SAFA Skysailor Magazine

54 SKY SAILOR June-July-August | WINTER 2025 AIRS Safety Wrap-up – July 2025 by Iain Clarke – SAFA Safety Management Officer Time to dust off some more historical events and then we’ll start the great leap forward in time… #1703 – PG Portsea sleddie, Vic PIC decided to launch their paraglider in crossed conditions at Portsea (Vic) and im- mediately encountered sink. This led them to impact with the fence below launch; fortunately, no injuries were sustained. Extra care needs to be taken when attempting flight operations in crossed wind conditions, particularly at this site. #1712 – PPG-W incident report for Sunday 28 August at Tyagarah Airfield, NSW PIC has taken off in their wheelbase PPG from runway 05 at Tyagarah airfield (NSW). During their extended climb-out PIC iden- tified alternate landing areas in the event of a problem. This was timely, as just fol- lowing this, the motor lost power without warning. PIC killed the motor, radioed friends on the ground and concentrated on making a safe landing. PIC made the landing safely, but the cleared area was a marsh, and extraction was completed two days later. Inspection on landing revealed that the drive belt from the clutch to the propeller gear was missing. PIC identified the lesson to be learnt as checking the belt tension much more often and with the correct equipment, such as frequency meter and/or torque wrench method, in between the manufacturer’s recommended service intervals. #1713 – Carties PG accident, Qld/S PIC was attempting their second flight with their paraglider at Point Cartwright (Qld/S) after a successful first flight, supervised by a local CFI. After inflating the wing, the glider pulled them left, causing them to clip a tree with the wing. They managed to square up the glider and launch suc- cessfully, heading away from the hill. On approach to landing on the beach, PIC approached crosswind with a slight tailwind, successfully landed with a light flare but stepped forward during the landing phase when a hidden rock in the sand caught their foot, causing them to bend the foot backwards. The CFI contacted an ambulance, and the pilot was taken to hospital. A hairline fracture above the ankle was identified. When setting up on the approach to landing, whenever possible land square into wind and look closely for any obstacles. In this case, it was unfortunate there