types are displayed below in summary form.

The BHPA incident reports database is fully searchable. To refine your search you can specify a particular wing type and select "or" or "and". For example, if you want to search for paraglider incidents at Hay Bluff, for best search results select paraglider from the drop down list and the "and" option.

If you want to search by incident date, please enter the day, month and year numerically as dd-mm-yyyy (eg. 03-12-2019).

or and

If known, total hours and total flights flown are displayed below together with hours and flights flown in the past six months, the latter being displayed in brackets.

There are 3338 entries for all wing types

Displaying page 1 out of 334

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Date Pilot Location Wing Type Summary Injury
Incident Reports

Date
26.09.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
66

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
29 years

1000 hours
(10 hours)

800 flights
(5 flights)

Location
Spain

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Strong,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Swing
Nyos RS

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
No details available

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
23.09.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
35

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
7 years

300 hours
(17 hours)

500 flights
(32 flights)

Location
Mam Tor NW,
Hope Valley,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Iota DLS

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot had climbed to approximately 3000ft in thermic lift and encountered turbulence. Their paraglider suffered a large asymmetric collapse, the risers twisting, preventing operation of the controls. The paraglider entered a spiral dive. The pilot made a successful deployment of their emergency parachute and landed without injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
21.09.2025

Pilot
Unknown
Location
Harting Down,
Petersfield,
UK

Wind Strength:
25-30 km/h

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Unknown paraglider
Unknown

Summary
A paraglider was observed flying in windy conditions with little forward penetration. It was seen to experience a symmetric front collapse. The pilot landed in a tree, unhurt. They were attended to by emergency services.

Injury
Unknown


Date
14.09.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
62

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
8 years

140 hours
(30 hours)

200 flights
(25 flights)

Location
El Bosque,
Algodanales,
Spain

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Calm,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Skywalk
Arak 2

Summary
Whilst setting up to land after a cross country flight, the pilot encountered thermic lift and turned, the turn taking them into turbulent air on the lee side of a building. They experienced a series of delations whilst attempting to fly away from the turbulent air. They managed to land without further incident.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Passenger:
Unhurt

Date
24.08.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
54

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
26 years

1000 hours
(25 hours)

(28 flights)

Location
Nont Sarahs,
Huddersfield,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Light Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
777
R-light 3

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot reported a large model aircraft being flown in close proximity to paragliders.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
22.08.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
61

Rating:
CP

Flying Experience:
10 hours

Location
Woolacombe,
Woolacombe,
UK

Wind Strength:
15-20 km/h

Conditions:,
Not Turbulent

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Alpha

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of their paraglider following a collapse and impacted the ground, sustaining injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Seriously Injured

Date
22.08.2025

Pilot
Male

Rating:
Unknown but name Steve and other eyewitnesses hinted was very experienced

Location
Westbury White Horse,
Westbury,
UK

Wind Strength:
5-10 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Moderate Turbulence

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Unknown paraglider
Unknown

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was observed launching just before a dust devil passed through the launch area. Their paraglider suffered multiple violent collapses and extreme trajectory changes, close to the ground. The pilot landed on their feet, unharmed.

Injury
Pilot:
Unhurt

Date
15.08.2025

Pilot
Male

Rating:
Unknown

Location
Leckhampton,
Cheltenham,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Ozone
Photon

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot was observed scratching for lift and then attempted a slope landing on uneven ground, where they sustained injury. Before the flight the observer noted a broken control line, which was reported to the pilot on launch.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
15.08.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
67

Rating:
P

Flying Experience:
26 years

1000 hours

Location
Dodd Fell,
Hawes,
UK

Wind Strength:
20-25 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Advance
Sigma DLS

Launch Type:
Foot

Summary
The pilot lost control of their wing on take-off in thermic conditions, and was dragged into a rock outcrop where they sustained injury.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries

Date
10.08.2025

Pilot
Male

Age:
50

Rating:
AP

Flying Experience:
550 hours
(60 hours)

752 flights
(36 flights)

Location
Hill Farm,
Norfolk,
UK

Wind Strength:
10-15 km/h

Conditions:
Moderate,
Light Turbulence,
Leeside

Wing Type
Paraglider

Wing:
Swing
Libra RS

Launch Type:
Winch/vehicle Tow

Summary
The pilot inadvertently induced a spin close to ground level, whilst attempting to stay in thermic lift. They lost control of the paraglider and deployed their emergency parachute.

Injury
Pilot:
Minor Injuries,

Hands, Arms, Shoulder

Last updated: 7 October 2025

Displaying page 1 out of 334

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A number of incident analysis reports are also available in the safety section of our website. These are compiled from the individual incident reports submitted during the course of each year.

 

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