SAFA Skysailor Magazine

43 May | June 2023 SKY SAILOR Human Factors Air (the environment) -Man (I’m safe) -Ship (the aircraft) I’M SAFE Illness? Do I have an illness or any symptoms of an illness or disorder? Medication and other drugs? Have I been taking or mixing prescription, over-the-counter or recreational drugs? Stress? Am I under psychological pressure from my job or personal circumstances? Am I worried about financial matters, health problems or family matter? Alcohol? Have I been consuming alcohol within the previous eight hours? Is my blood alcohol level less than 0.02? Would my average alcohol consumption be greater than ‘very low risk’? Fatigue? Am I tired or inadequately rested? Eating and Drinking? Am I adequately nourished and hydrated? impact and they fell backwards to the ground, resulting in a fractured coccyx and pelvis. Pilots should always seek a site briefing when arriving at a site they have not flown at for some time. This will acquaint them with any factors they need to be aware of that may not have been present previously, and re-acquaint them with the site in general. When arriving over the LZ, pilots must conduct a proper assessment of the wind strength and direction on the ground and prepare their approach accordingly. Pilots must honestly assess their capability to physically handle their aircraft in all phases of flight, including in undesirable conditions and circumstances, and determine whether they can safely conduct the flight operation. If indicated that this is not a good idea, don’t fly. #1653 – PG tree landing near Mt Elliot A pilot was flying their paraglider in a compe- tition event at Mt Elliot (Vic). While in moderately thermic conditions, PIC flew into a thermal and initiated a left turn, using weight-shift and small brake input to core the thermal. The wing pitched back a little, climbed and started turning left. At this point, the wing became unstable, rolling from side to side and then stalled. PIC raised both brake hands to allow the wing to fly and stop the stall, and expected the wing to continue to turn to the left. The wing then dived to the right and down towards the trees. The left side of the wing and wing tip snagged a tree branch and PIC then swung down through the trees and branches missing all of these to land softly on their feet and harness on the sloping ground. No injury but there were six holes torn in the wing’s fabric and two lines broken.