2022 trends of paragliding incidents

: As we embark on the 2023 season, the volunteer members of the USHPA Accident Review Committee take time to reflect on our work and some of the trends we saw in the 2022 season. We do our best to know about most accidents and ensure a report is filed for each one. The real work of the committee is to call individuals who file preliminary reports and speak with them about what transpired to tactfully collect information. We want the folks who are reporting to feel reassured that their information will be handled with sensitivity and that everyone involved will take the information and try to learn from it in order to reduce the number of future accidents.

We meet once a month and discuss the events. We identify trends in hang gliding, paragliding, miniwing, and speedflying/riding accidents and communicate them with USHPA members. We also use this information to offer suggestions on how to prevent accidents.

Reviewing the 2022 flying season for paragliders, speedwings, and miniwings, we saw some concerning trends that we’d like to share. The first trend we noticed is related to managing the glider on the ground in wind. This is an acquired skill, and pilots would do well to make kiting practice happen as often as flying. Strategic kiting practice with lots of cycles, turns to face forward, and turns back to set down the glider under control can all benefit pilots when they are faced with challenging launch scenarios.

We saw several accidents in 2022 that started with poor glider management on the ground and then manifested into an incident or accident during the “turn to face forward” stage and/or right as the pilot was taking off. Many of these centered around turning the wrong way to face forward and the subsequent management of that malfunction.

The second trend pertains to cross-country and competition flying. Overall, there was a slight decline in the number of incidents from the previous year; however, there were still numerous incidents in which pilots exploring cross country, especially in competition, found themselves in a compromised position and were unable to glide to a comfortable landing area. These ended with tree landings, most of which did not involve injury. These incidents represent a lack of situational awareness usually attributed to what the FAA calls “get-thereitis” or the determination of a pilot to reach a destination even when conditions for flying are very dangerous.

The miniwing and speedflying segment presented numerous accidents related to hard turns and circles close to the ground and barrel roll incidents and accidents. The decision to circle low should be strongly considered before execution. Most miniwing and speedwing pilots reporting on the subject attributed crashes to a poor last-minute decision to circle.

Lastly, several reports focused on mid-air collisions or crowded landing areas with traffic issues. These events remind us that the skies have become increasingly crowded, and many of us may find ourselves having to decide against taking a flight due to crowding. It’s never been more important for us to wait our turn and yield the lift to other pilots.

Summarizing years of accident reports, we are reminded that none of us are immune. It doesn’t matter who we are—we all are susceptible to making mistakes. Whether we err by making a mistake during takeoff, under or overestimating our glide in a situation, doing too strong of a turn while close to the ground, or losing track of the other pilots in the air, things can sneak up on any one of us at any time.

It is the opinion of the ARC that flying should be thought of as a multi-decade pursuit. In keeping with that idea, there’s no need to be overly ambitious or to force any exceptional flying to happen in a given year. A recreational pursuit of the sport will yield years of gratification in a more predictable way than an agenda-driven pursuit of immediate airtime.

On behalf of the USHPA volunteer Accident Review Committee, we wish you the best flying year possible and remain at your service. Please remember to file reports for any accidents you see at www.ushpa.org/page/incident-report. It is more common for no accident reports to be filed than for us to receive multiple accounts.

Finally, we welcome new volunteers to the committee and invite those submitting reports to write about their experiences and lessons. These can also be included in the USHPA Pilot magazine as a learning opportunity for all pilots.