Three wing lines bunched together during takeoff causing violent right roll. Pilot corrected with power, weight shift and left brake, gained altitude, then immediately landed safely.
Lines & Brakes Knots / Twists / Obstructions
Maximum — exactly determined
During a return flight from a 50-mile round trip cross country, Tucker launched in no-wind conditions. After inflating the wing and running forward, everything appeared normal during visual check of both tips. As he released brake pressure to accelerate into full flight immediately after takeoff, the wing rolled violently to the right with the wing tip coming down to the horizon. Three lines on the right side had bunched together, deforming the right wing tip and pulling it in. He maintained power to keep lift in the turn, then corrected with left weight shift and left brake to roll out and fly straight. After gaining some altitude and assessing the situation, he made an immediate precautionary landing. The landing required more left brake pressure than right and wasn't the smoothest but was safe. On the ground, the three bunched lines came apart easily when unloaded.
Three wing lines bunched together on the right side, likely due to imperfect wing layout during preflight in no-wind conditions. The pilot describes his preflight as 'A minus' - satisfactory but not perfect. He visually inspected the lines but may not have been thorough enough to catch the line configuration issue.
Not deployed
Mostly correct inputs while reacting
May 15, 2016
United States
Blairstown
Footlaunch
Tucker Gott
Experienced paramotor pilot
No wind
Nice weather, no wind
Tucker Gott video analysis from May 15, 2016. Pilot describes a sketchy launch during return leg of 50-mile cross country. No wind conditions required manual wing layout. Pilot admits preflight was 'A minus' - satisfactory but could have been more thorough. During takeoff, after releasing brake pressure, wing rolled violently right with tip coming to horizon. Three lines had bunched together on right side, deforming wing tip. Pilot kept power in, corrected with left weight shift and brake, rolled out straight. Made immediate precautionary landing which was slightly rough but safe. Lines came apart easily on ground when unloaded. Pilot notes this was a small, fast, high-performance wing where things can go wrong quickly. Key lessons: proper wing layout, avoid complacency, always expect something could go wrong, assess launch sites for what happens if malfunction occurs.