Incident Details

An 81-year-old pilot was flying with a friend on a warm summer afternoon. His friend successfully landed in an open grassy field by North Central Speedway. When the pilot came in to land, a mechanical malfunction occurred - something fell off the back of the engine and broke the propeller blade, causing the paraglider to crash into trees. The paraglider became hung up in the tree. The pilot attempted to unbuckle himself from the suspended wreck and fell approximately 50 feet. Emergency responders provided lifesaving efforts, but the pilot died at the scene. The crash occurred before 7 PM.

Mechanical failure of the engine - something fell off the back of the engine and broke the propeller blade during landing approach. The subsequent crash into trees suspended the aircraft, and the pilot's decision to unbuckle himself while suspended at significant height led to the fatal fall.

Fatal injuries from fall of approximately 50 feet after unbuckling from suspended paraglider

81-year-old male pilot, experience level unknown, rating unknown

Warm summer afternoon, nice summer evening conditions

Return to the incident list: Incident List Pilot crashes into trees, then unbuckles himself & falls to his death PPG Type: Wheel Launch – Single Occupant Type of Injury: Fatality Pilot Details Age: 81 Weight: Gender: Male Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Unknown Pilot experience level: Unknown Gear Details Wing Brand: Model: Size: Paramotor Frame: with Incident Details September 11, 2024 5:00 PM Location of the incident: Brainerd, Minnesota Type of Incident: Collision with terrain or ground obstacle, Engine Malfunction, Pilot Error This report is from a news article from this link: https://www.wctrib.com/news/minnesota/paraglider-dies-after-crash-south-of-brainerd?fbclid=IwY2xjawPEORxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR7_wicTeZ05vDZ0rwXsO0-C9HOxdV3IAzdtqFeTB9bRu53aG3EiwIVdRVwSUQ_aem_anqS0BJPVBDnN_6KLWiGiQ BRAINERD, Minn. — A paraglider died at the scene after his vehicle flew into a tree and he fell from a considerable distance in a crash south of Brainerd. The 81-year-old Brainerd man, identified Thursday as [redacted], was flying a paraglider with a friend on the warm summer afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 11. The friend landed his paraglider in an open grassy field by North Central Speedway. When the Brainerd man came in to land, it appears there was a mechanical malfunction. On Wednesday night, Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang said in the preliminary assessment it appears something fell off the back of the engine and broke the blade, causing the paraglider to crash into the trees. The paraglider was hung up in a tree. Klang said it appears the man tried to unbuckle himself from the suspended wreck when he fell perhaps as far as 50 feet. Lifesaving efforts were taken with emergency responders, but the man died at the scene. The crash was before 7 p.m. “We’ll be doing a thorough investigation and trying to gather as much information as we can on it,” Klang said. Kevin Jones and Jason Paige were working on the bleachers at the motor speedway, just off Business Highway 371 South with Cliff Sasker, who owns the speedway. The paragliders are a common sight on a nice summer night. Sasker said they use the grassy area to take off and land and as a flight area because it’s free of power lines. After the crash, the three men watched from a distance as the North Memorial Health Air Care helicopter took off from the field without a patient. They watched the life-saving efforts come to a stop and knew the man couldn’t be saved. They saw the two men flying earlier. Flight Window: Evening Wind Speed: N/A or Unknown Type: N/A or Unknown Phase of Flight: Cruise/In Flight Type of Injury: Fatality Collateral Damage: Analysis of the incident (additional input by the incident investigation team): Photos (if available): Video (if available): Other Files (if available): Return to the incident list: Incident List