1999 Paragliding Accident Summary
By Paul Klemond
(paul@kurious.org)
Here is a summary of all paragliding accidents reported to USHGA and occurring in the US last
year (1999.) The
purpose here is to share factual information and interpretations that will help
pilots improve their decision-making, thereby preventing future accidents.
USHGA received 55 reports this year, double
the number reported last year. This does not necessarily mean that twice as many
accidents occurred -- just that twice as many reports were sent in. This may be due in
part to the $5 coupon USHGA offers for each report. This year
we are unable to correlate accident data with general membership data, as
results of the membership survey are not yet available (March 27, 2000.) Based
on past membership surveys, a good guess is that one
in three or four accidents were reported last year.
To obtain
an accident form, check the USHGA website at www.ushga.org, or phone
1-719-632-8300.
Phase of Flight
Here
is a breakdown showing the phases of flight and their relative likelihood of
resulting in an accident during 1999:
|
Phase |
1999 |
1998 |
|
Kiting |
8% |
6% |
|
Launching |
27% |
23% |
|
In-Flight |
27% |
26% |
|
Landing |
39% |
45% |
Kiting accidents are
those in which the pilot is clipped in but does not intend to leave the ground.
These accidents occur on both on level ground and on slopes, and usually involve
unintended takeoff or falling and being dragged. Predictably these accidents
are more likely to happen to student and beginner pilots. Some of these
accidents occur to students under direct supervision of an instructor.
Launching accidents include
any accidents where the pilot initiates a launch but does not leave the ground,
or where the pilot does leave the ground but has an accident within 10 seconds
or so, before stablizing in flight. Common launch accidents include losing
control and being dragged while pulling up, and taking a collapse during or
immediately after takeoff. Relevant factors include marginal conditions in
which flight should not have been attempted, and incorrect or insufficient
piloting input to prevent loss of control. Marginal conditions are sometimes
detectable on launch, and were a factor in at least 20% (1 out of every 5)
reported accidents.
One common launch
accident involves a collapse before the pilot’s feet have left the ground. Some
pilots quickly blame turbulence, but often the pilot has failed to maintain
load tension on the A-riser on the side that collapsed. One way to avoid this
problem is to be aware of the height of your hips as you run off
launch. If you feel loading/tension decreasing on your seat on either side,
lower your hips such that your seat is always pulling downward and thus maintaining
loading or tension on both of your A-risers. It can be challenging to do this
while running or turning from a reverse launch, but it will help. Remember to
simulaneously use brake pressure to "actively pilot" your wing even
before your feet leave the earth.
In-Flight accidents are those in which the pilot launched successfully and did not intend to land, but lost control of the paraglider during flight. Common factors include turbulence-induced collapses, aerobatics or maneuvers, and reserve deployments (both accidental and intentional for training purposes.)
Landing accidents involve any situation in which the pilot has decided to land before the accident occurred, and the intended landing is imminent. This has consistently been the most hazardous phase of each paragliding flight in the US. Common factors in landing accidents include low-level turbulence and hazardous terrain obstacles, bad decisions while focusing on achieving a spot-landing, and inadequate flight planning resulting in a forced landing in an unintended location.
Nature of Injuries
Here is a breakdown
showing the nature of injuries sustained in reported accidents:
|
Nature of |
1999 |
1998 |
||
|
Injury |
Accidents |
% |
Accidents |
% |
|
Back |
12 |
29% |
5 |
23% |
|
Foot |
7 |
17% |
5 |
23% |
|
Ankle |
7 |
17% |
4 |
18% |
|
Other |
7 |
17% |
1 |
5% |
|
Knee |
4 |
10% |
2 |
9% |
|
Arm |
3 |
7% |
5 |
23% |
|
Pelvis |
3 |
7% |
3 |
14% |
Note that in some accidents the pilot sustained more than one of these
types of injury. Back and pelvis continue to be among the most common and most
severe injuries reported. Several non-injury incident reports indicated that
foam back-protectors helped avoid serious back and/or pelvis injuries. The DHV
recently concluded that foam back-protectors are the most effective type. See www.dhv.de
for more information. Also the Sup’Air USA website has good (if not unbiased)
information on this: see www.supair-usa.com for more information.
Ankle, foot and knee
injuries remain common. Several such reports indicate that overweight pilots
and tandem passengers may be at greater risk for ankle injuries during
launching, landing, and landing following a reserve deployment.
Qualifications of Injured Pilots
Pilots of all skill
levels are injured in accidents every year. Here is this year’s breakdown by
rating. The “Members” column shows the percentage of all USHGA paragliding
members who have the rating shown to the left.
|
Pilot Rating |
1999 |
1998 |
|
|
Accidents |
Members |
||
|
Student |
15% |
6% |
(unknown) |
|
Beginner (P1) |
9% |
17% |
5% |
|
Novice (P2) |
31% |
29% |
39% |
|
Intermediate (P3) |
13% |
11% |
27% |
|
Advanced (P4) |
20% |
11% |
25% |
|
Master (P5) |
0% |
3% |
4% |
|
Tandem
Instr. (T3) |
15% |
14% |
N/A |
|
Unrated/Unknown |
11% |
3% |
N/A |
Before you draw too many conclusions about which levels of pilots do or
don’t have the most accidents, bear in mind the above data only tell you which
level of pilots report the most accidents.
Fatalities
We had fewer fatalities in 1999 than in the three years before:
|
Year |
# of Fatalities |
|
1999 |
1 |
|
1998 |
4 |
|
1997 |
4 |
|
1996 |
4 |
The one fatality last year
was unusual: the pilot apparently fixated on and landed in a somewhat narrow
urban man-made waterway, was dragged in the current and drowned.
General Factors
Many accidents are
attributable not to one specific cause but to a number of contributing factors.
Here is a summary of factors involved in the accidents reported in 1999. It is
difficult to identify all relevant factors for most accidents, therefore the
numbers below should be viewed as bare minimums:
|
Factor |
1999 |
1998 |
||
|
Cases |
% |
Cases |
% |
|
|
Strong Thermals |
12 |
25% |
4 |
13% |
|
Collapse |
12 |
25% |
6 |
19% |
|
Ridge Soaring |
11 |
23% |
(unknown) |
(unknown) |
|
Marginal Conditions |
10 |
21% |
5 |
16% |
|
Flight Plan Failure |
6 |
13% |
2 |
6% |
|
Competition Wing |
4 |
8% |
3 |
10% |
|
Spot Landing -1 |
3 |
6% |
(unknown) |
(unknown) |
|
No Hook-knife, Water
-2 |
3 |
6% |
(unknown) |
(unknown) |
|
Dragged |
3 |
6% |
2 |
6% |
|
Aerobatics |
2 |
4% |
3 |
10% |
|
Tangled Lines |
2 |
4% |
1 |
3% |
|
Stale skills |
1 |
2% |
(unknown) |
(unknown) |
|
Equipment Failure |
0 |
0% |
3 |
10% |
|
Mid-Air Collision |
0 |
0% |
1 |
3% |
-1
Spot Landing: pilot made poor decision(s) in an effort to make a spot
landing.
-2 Water Landings: pilot was flying near a body
of water, but was not carrying a hook-knife, or did not use it. One report suggested that tandem passengers
should have a hook-knife available to them for emergency use. This presents
some interesting potential problems but would clearly have helped one particular
situation.
Flying Near Water
Flying near bodies
of water poses special hazards. Pilots flying near water should consider
carefully the hazard posed by closed-cell-foam back protectors such as the
Sup’Air “Mousse Bag”, “Bump Air” and many others. These components cause the
harness to float “butt skyward” forcing the pilot face down underwater. Even
exceptionally athletic pilots have had great difficulty in these situations! Pilots
are advised to seek alternative forms of back protection when flying near
water, or to plan reliable harness escape techniques prior to launching. If you
do attempt to jump from your harness before hitting the water, be warned that
pilots have experienced an inability to perceive their height above the water,
in order to determine when to jump safely.
Tandem Accidents
Eight tandem accidents were reported in 1999, up from 4 in 1998. This follows the general increase in reporting and does not necessarily indicate any change in the actual number of accidents occurring. There were no tandem fatalities in 1999.
|
Who
Was Injured |
1999 |
1998 |
|
Passenger Only |
50% |
50% |
|
Pilot Only |
13% |
25% |
|
Both Pilot and Passenger |
38% |
25% |
Tandem: Phase of Flight
|
Phase |
1999 |
1999 |
|
Kiting |
0% |
8% |
|
Launching |
50% |
27% |
|
In-Flight |
0% |
27% |
|
Landing |
50% |
39% |
Tandem gliders are generally much more difficult
to launch than solo gliders. Launch skills might be an area in which our tandem
training program can reduce tandem accidents.
Instructors
Instructors as a group
showed huge improvement in accident reporting in 1999. This is especially
important since few students are familiar enough with the USHGA to even know
that accidents should be reported, much less how to report them. Just a
reminder to instructors: ICP administrators do not have access to accident
reports. So please report your accidents to help us identify ways to improve
the instructor program for everyone.
Please Report Your Accident
If you
have or witness a paragliding accident, or
even just an “incident” that others could learn from, please take a few minutes
and report it to USHGA. You can get a report form from any instructor, or from
USHGA 1-719-632-8300, or you can use the web at www.ushga.org.
USHGA will give you a $5 merchandise coupon for each report you submit. All
reports are anonymous. There are no risks or consequences for submitting a
report.
Paul Klemond is the volunteer chair of the USHGA
Paragliding Accident Committee, and can be reached by email at paul@kurious.org.