What happened
On 27 May 2020, a Parajet Thor 130 paramotor, featuring a Dudek Synthesis 27 wing, was conducting a leisure flight near Magharees, Co. Kerry. The pilot was flying with the wing trims set to the "fully out" position to assist with flying into the wind.
As the aircraft passed over a caravan park near the village of Camp, the pilot executed a turn to return to the departure point. Following this maneuver, the pilot did not adjust the wing trim settings to account for the changed flight conditions. This omission resulted in a rapid loss of altitude. During the descent, the aircraft struck and became entangled in overhead 20 kV electrical transmission cables. The impact caused the cables to break, leading the aircraft and pilot to fall to the ground. The pilot sustained minor injuries, specifically cuts to the face.
The investigation
The AAIU investigation examined the aircraft, the pilot's experience, and the regulatory environment. The investigation established that the Parajet Thor 130 was unregistered and lacked a flight permit. The pilot, who had approximately 700 hours of flying experience, was not holding a current medical certificate or a valid pilot license for operations in Ireland at the time of the accident.
Investigators also analyzed the impact on the local infrastructure. The collision caused the breakage of two 20 kV insulated electricity transmission cables, resulting in a power outage affecting approximately 1,000 homes for 53 seconds before the network's circuit breaker system fully locked out the line.