I love the sport and that’s exactly why the accident news bugs me.
Paragliding has become absolutely massive in terms of popularity and yet we have so many people losing their lives each year. We hear all the time about the accidents. We need to learn from them and be aware that there needs to be a proper level of awareness when you’re doing paragliding. You must never in any way compromise your own safety. You have to be fully aware and take all the steps you can yourself before you go paragliding. You need to know the basics and get all the information you can.
How your flight works and how you’ll land. With your paraglider you can quite easily overcome the risk and work together to have a very smooth flight. What I see and what I observe is that there are a huge number of people doing paragliding and a huge number of them are doing it for the very first time. They are very nervous. Even if they can’t quite get themselves to the flight, you obviously have to know how to push your legs up and down and that will control your paraglider and you have to do that for the safety of both of you.
Awareness is the part you can control, so the rest of this article is about what to look for and what to ask.
Who’s supposed to be looking at the gear?
Accidents have a multitude of causes. Weather, pilot judgement and equipment are all factors and no one article is going to sort them all out. Equipment is the one thing that a customer can look at prior to leaving the ground.
My view is that every site should have a safety meeting for their staff and pilots (ideally on a weekly basis). I think the authorities should themselves inspect the flight equipment rather than just leave it to the operator that owns it. The reserve parachute, the main wing and everything that’s been replaced after a certain period of time should be on that list.
What a bad version of this looks like
You get there, sign the paperwork, buckle up, and you’re running toward the edge within minutes. You’re not shown the reserve parachute. You’re not told when the wing was last inspected. Your briefing is ‘run when I say run’.
The good version is different. The gear is shown to you and the questions are very specific and get you straight to the answer. There’s a briefing prior to you being clipped in and the operator can tell you exactly where the Landing Zone is and what med support is on site.
Two myths worth dropping
“The waiver covers it.” A waiver is typically a mechanism whereby the onus shifts to the customer if anything goes wrong. It’s not an inspection record at all. There’s nothing in the waiver to suggest that the reserve was repacked or that the lines were checked.
“I’m a complete beginner, I wouldn’t know what I was looking at.” You don’t need to read a wing like a technician. You just need to ask the question and then see what the answer is. A clear answer with a date is a good answer. Irritation or vagueness is a bad answer.
What to ask to see, part by part
Inspection intervals will vary from manufacturer, wing model and country so there’s no one single number. You could of course just ask for the date and then compare that against the interval that the manufacturer has quoted.
- Reserve (emergency) parachute: you should be able to see it and you should be able to ask when it was last repacked. The repack intervals are governed by the manufacturer and by local rules (typically between 6 and 12 months).
- Main wing: Ask when it was last inspected and roughly how many hours it’s flown. The service intervals are generally monthly or on flight hours (whichever occurs first) and a tandem wing in commercial service will of course pick up the hours very quickly. Be on the lookout for fraying, patching and general fabric that’s faded or worn.
- Lines: Ask how and when they are checked and replaced. Lines of course wear, stretch and fray with use and you can see the fuzzing and damaged sheathing for yourself.
- Harness and connectors: check the buckles and webbing and watch the pilot check that all the connectors are closed and locked prior to launch.
- Emergency plan: Find out what happens if something goes wrong and where the nearest medical help is (including at the landing site).
Nothing takes long and a sensible operator will have the answers to hand.
I’m also a paragliding guy. I’ve done quite a few flights from various locations actually, from India through to Himachal Pradesh, Kangra district, Bir Billing (which is also the second highest 8000ft paragliding site). The views in the middle of the light are absolutely incredible and the Himalayan valleys are absolutely stunning.
When I go to any paragliding site my first question to the staff is to go and have a look at the gear themselves and get the basic details. I want to do all the checks myself (including what the backup is in the case of an emergency, i.e. the emergency parachute etc). There should be a proper medical facility at the landing site. That’s what the responsible person should do. If we’re all together we can look at the whole thing in a different light and in fact make paragliding a far safer and far more viable proposition for everyone.
One tiny step to get your voice heard is far more important than losing your life. There’s obviously a risk involved but we can deal with that so long as we’re aware of it. At various paragliding sites I’ve seen quite a few people come in, sign the form and go straight into the next stage of the flight without in any way asking any technical questions about the equipment they’re going to be using for the flight.
Even if you haven’t got the training in how to take the right angle for flight, how to hold your legs, how to look after yourself and stay calm in the event of an emergency (let the paraglider look after that as it has the control of the parachute) you can very easily get that basic training at the site itself with the help of the experienced paragliders who are already there. They’ll be more than happy to help you out if you just ask them properly. I do that every time I go flying.
If the operator can’t tell you the reserve’s repack date then that’s the answer.
What the briefing should cover
A good briefing will tell you exactly how the launch run is done, how you sit in the air, how the landing will happen and what to do if the pilot gives you any odd instructions. If it seems a bit thin then simply ask for more. A pilot with a lot of flights behind them will be more than happy to go into it with you if you ask. It’s vital to stay calm and just follow the pilot’s instructions as they are in control of the wing.
Picking an operator who talks about the basics
Operators who are upfront about how they manage safety are the ones that are easiest to assess. Wolf paragliding comes up in a Reddit thread on the subject. Have a look at what they put out there and apply the above checklist to it. Don’t take my word for it, Wolf paragliding service.
You’re right to ask
You’re paying for a service and you have a right to know what’s holding you up. If a sufficiently large number of customers are asking the same question then the operators will change how they operate. The risk never goes to zero but awareness will reduce it.
Prior to going to any paragliding site I’ll check the weather on my mobile for that site. I’ll still check that the clouds are clear when I get there as the air tells you the wind speed. I’ll only go with an experienced paraglider. There should be absolutely no rush at all. If there is a rush then there are loads of people queuing up for paragliding. Just wait until the following day really as on a very busy paragliding site the paragliders are all thinking about how they’re going to make as much money as possible and will be doing their flights as quickly as possible.
You absolutely have to be very careful after that. A basic training will help with the paragliding, then of course you take the flight once you’ve checked the gear.
The waiver is the form. The questions are the safety questions.
