Press
Two German air sports enthusiasts had accidents on the same day in Carinthia – for different reasons. The number of accidents involving paragliders and hang gliders has recently increased.
Emberger Alm – Two Germans had accidents on Wednesday (May 29) while practicing air sports in Carinthia, Austria. A 25-year-old hang glider was injured, presumably due to a flight error, and a 36-year-old paraglider fell 20 meters due to a sudden loss of wind. Both vacationers had started their recreational flights on the Emberger Alm in the Carinthian district of Spittal an der Drau.
Suddenly the wind stopped: 36-year-old paraglider falls 20 meters into the depths
At around 12 noon, a 36-year-old man broke off with his paraglider. He flew over Lienz, through the Mölltal to Villach and from there back to Greifenburg, as can be seen from the Police report According to the Carinthian Police Department, at around 3 p.m. the man was trying to cross the ridge of the Schwanspitz mountain at a low altitude when the mountain wind suddenly stopped and his paraglider collapsed. The air sportsman then fell from a height of around 20 meters with his paraglider and remained injured a few meters south of the summit at a height of around 2680 meters.
Luckily, another paraglider pilot had observed the accident and made an emergency call. “Due to the impassable terrain, the police helicopter and the C7 rescue helicopter were used to search for the injured person,” the police said. The emergency services rescued the seriously injured man using a rope and, after providing emergency medical treatment, flew him to the nearest hospital in the Carinthian capital of Klagenfurt.
Second accident in Carinthia: hang glider crashes during landing
About two hours after the 36-year-old, a young German took off with a hang glider. She was also travelling from the Emberger Alm towards Greifenburg. from the police isshe had to land in a nearby field with tall grass, presumably due to a flight error. The 25-year-old pierced the ground with the tip of her hang glider and sustained injuries of an undetermined degree.
A doctor who happened to be present administered first aid. Emergency services took the pilot to the hospital in Spittal an der Drau. The two German air sports enthusiasts were in the same area, but were flying with different sports equipment. A hang glider is triangular in shape, with the pilot sitting horizontally underneath. A paraglider, on the other hand, is an elliptical wing made of two layers of fabric, with the pilot usually sitting underneath.
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Accidents involving paragliders and hang gliders are increasing: up by almost 50 percent
When practicing these air sports Accidents occur again and again. A look at the latest Accident statistics of the German Paragliding and Hang Gliding Association (DHV) has recently shown a rapid increase in accident reports and serious injuries. While 113 serious injuries were reported in 2021, the following year there were 182. Accident reports rose from 269 in 2021 to 397 a year later – an increase of almost 50 percent. The number of fatal accidents, on the other hand, has remained largely constant over the years.
The increase in the number of accidents can also be explained by a reduction in the number of unreported cases, said the DHV, which is now actively investigating the incidents. “But that alone does not explain the increase in numbers,” admits the DHV. Overall, more and more people are practicing these sports and “increasingly demanding weather conditions” are also contributing to the number of accidents.
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