Incident Details

On February 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM, an experienced acro pilot was working on a new trick at Salton Sea that blended a classic paragliding maneuver (a 'joker') with paramotor power. He initially flew high to practice and perfect the maneuver. It was a beautiful afternoon with classic Salton Sea weather. He then flew over the landing zone to display the trick for friends watching from the flight line at far too low an altitude. He successfully pulled off several repetitions with perfection. On the final attempt, he unloaded the glider too much, which caused a collapse. The collapse resulted in lines being caught and cut in the propeller. The wing spiraled to the ground and the pilot perished. There appeared to be a split second where deploying a reserve might have saved him, but he didn't appear to try. As an expert at recovering from failed acro tricks, witnesses believe his instinct was to recover rather than throw reserve. Friends reached him within seconds and performed lifesaving actions until paramedics arrived, but he was already gone.

Primary cause was performing aggressive aerobatic maneuvers (joker) at dangerously low altitude. During the final maneuver, pilot unloaded the glider excessively causing a collapse. The collapse caused wing lines to be caught and cut by the propeller, leading to uncontrollable spiral. Despite expert acro skills, altitude was insufficient for recovery or reserve deployment.

Fatal injuries from impact with ground

32 years old, male, 50+ hours experience. Extremely talented paraglider and paramotor pilot who competed in acro competitions in Europe, worked at SIV clinics, invented new tricks. Famous for flying Beamer 3 reserve under power and performing triple rocket loop.

Beautiful afternoon with classic Salton Sea weather

Return to the incident list: Incident List Pilot Fatality From Low Aerobatics PPG Type: Foot Launch – Single Occupant Type of Injury: Fatality Pilot Details Age: 32 Weight: Gender: Male Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Unknown Pilot experience level: 50+ hours Gear Details Wing Brand: Model: Size: Paramotor Frame: with Incident Details February 18, 2025 4:30 PM Location of the incident: Salton Sea, California Type of Incident: Collision with terrain or ground obstacle, Pilot Error This incident report is taken from a Facebook post. The content has been edited to preserve pilot anonymity. “On Tuesday, February 18 at 4:30pm, our dear friend, , suffered a fatal crash on his paramotor at the Salton Sea. He was 32 years old. He was an extremely talented paraglider and paramotor pilot who loved pushing the boundaries of our sport. He competed in acro competitions in Europe, worked at SIV clinics constantly, invented new tricks and stunts, and regularly impressed us all with his skills. He is famous for flying a Beamer 3 reserve under power on his paramotor and also for performing a triple rocket loop. On Tuesday, he was working on a new trick that blended a classic paragliding maneuver (a “joker”) with the power of a paramotor. He had flown up high, away from view to work on it, and perfect it. It was a beautiful afternoon with classic Salton Sea weather. All his closest friends and other Salton visitors were sitting out on the flight line enjoying each other’s company and watching the paramotors. He then flew over the LZ to display the trick for the flight line at far too low an altitude for our comfort. He pulled off several with perfection. But on the final one, he unloaded the glider too much, collapsed, caught & cut lines in his prop, spiraled to the ground, and perished. There seemingly was a split second where throwing a reserve might have saved him, but he didn’t appear to try. As an expert at recovering from failed acro tricks, we believe that was his only instinct. We were on him within seconds and performed lifesaving actions until paramedics arrived, but he was already gone. He was our friend, our family, our light, and our energy. He was joyful, adventurous, inclusive, ambitious, and giving. We loved him dearly and will miss him terribly. If you would like to help his family with their travel and preparations for his memorial, there is a GoFundMe link below.” 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