The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) today (April 27) published the investigation report (1/2022) on the investigation into an accident involving an Ozone Alpina 3 paraglider with its pilot fatally injured on Lantau Island on July 22, 2018.
At about 1.50pm that day, the pilot took off from South Lantau East Takeoff Site, a paragliding area in the Lantau South Country Park. At 7.34pm, the Police received a report that the pilot was missing. The Fire Services Department immediately launched a search and rescue operation in conjunction with the Police, the Government Flying Service (GFS) and the Civil Aid Service.
The joint departmental search and rescue operation was hindered by adverse weather brought by the Tropical Storm Son-Tinh, in particular continuous conditions of poor visibility and low cloud base, which prevailed from July 23 to 26.
At 11.47am on July 27, the GFS located the pilot and his paraglider on a hill slope of Sunset Peak about 1 kilometre north-east from where he took off. The pilot was immediately conveyed to hospital by a GFS helicopter and was certified dead later.
The investigation was conducted by a team of professional investigators in adherence to international standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The investigation found that this fatal accident was probably caused by loss of effective control of the paraglider under rapidly deteriorated weather conditions, resulting in an impact with the terrain that rendered multiple injuries to the pilot. The investigation team has made three safety recommendations for the Civil Aviation Department and the departments in charge of search and recuse operations for follow-up.
"The investigation report was published by the AAIA with the objective of identifying the circumstances and causes of the accident with a view to preventing recurrence," an AAIA spokesperson said.
Throughout the investigation, all parties concerned were properly consulted on the report. The report is available for download at the AAIA webpage (www.thb.gov.hk/aaia/eng/investigation_reports/index.html).
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