Background
On the morning of 28 December 2016, a female paraglider pilot (Swiss citizen, born 1970, holding a hang glider license with approximately 400 flights) and another paraglider pilot studied the weather and planned two flights from the Güggel start site, located about 2.5 km northeast of Oberdiessbach at an elevation of approximately 1070 m/M. The intended landing area was a meadow east of Oberdiessbach. Around midday, they arrived at the start site and observed local wind conditions using a ribbon, a flag at a nearby farm, and smoke from an open fire. They noted a weak wind from the southeast and decided to proceed with the first flight. At about 12:10, the female pilot launched and flew in glide (without thermals) over the Glasholz farm towards the landing area. The other pilot followed shortly after. They communicated via radio. Approximately seven minutes later, both landed in the valley. The female pilot described the flight as calm and uneventful. They then returned to the start site for a second flight.
Meanwhile, a male pilot (Swiss citizen, born 1986, holding a PPL(H) with 112:15 total flight hours, all on the EC 120 B) planned two private sightseeing flights with three passengers each. He flew from the helicopter base in Pfaffnau (LSXP) to Sumiswald, picked up three passengers, flew over the Napf region, dropped them off, and continued to Herbligen southwest of Oberdiessbach, landing shortly before 14:00. There, he boarded three more passengers for a local flight followed by a return to Pfaffnau.
Incident Description
At approximately 14:10, the helicopter HB-ZFM departed Herbligen, flew south towards Lake Thun, then turned left in a wide arc back towards Herbligen and Oberdiessbach. Radar tracked the helicopter until 14:23:39, when it was about 5 km south of Oberdiessbach at 4600 ft and descending. According to the pilot, he continued towards Oberdiessbach, followed a high-voltage power line to Barschwand, and hovered there for a moment at an estimated height of 150 m above ground or higher. A police patrol observed the helicopter at 14:30 slowly following the power line towards Barschwand at about 150 m AGL.
Back at the Güggel start site, the two paraglider pilots took a break and again observed the wind. The wind was still from the southeast but stronger, estimated at 5–7 km/h. The male pilot noticed a helicopter near Barschwand, which he thought was on the ground with the rotor stopped. The female pilot aborted her first launch attempt because the wing did not inflate optimally due to the wind from the left. Shortly after 14:31, she performed a reverse launch and flew towards the Glasholz farm. The male pilot, still at the start site, noted that her flight was very flat with minimal sink.
After hovering south of Barschwand, the helicopter pilot turned the helicopter and accelerated on a roughly southwesterly course. He reported initially following a slightly descending flight path, then initiating a climb. He then turned right and flew around the Güggel. He stated that he did not see any paraglider at any time.
The male paraglider pilot saw the helicopter depart from Barschwand and informed the female pilot via radio. As the helicopter flew around the Waldkrete ridge, he had the impression it was turning away from the paraglider and communicated this. From his position, he saw the paraglider and helicopter roughly in line, with the helicopter flying horizontally or slightly climbing. He estimated the distance between them at 100 m.
Alerted by the radio calls, the female paraglider pilot then saw the helicopter coming from the Waldkrete, slightly climbing and a bit lower than her, heading in her direction. The accident type for the paraglider is listed as loss of control. The investigation did not establish a probable cause.
Aftermath
The paraglider pilot sustained serious injuries. Neither aircraft was damaged, and there was no third-party damage. The helicopter was not involved in the accident.