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| Date: | Sunday 4 September 2022 |
| Time: | c. 07:30 LT |
| Type: | Paramotor |
| Owner/operator: | Paramotor Desert Adventures Aviation Club |
| Registration: | UNREG |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Marghem, Dubai -
 United Arab Emirates
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Paramotor Desert Adventures Club (OMD26) |
| Paramotor Desert Adventures Club (OMD26) | |
| Investigating agency: | GCAA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
The wing can be stalled with minor application of the brakes as the propeller will induce pendulum effect which brings the wing to higher angle of attach and closer to stall.
If the wing stalled, the propeller torque will have a major effect as it will turn the pilot to the opposite side of the propeller rotation.
Unlike skydive parachutes where a skydiver can stall the parachute by applying brakes to the maximum and recover by only releasing the brakes; recovery from paramotor’s wing stall requires reducing engine power to the minimum and releasing the brakes simultaneously in order to prevent inducing torque.
After reviewing the video recordings captured by the camera attached to the Pilot during the Accident flight, the Investigation could identify the sequence of events and how the paramotor was controlled by the Pilot.
The Pilot was flying normally and then the wing turned left slightly due to partial collapse in left side of the wing. The Pilot then reacted by pulling both brakes down below his chest level.
In addition, the Pilot was seen grasping the throttle consistent with applying engine power to the maximum while pulling the right brake to a position lower than his shoulder (which was beyond the limits). At this point, the wing entered into a stall which indicated by seeing the Pilot’s knees elevating up while the wing falls down behind him.
This combined application of brakes and engine power to the maximum at this point made the Pilot tilting towards right due to the propeller torque and resulting in twisting of the wing lines and moving the wing towards the right side of the Pilot in parallel to the ground. This movement initiated a clockwise spiral turn until impact.
The Investigation reviewed video recordings of the Pilot’s previous flights and identified that he used to maneuver the turns by weight shifting or by using the wing tip steering toggles, and he uses brake handles only during takeoffs and landings. Both practices were consistent with the SOP. However, the Accident flight video revealed that the Pilot applied excessive brakes by excessively pulling both brake handles which induced spiral turns.
The mix of parachute jumping and flying the paramotor most probably put the Pilot in cognitive stress4 during the flight. It was probably hard for the Pilot to quickly and accurately switch between different standard recovery procedures during a highly demanding emergency situation.
The Air Accident Investigation Sector determines that the cause of the Accident was the excessive application of brakes and engine power for recovery from wing stall. This action caused the wing lines to twist and then to unrecoverable spiral dive until impact.
The Air Accident Investigation Sector identifies the following contributing factors to the Accident:
(a) The Pilot was practicing paramotor flying and skydiving which most probably led to cognitive overload during recovering from abnormal event.
(b) The Pilot, most probably, was not current with upset recovery practices since he the only identical situation was handled during his initial training which he received one and a half years before the Accident.
Accident investigation:
Sources:
https://gulfnews.com/amp/uae/south-african-pilot-dies-in-dubai-glider-crash-1.90331202?fbclid=IwAR0UcoHD81VdHVYsuezlgLNs2-ksShcVu4Kg3pXN_9Helht_hREYHFtBkf0
GCAA
Location
Media:
GCAA Accident investigation sector is investigating a #paramotor #accident which took place in Margham-Dubai this morning. Flying pilot confirmed dead.
— GCAA UAE (@gcaauae) September 4, 2022
GCAA extends its sincere condolences to the family and relatives of the victim pic.twitter.com/HDqgzb9tBX
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Sep-2022 18:15 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 11-Aug-2024 06:49 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Registration, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
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