History of the Flight
On 5 April 2021, between 16:00 and 17:00 local time, in the Vougies area at the outskirts of Athienou village, the pilot of a paraglider crashed into a cliff. The pilot was severely injured, with fractures of the sacrum (lower spine), left leg, and right thumb. Rescue teams extricated the pilot.
Damage to Paraglider
The canopy was damaged by rocks at the crash site. Parts of the pilot supporting harness were cut by the rescue team during the rescue operation. No other damage occurred.
Pilot Information
The pilot held no required license or ratings. He reported approximately 75 skydiving jumps from a light aircraft and about 10 hours of paragliding experience. No medical certificate was required, and the pilot stated he was fit and in good health before the accident.
Paraglider Details
The paraglider canopy was a Tequila 35 (serial no. SG9T35R-4610-52477) in red. The harness was a Wan i (serial no. 72-130-04.15-09.15-0399-P).
Meteorological Conditions
The accident area had an elevation of 1155 feet. An Athienou meteorological station, 5 km from the accident site, reported surface wind from the southeast (120°–130°) with an average speed of 7 knots, gusting to 9–10 knots. Light winds of intensity 2 Beaufort mixed with thermals at 1000 meters. A temperature inversion at 1000 meters prevented thermals from rising higher. At 1000 meters, a strong wind shear in velocity and direction caused turbulence in the area, though the exact intensity and height of the turbulence could not be determined.
Accident Sequence
The pilot became airborne from the top of the cliff. He turned left, flying parallel to the cliff for less than 100 meters. He then made a 180° right turn to fly parallel again, followed by another right turn. During this turn, the paraglider experienced a stall, causing part of the canopy to collapse. The pilot lost altitude and was pushed by the wind into the cliff below the takeoff area.
Analysis
According to the investigation, the cliff has two faces: a south face, where the accident occurred, and a north face, more frequently used due to gentler slopes. On the south face, the interaction between the prevailing easterly wind and the steep rocky face generated turbulence, making the flying environment extremely dangerous.
Conclusions
The investigation concluded that the low experience of the pilot in paragliding and his decision to fly in an area that should be avoided were the two major contributing factors to the accident.
Recommendations
The investigation recommended that the south face of the cliff, used as a takeoff area, should be avoided by all paraglider pilots due to the very steep morphology combined with prevailing winds, which creates extremely dangerous turbulence.