A few speed flyer fumbles + - South Side, non injury

A few close calls on the South Side this weekend  -

- a speed flyer kiting up the hill got launched prematurely and twisted the wrong way, he couldn't get his hands out of the toggles to "steer from above the twist " because he was using the hand-through-the-toggle technique. His hand was subsequently stuck in the risers at some point and he managed to land on the side of the hill with no trouble. It's good to do a solid pre flight, be careful of kiting up and being plucked, be trained in riser twist, and avoid the hand through the toggle technique.

- pilot on a hybrid - between speed wing and paraglider - made a last minute decision to do a circle; unable to finish the arc, he hit the hill and did a front flip before flying away. The pilot was o.k. but must be quite sore. Last minute maneuvers have caused LOTS of accidents and tons of close calls. Pre- meditation is key.

- a visiting pilot setting up to land at the bottom of the South Side and a bit high decided a circle would be best but underestimated how much he would drift. He barely missed the hill. Neither sides of the POM are prime for circles.

- a pilot was observed at about 50 feet over the top of the south side pointing straight-down-wind during a soaring session - against all odds, he managed to turn it into the wind and flare. Some pilots somehow imagine that a top landing involves a down-wind-leg - it doesn't in most cases. If you haven't top landed, please seek an instructors guidance. There are ways to do it and ways not to do it.

Finally, there was a blown launch by a speed flyer in the Ogden area. We don't have many details other than it was late in the evening, the launch was technically demanding and the pilot was low on experience. He suffered two broken ankles and the rescue was difficult.

Ankle Injury South Side ( PG )

A student sustained an ankle fracture at the South Side.

Randolph Stall on Landing (pg)

A new P2 or student was making an approach to an unfamiliar landing area and caused a stall event at approx. 50 feet resulting in a suspected back injury. The pilot was transported to receive medical attention by ambulance.

two North Side fumbles ( PG )

Two pilots, in separate incidents, both attempted to bench without sufficient altitude. Both turned right = downwind when they arrived ( low ) at the upper hill. Both continued downwind while losing altitude until they crash landed downwind on the side of the hill. One was further up the hill than the other. One had back pack pain and sought an X ray. His helmet was damaged. These incidents point to a few ideas:

- new pilots shouldn't be ambitions about benching up - many people with years and years of experience, bench up using a variety of dodgy techniques that are not recommendable - just because you see people benching up doesn't mean its a good idea or that  the technique that you see being employed is a good one

- new pilots should try to bench up such that they arrive at the upper hill with a comfortable height and can execute a left turn ( toward the east and into the wind ) thereby having low ground speed

- pilots should never arrive at the upper hill, make a left and continue to try and soar the upper hill while losing altitude behind the houses - there have been a number of incidents in which pilots got pinned behind the houses and had to land on the side of the hill ( if this ever happens to you, land going toward Lone peak = into the wind ) .

- to be clear;  flying to the upper hill and making a right turn is very advanced - the air is turbulent, the ground speed is high - if you find yourself in this situation, maintain extra distance away from the hill and turn away from the hill early  ( when it is clear that you are not going to successfully bench ) - make sure that you land facing back toward the grassy takeoff and the parking area

- make it your policy that if it doesn't look like your attempt to bench up is going well, that you will turn out away from the hill with plenty of altitude to rejoin the soaring pattern on the bench

A discussion of techniques for benching up wouldn't be complete without mentioning the other side of the coin: it is very easy to bench up and find yourself not going forward. As soon as you arrive at the upper hill, turn left and start making your way toward Lone Peak. Fly as far away from the upper hill as you can while maintaining altitude or going up a little. Make your way to the extreme north east end of the upper hill before getting high. Continually check your forward ground speed. Continually push out in front of the hill as far as you can. In doing so, you will be in the best possible position if the wind picks up.

If you ever end up in a situation where you can't go forward, the recommended technique is to work your way toward the gravel pit at the SW end of the hill while staying into wind ( you are high at this point ) then turn straight down wind and fly toward Lehi thereby leaving the POM area and any potential rotors, then turn into the wind and land in a big field.  Don't allow yourself to blow back into the rotor on the back of the north side. If you end up back there, throw your reserve.

If you have questions about any of these ideas, please contact an/ your instructor.

S. Side Deflation Low ( PG ) 8/30

A P3 level pilot flying a small acro glider took a big deflation on a very strong south morning as a result of a tandem wake. Some X- rays revealed no damage other than soft tissue.

Kiting Injury S. Side ( PG )

A P3 level pilot with a high level of kiting experience was kiting in a strong wind and believes he was waked by a tandem. He took a deflation and was yanked into the air and deposited on his shoulder. He sought a orthopedic specialists care and was pronounced to have no significant injuries other than a very sore shoulder.

Reserve Deployment Non-Injury Lone Peak ( PG )

A P2 level pilot on a 1-2 wing flying from Olympus to the Point of the Mountain took a series of deflations and threw his reserve. He had a nice landing.

Non Injury Reserve Deployment PG - The B -

A pilot launched the B on a strong and cross afternoon, made a transition away from the launch toward the POM and suffered an asymmetric with an ensuing spiral type turn. Realizing his height, the pilot deployed his reserve and had a 6-7 second reserve ride before landing on the side of the hill. He gathered up his equipment to demonstrate that he was uninjured and made a post to Facebook to that point. We should all be ready to throw our reserves especially in strong conditions. This pilot handled this situation quite well.

PG accident - The Cove, Central UT July, 22

A beginner paraglider pilot launched late in the evening and did not glide easily to the landing area. The pilot encountered turbulence in a lee side area and experienced subsequent deflations and oscillations resulting in s crash. The pilot was taken to the hospital via helicopter with back and rib injuries. Always fly with a guide at new sites preferably an instructor or team of instructors that will insure your healthy launch-flight-landing via radio guidance. Use extreme caution when flying sites that are characterized by long and sometimes impossible glides to the landing area + other pitfalls ( dicey launch, no landing area... )

PG Injury Accident Monroe (9000 ft.)

Pilot launched into bad conditions, a series of four different deflations ended with a bad landing and patella injury on one  knee and broken ankle/torn ligaments on the other. Pilot commented that the wind was too cross and he would like to see out training in dealing with and preventing deflation. Multiple deflations would generally indicate that the pilot was in rotor.

HG Student Ankle Injury, July 9 South Side

A hang gliding student suffered an injured ankle while taking a flight at the bottom of the South Side. He spent the bulk of the flight with the control bar extended and couldn't manage good directional control or a good flare at the end of the flight. There was also some damage to the hang glider. The pilot made his way to get medical attention without the use of an ambulance.

Backwards Hook In - Non Injury

As happens a few times a year,  a pilot hooked in completely backwards and launched off a local mountain. A "common sense" approach to hooking in, in which the pilot practices the turn direction for the reverse inflation will usually prevent this. In this case, the pilot flew well while hooked in backwards and landed somewhere other than the designated LZ. If this ever happens to you, please consider just flying away from the hill and executing the flight to the LZ as normal, complete with nicely executed flare. While the task seems daunting, it can be done well, even on your first time.

PG Top Landing North Side Injury, July 29

A visiting P2 pilot attempted to top land the top of the North Side at 7:45 pm. At approx. 25 feet, the pilot stalled the glider resulting in an ankle and a back injury. Assistance was rendered by a local instructor and a registered nurse who happened to be flying tandem nearby. A helicopter evacuation was executed. 

Non Injury HG Tandem Launch Abort June, 29 North Side

A tandem HG pilot caught a wing tip in the bushes and aborted a launch resulting in some damage to the glider but zero injuries.

Accidental Deployment PG Tandem June, 21 ( non injury )

A tandem pilot had an accidental deployment on the North Side. There were no injuries. The reserve was difficult to disable. The pilot speculates that a reserve that had a small pack volume combined with a normal size under the seat reserve container combined with some mild acrobatic maneuvering led to the inadvertent deployment.

Kiting Accident S. Side

A visiting P2 pilot inflated on top of the South Side in 20 mph wind. He was pulled three or four feet in the air and when he landed he broke his leg. He was using a smaller than normal paraglider which may have made him think that the 20 mph winds would be less of an issue. We are all encouraged to avoid be smart about flying  in strong conditions even when we are using smaller canopies.

PG Downwinder Incident North Side (non injury - PG )

What must have been a new pilot made what has become a common blunder on the North Side (PG) over the years. In setting up for a top landing on a typically cross North Side evening, the pilot turned down wind toward the bathrooms but failed to bring the canopy into wind for landing. The pilot exercised excessive brake on one side of the glider at about 30 feet and caused a spin. The landing was firm but the pilot walked away. A few lessons here:

-most top landings on the NS do not involve turning down wind at all ---> just drift over the top of the hill and then "square up" back into the wind with plenty of time to spare

-members need to take pains to brief new pilots and visiting pilots about this potential pitfall and how to make top landings on the North Side

-if we point down wind for any reason it's important to look and lean (PG) back into the wind as early as possible while using brake in such a way as to avoid an inadvertent spin

Other common NS pitfalls to avoid:

-benching up in strong conditions ---> blowback
-benching up too low, going east behind the houses and having to do a forced landing on the side of the hill ( normal wind heavily favors a NE bound landing on the side of the hill ---> SE landing = downwind and VERY high speeds )

If you need further clarification on these subjects consult your instructor. 

HG Launch Incident N. Side

A Hang 4 pilot on an advanced (topless) wing failed to get airborne last night (April 16) on the North Side.

Conditions were very light- almost no wind, with light cycles of about 5mph.  There was little to no wind when the accident occurred.

Pilot was fine, and there was no damage to glider.

The cause was the pilot attempting to launch with his nose too high (improper angle of attack). The pilot also said he didn't run enough, and jumped into the glider before it was flying. But the high nose angle was the main cause.

The pilot had been cautioned by a senior instructor to keep his nose down while preparing to launch.

The pilot landed in large bush directly below launch. The pilot said neither he nor the glider even hit the ground.

The pilot was cautioned to thoroughly inspect the glider before flying it again.

3-27-11 South Side POM - Paraglider

A pilot launched a paraglider in VERY strong conditions ( mid afternoon ) from the top of the South Side and suffered a big deflation just after launch. He suffered a number of broken ribs and was taken to the hospital via helicopter.

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Hello and welcome to the PG and HG Safety blog for UT. The purpose of this blog is to make sure that maximum information about all incidents and accidents in UT can be easily accessed. The blog is published semi-anonymously and will contain information that is public knowledge and/ or that has been released by the person/ persons involved in the incident or accident. The information contained in these reports does not come from accident reports. Furthermore the available information will be updated as more accurate information becomes available. This, in an effort to make this a reliable place to find accurate information over the years.