Incident Details

Pilot made a tight right turn at low altitude, then let the wing pitch back approximately 45 degrees before initiating a left turn with heavy brake input. This poorly timed wingover maneuver caused the C-class wing to stall. When the wing started to deflate, the pilot applied extreme brake input - the opposite of correct recovery technique. The wing was unable to recover due to insufficient altitude. Pilot dropped straight down and landed on top of the paramotor, which absorbed most of the impact. Pilot was wearing a helmet and was assessed at an army hospital. Pilot initially attributed the incident to flying through his own propwash, but video analysis suggests the actual cause was poor wingover technique with badly timed and excessive brake inputs.

Pilot executed a poorly timed wingover maneuver at low altitude. After a tight right turn, the pilot let the wing pitch back significantly (~45 degrees) before attempting a left turn with heavy brake input. This late, aggressive brake application while the wing was in a vulnerable pitched-back position caused the wing to stall. When the wing started to deflate, the pilot applied even more extreme brake input - the opposite of what would help recovery. The proper technique would have been to apply brake at the bottom of the swing or fly straight to let the wing stabilize. The C-class wing's characteristics (lower stall resistance, slower recovery) meant it could not recover at this low altitude (~70 ft), whereas a more forgiving B-class wing would likely have prevented the incident.

Minor injury

Male, 54 years old, 210 lbs, PPG 3 rated, 5 years flying experience with advanced training including SIV courses. Pilot claims hundreds if not thousands of hours (though incident report states 50+ hours).

0.5 m/s

No wind / low wind

Morning flight conditions, steady/laminar air

PPG Type: Foot Launch – Single Occupant Type of Injury: Minor Injury Pilot Details: Age: 54 Weight: 210 Gender: Male Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Advanced – PPG 3 Pilot experience level: 50+ hours Gear Details: Wing Brand: Ozone Model: F3 Size: 26 Paramotor Frame: P2F with Mostor 185 Incident Details: March 5, 2024 7:14 AM Location of the incident: San Antonio, Texas Type of Incident: Hard Landing, Pilot Error Stalled the wing at about 70 ft AGL. Could not recover. Parachutes fall. Take away, if this happened at 200 feet, this would've not been an incident. Altitude is your friend. Flight Window: Morning Wind Speed: No Wind / Low Wind Type: Steady / Laminar Phase of Flight: Cruise/In Flight Type of Injury: Minor Injury Collateral Damage: None ==== YouTube Video Analysis (https://youtu.be/Wij5umaJyXw) ==== Video Title: "Paramotor crash on a nice nil wind day on a C class wing and 5 years of flying" Uploader: Sean Symons Upload Date: March 6, 2024 Video Description: This incident happened this morning shortly after takeoff. A pilot that has been flying for five years, has taken many advanced courses including SIV classes, flying a class C wing, flew through his own wash at stall speed. The Glider was not able to open up and recover. The pilot dropped straight down landing on top of the Paramotor. The Paramotor took most of the impact. The pilot was wearing a helmet and is currently being assessed at an army hospital. Pilot's Commentary from Video: - Pilot explains he flew through his own propwash (wake turbulence from his own motor) at stall speed - He pulled "a little bit too steep" which caused him to enter his own wash - The glider was not able to recover/open up - He dropped straight down and landed on top of the paramotor - the paramotor absorbed most of the impact - He was wearing a helmet - He was assessed at an army hospital - He mentions having taken SIV (Simulation d'Incident de Vol) courses and advanced training - Has been flying for 5 years with "hundreds if not thousands of hours" of flying experience - He notes that a lower B-wing would have opened up and prevented the incident, but his C-class wing (F3) doesn't open as fast - Incident happened on a beautiful, almost no wind day - Train was blocking their route to ambulance - they had to move him under the train Pilot's advice: "Don't go to C gliders if you don't need to or don't have to, stick with Bs, Bs are great" ==== YouTube Top Comment - Technical Analysis ==== It had absolutely nothing to do with passing through the wake, and everything to do with bad timing, and the wrong pilot input when it started to go wrong. After the first tight right turn, the pilot let the wing pitch way back before switching to a left turn, and obviously it stalled like that with huge brake input in that position. This was just a small wingover with the turn way way too late. The proper place to apply brake is at the bottom of the swing, or even slightly before, if you want to be sure. The wing was pitched almost 45 degrees back before the next brake input attempted to make a left turn. When watching the helmet camera view first, it was clear how late the turn happened, and sitting here in a safe chair on the ground, I was getting nervous and ready to fly straight and catch the surge. :-/ The brake input, as the wing started to deflate, was in itself extreme, and the opposite of what could have helped, and let the wing fly. The above said with all the respect and best wishes for a fast recovery, and I would normally not even comment on videos like this, but I do not see any other comment pointing out the obvious issue here, and without understanding the cause, others may repeat this error. It is also unfortunate to leave it at "these things happen" and "fly A and B to not have this happen", since that is just not the issue and things don't "just happen". I am a bit confused how this is all unclear to the pilot, considering the "hundreds, if not thousands, of hours", though...?