2023 AGM Safety Report - [My speaking notes]

Good evening everyone. I'm going to be a litle long-winded I'm afraid, but do please try to stay engaged...

I had written the bulk of this report before I knew anything of the detail of Chris's presentation. Our members have had a significant array of incidents or positive feedback from failing to have had a scare when they really should have. I always think of flying in the melee as a danse macabre...Incidents only being avoided by a combination of full attention and not a little luck!

Approaching weather fronts or rain cells are often accompanied by the sudden arrival of strong winds, the gust front. It is better to familiarise yourselves with this phenomenon while safely sat on your glider on the ground and not while aloft.

Having the rain alarm app on your phone can really help with keeping track of approaching rain.



Keep a careful watch for the arrival of the sea breeze, which may be identified by the characteristic curtain cloud, but may only be evidenced by a lessening of cumulus cloud. Watching the surface of any water upwind will often be a very good indicator.

Sometimes the sea breeze will give you a lovely gentle ride to cloud base, but more often it will be turbulent, sometimes extremely so. Many, many pilots have had serious accidents when the sea breeze arrived.

Tying in with Chris' presentation you really must maintain situational awareness with regard to the wind strength and direction. And don't push your luck with sketchy conditions – we haven't had a serious accident caused by the weather since someone fell out of the sky in 2019, but if pilots carry on in this vein it won't be long before we have another...

May
Newhaven – A pilot outlanded on the rocks near Telscombe, causing an open fracture of the leg. We do keep harping on about this, the rocks are not a safe place to land and avoiiding injury when doing so is a matter of extreme good luck. Only the pebbled areas are safe to land on.

July
H&O - Pilot misjudged level of turbulence, suffered a deflation and autorotation. He went over the trees and was extremely lucky to walk away unscathed.

August
Dyke – Pilot apparently suffered some form of absence and only came to moments before a midair with a dual. Luckily the dual continued to fly but the solo pilot suffered major injuries and had decided to leave the sport.

Dyke – a pilot reported finding sink close to the slope and ending up flying through a bramble patch then gift wrapping a tree. This is far from the only episode of this nature that occurred last year, as every year. On a thermic day, when air is going up, it is also going down somewhere. Accord yourselves a greater margin for error whenever it is bouncy and where safe and possible, maintain a margin of speed so that you have energy to covert if required.

H&O – Experienced pilot launched from the south take off then suffered a possible stall after meeting descending air over the northern landing area. He observed that the wind was blowing over the back there and was possibly turbulent. Be mindful of possible wind directions and the effects this can have on the airflow. He got away with a jarring landing but noted that a good plf would have reduced the risk of injury considerably.

Always approach a landing in plf position, especially if the conditions are in any way difficult. Because there is little chance that you will get into plf position before impact if something does go amiss.

Caburn – Pilot suffered an inadvertent reserve deployment despite a, to be quite honest, unusually thorough pre-flight check. He landed uninjured but noted that had he sat immediately after launch, as far too many are wont to do, he would have been unable to get upright in time for the landing.
He was dragged by the reserve and observed that not all pilots know how to de-power a reserve in this situation; the solution is for one pilot to grasp the peripheral hem, or a line near to the hem if they are brave. The reserve will then stream and can be brought under control. Another option is to get downwind of the reserve and allow it to gift wrap you. This, of course, only works if the reserve is flying close enough to the ground to do so.

I inspected the harness and, like many, the handle was prone to pop out of the front retaining cloth – it does appear to be a fundamental design flaw but there are various solutions, up to and including using a single stitch of rotten cotton to secure the handle. (RC is a low strength cotton or nylon thread – test the solution then re-apply)

November
Dyke
NQP reached down to get into harness while still holding the brake. After some minor low level aerobatics he landed uninjured.

Video footage exists of a british pilot at StHilaire letting go of the brakes at about 100' ATO. He suffered a large deflation, was unable to regain the controls and fatally spiralled into the ground.

If you have to use your hands tho get into the harness, wait until you are established in your soaring pattern and are well clear of the hill.

Better still, improve your technique so that you don't need to let go of the brakes to get in, or buy a stirrup.

H&O
Conditions well off to the west. Mixing airmasses. Was nice to the east side of the bowl.
A PG pilot flew low in the west side of the bowl in a potentially turbulent area. Apparently he had a collapse, not large, followed by several "rotations" before arriving safely in a big ash tree near the bottom. The tree and surrounding bushes cushioned his arrival. He was unhurt and pilots recovered his wing from high in the tree.
Harks back to my earlier comment about being aware of the airflow and its potential risks when flying, especially here. Also there is a suggestion that the pilot may have overcontrolled the wing after the initial collapse. An SIV course, refreshed regularly, can help you avoid this.

2023 March
Pilot blown back into the gun emplacement near the coastguard tower. Suffering a broken leg.
I had not practiced any ground handling in quite some time and failed to de-power the wing correctly before it began to drag me backwards.
Over the winter period I had also not flown too frequently. It was my 3rd flying day of the year.
Also. I was wearing winter gloves due to the cold weather which I had not used Paragliding before. The reduced grip and dexterity affected my grip on the brakes and riser's whilst launching.

I feel if I had more ground handling practice and had been more current
in flying the accident would have been prevented.
Great assessment – Make one for yourself before you have an incident, not after.

Simultaneously, a launching pilot was blown back into the brambles and suffered considerable thorn injuries. His glider was not recovered that day.
Newhaven is typically flown when the wind strength is at the upper limits of a paragliders performance. You must be a master of your ground handling before attempting to launch there unaided.

Beachy Head
Another ground handling injury, this time only a twisted knee, but the lesson still holds. Practice, practice and practice your ground handling.

April
Beachy Head
A dual pilot had their P2 catch their foot in the pilot's flying suit foot strap, causing a minor drag. All known dual pilots have been warned. Do please ensure that your club membershoip record is up to date, especially if you're an instructor as it saves you money!

H&O
Pilot carried downwind low over the back by thermal activity. He flew downwind and fortunately landed clear of the rotor.
The best option if low is probably to fly crosswind rather than downwind.

No matter how experienced you may be, do be conservative in your weather assessments. It is always better to be down here wishing you were up there rather than up there wishing you were down here.

Caburn
NQP tore leg muscle making a misjudged top landing approach. He didn't get the lift he expected and was too slow turning it into a slope landing.

Think all the time. Think quickly and don't fly into the hill. If your groundspeed seems too high on a landing approach you are probably headed downwind. It is much more effective to turn into wind than to try to flare!


Hang Gliders
Koala landing technique. Probably all our hangies are now aware of this new technique, but just in case: When crashing transfer both hands to one upright and you rotate about that upright rather than getting a glider in the back of your neck.

That's all folks! Fly safely, keep your kit in good order and have a great 2023!