Summary
On 28 April 2020 at approximately 1507 hours, a Geronimo² M-27 paraglider collided with a moving lorry at the junction of Tai Mong Tsai Road and Mei Yu Street in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. The pilot, the sole occupant, suffered minor injuries and was conveyed to Tseung Kwan O Hospital. The paraglider sustained minor damage to one leading edge cell opening.
History of the Flight
The pilot made two flights from the Ma On Shan paragliding activity area on the day of the incident. The first flight was uneventful. The second takeoff occurred around 1500 hours. During takeoff, the pilot noticed that the left-hand line of the speed bar was disconnected. He flew towards the south-east side of Pyramid Hill to reconnect it in the air, which took several minutes. After reconnection, the paraglider operated normally.
The pilot continued towards the planned landing area at Sha Kok Mei (SKM), which was outside the CAD designated paragliding activity area. He experienced small continuous thermals during the flight. He was higher than the normal approach altitude, more than 200 metres above ground when flying over pine trees at the north-west boundaries of the landing field, so he executed a quick descent. Still too high, he flew past the planned landing area and decided to lose altitude over SKM village to make a second approach with a right-hand circuit.
While losing altitude over the village, he encountered thermals and difficulties controlling the paraglider due to local wind and gust conditions. He struggled to complete the circuit and looked for an alternate landing area. He encountered more thermals with vertical movements of about 1 m/s up and down. He could not identify a suitable landing area and headed towards the junction of Tai Mong Tsai Road and Mei Yu Street to avoid hitting a building. He eventually collided with the right front part of a lorry moving southbound. The lorry driver stopped immediately. The pilot disengaged the canopy and walked to the pavement with assistance. The driver collected the canopy, and a passer-by called the police.
Injuries to Persons
The pilot suffered a left thigh deep laceration and a minor rib crack. He was discharged from hospital on 29 April 2020. No other persons were injured.
Paraglider Information
The paraglider was a Geronimo² M-27, an EN-B certified paraglider of medium size, serial number G² M 2276, year of manufacture 2017. It was fitted with a Woody Valley Wanì2 harness of large size. The pilot carried a reserve parachute, helmet, gloves, walkie talkie (not used), compass, and variometer. The variometer was damaged during impact and not recovered. A video of the collision captured by a car camera was posted online. The last inspection of the paraglider, harness, and reserve parachute was in December 2019. The pilot's total weight with the paraglider was approximately 80 kg, within the manufacturer's specified range.
Meteorological Information
The pilot reported good weather with clear sky. The Hong Kong Observatory reported easterly wind of about 27 km/h at Tate's Cairn around 1500 hours. Mean wind speeds from 1500 to 1515 hours were higher than the ranges recommended by the Hong Kong Paragliding Association (HKPA). At Tate's Cairn, 10-minute mean wind speeds ranged from 27 to 28 km/h with maximum gusts of 34 to 39 km/h. At Sai Kung, mean wind speeds were 18 to 19 km/h with maximum gusts of 25 to 32 km/h.
Additional Information
The pilot held a USHPA Intermediate Paragliding Rating (P-3) and had about 170 flying hours. He learned paragliding in Hong Kong in January 2015 and attended SIV training in 2017. He had flown at Ma On Shan and landed at SKM about 100 times but was unaware that SKM was outside the CAD designated area. He did not consider alternate landing areas before takeoff. He had not read safety information on the HKPA website.
The CAD publishes designated paragliding activity areas in the Aeronautical Information Publication Hong Kong. The pilot performed a pre-flight check but did not discover the disconnected speed bar line.
One safety recommendation was made in the investigation report.