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Probe into fatal fall of paraglider
A PARAGLIDER from Sheffield was unable to deploy his emergency parachute in the moments before he was killed in a horror flying crash a year ago, an accident investigation has found.
Ben Morris, aged 33, from Martin Street, Upperthorpe, was flying with the Derbyshire Soaring Club when he crashed into rocks at Bretton Edge near Eyam in the Peak District last May.
Air Accident Investigators found there was nothing wrong with his helmet or his Gradient Golden II paraglider, which he had owned for seven months and flown for 30 hours.
But he had launched into flight with one of his glider's 'risers' twisted, and was later seen to suffer an 'asymmetric collapse' of the paraglider's canopy at a height of about 150ft. The glider plummeted rapidly from the sky in a left spiral and Ben, a Sheffield University graduate with a degree in Engineering Materials, was unable to recover normal flight or deploy his emergency parachute.
A post-mortem examination found Ben - an experienced flyer and member of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association who held a Federation Aeronautique International Licence which allowed him to participate in international paragliding competitions - died from multiple severe injuries sustained on impact.
The Air Accident Investigation report found weather conditions at Eyam Edge, a popular soaring site in the Peak, were suitable for paragliding although "typically turbulent" on the day.
Three or four paragliders were airborne simultaneously, and Ben - who co-owned Pro Friction, a car-parts company in Attercliffe making high-spec brake pads for racing and rally cars - took off just after 4pm.
"Several witnesses reported the lower tip of the wing remained deflated, and one witness saw lines over the top of the collapsed tip which prevented the wing from re-inflating," investigators said.
Describing the tragic seconds before Ben was killed, the report said: "The paraglider continued in a descending spiral until it struck the ground. Witnesses ran to the scene and, on arrival, they found the pilot at the bottom of a rocky outcrop.
"His emergency parachute was on the ground but it was still packed and it was not clear whether he had made a very late attempt to deploy the parachute or it had become dislodged in the accident."
Following the accident, the glider's manufacturers inspected Ben's equipment and found four broken lines sustained on impact. Otherwise the equipment was in good order and unmodified.
The report concluded: "The pilot arrived at Eyam Edge and launched with a twisted right riser. A twist in the right riser would have had the effect of increasing friction on the brake control line and making the canopy difficult to control.
"It is possible that, shortly after getting airborne, the pilot became aware of this twist but was unable to correct it.
"Friction burn marks on the twisted riser indicated he was using a great deal of force with the right brake but had insufficient height to effect a recovery."
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
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