Responding to an accident

About two thirds of reported accidents happen near the ground: on launch, just after it, on the approach and in the landing field¹. When someone gets hurt, the first people there are often other pilots, and one day that may be you.

Nobody expects you to be a paramedic. Your job is to keep yourself safe, get the right help moving fast, protect the casualty until it arrives, and afterwards help others learn. This lesson gives you the order to work in; a recognised first-aid course gives you the hands-on skills.

Make it safe

Stop for a moment before you run in. Is there any danger to you or the casualty: a wing that can catch the wind and drag, a steep or loose slope, a power line, traffic? Protect yourself first; the first-aid sequence starts there². If a pilot is caught on a power line, treat it as live, keep everyone well away and call the emergency services³.

Keep everyone calm and let a coach or experienced pilot take charge. They give people jobs: first aid, the emergency call, collecting information, meeting the ambulance. Warn pilots in the air by radio or an agreed ground signal, such as a large cross or “H” laid out with wings, and stop launching⁴.

Figure: The order to work in, and what the emergency services need to hear. Print it for your harness; your school’s emergency plan comes first.

Call for help

Call your local emergency number, or have someone call straight away while others help the casualty⁴. Carry your phone and some identification⁵, and find out the emergency number for every country you fly in before you need it.

Give the emergency services⁶:

• where you are, as precisely as possible: GPS coordinates, a grid reference or what3words;
• the injuries, as far as you can tell;
• any danger still threatening the casualty or the rescuers.

Some services, such as the UK’s, may take you through a checklist that also covers the type of incident, access and the number of casualties⁶.

First aid: the priorities

First aid at a paragliding accident follows the standard sequence for lay helpers. This is the order the DHV’s first-aid series gives²:

Spinal injuries

Assume a spinal injury after any hard impact. The DHV’s first-aid series says more than half of seriously injured paraglider pilots have spinal injuries. Warning signs include tingling, numbness or strange sensations in the legs, or being unable to move them⁸.

So don’t move the casualty, and don’t tell them to move, unless they are in immediate danger. Support the head in line with the spine. If you need to open the airway, use a jaw thrust rather than tilting the neck, and use the spinal recovery position only if you can’t keep the airway open any other way². The airway still comes first: for an unresponsive casualty who isn’t breathing, an open airway matters more than protecting the spine. If a jaw thrust doesn’t open it, do what your first-aid course taught you rather than leave it blocked⁷². A pilot with back pain after a serious fall can stay still in the harness until the ambulance arrives⁸.

The helmet question

Whether to remove an injured pilot’s helmet is disputed. The common ground: the airway comes first, two helpers are better than one, and the neck stays in line⁷.

• The DHV’s first-aid series, written by a German Red Cross trainer, says an unconscious casualty’s helmet must always come off to secure the airway, ideally with two helpers: one holds the head still while the other slides the helmet off. A conscious casualty decides for themselves.
• Motorcycle first-aid advice from the New South Wales government, with St John Ambulance, says to remove a full-face helmet only if there is no clear airway and the casualty can’t breathe, and with at least two people if resuscitation is needed.

That advice is about full-face motorcycle helmets, while many paraglider pilots wear open-face helmets that leave the airway reachable⁷. Follow your first-aid training rather than a single rule.

The helicopter

In the mountains, help often arrives by helicopter. Before it lands, secure every loose wing, bag and reserve, because the downwash can blow them into the air. It needs a landing area of at least about 50 m165 ft by 50 m165 ft. Nobody flies or ground handles until it has gone, because its wake stays turbulent for minutes⁴. Pilots in the air clear the area or land⁹.

Afterwards: report it

Send an incident report to your federation for every accident and near miss, and don’t assume someone else has¹⁰. Only deaths are recorded completely; injury accidents are heavily under-reported, so every report counts¹¹. Accidents, currency and the logbook shows how reports are used.

After a serious accident, note the scene but never photograph the casualty, collect witness statements, stay off social media, and talk to someone if it stays with you¹⁰.

If you walked away from an incident yourself, say so. After a harmless tree landing, tell the emergency services so nobody starts a rescue¹². After a reserve landing, let your friends know where you are and how you are, and tell the police if a member of the public may have reported your descent¹³.