Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 2: February 2014 | Page 14

PILOT REPORT
by Gene Gleason

P

ilot reports help us all learn.
On reviewing this report Dave
“Preacher” Norwood, our
new Accident Review committee
chair for paragliders added a few
thoughts:

Sounds like a spin, possibly induced by
a thermic release (read: dust devil); in
any event there was clearly very active
air and a small LZ. My suggestion for
“ lesson learned” is as follows.
1. Cool spring days can make for some of
the most energetic thermal conditions of
the year. Cool air and bright sun make
for hard, fast thermals.

2. When deciding to launch into thermic
conditions both launch and landing
safety need to be considered. Landing in
active thermic conditions presents added
risk, and landing in a very tight LZ
in the springtime at 2:00 on a thermic
afternoon is putting yourself in the
wrong place at the wrong time. It is a
lesson learned at great cost to Gene. I
hope we don’t squander the cost of this
lesson next spring. Thank you, Gene, for
sharing.

Floating thousands of feet over the
ground is an experience I find hard to
explain to those who have not been
up there looking down. I can still
remember flying around my room in
my dreams as a child, until my mom
yelled at me to come back down.
I have 60 years of life experience:
six years of hang gliding in the early
1980s and five years of recent paragliding, with a P-3 rating, for a total
of over 70 hours in the air. I’ve also
completed two SIV courses and flown
in Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Florida, and New Mexico, as well as

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

at my local launch sites in N.Y. and
Pennsylvania. This does not make me
an expert, but it implies that I have
some idea of what’s going on.
But on April 21, 2013, around
2:00 p.m., I fell from the sky from
about 170 feet. In the long ride to the
hospital I had a lot to think about.
My sister Maureen and a fellow pilot
came to the emergency room, offering support and providing me with
the comforting feeling that I was not
alone. I spent the next night in the
hospital, and, although I was urged to
stay another day, I assured them I was
fine to go home.
Three compression fractures in my
lower back and several months later,
I’m writing to tell you what happened.
I learned two things that I hope will
help if you find yourself in a similar
situation, as well as how to deal with
the aftermath.
The day was beautiful, clear and
cool—in the high 50s. About eight of
us pilots drove to the trailhead and
started our hike up to Little Gap.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived

there, around 11:30 a.m. The wind
was gusting more than expected,
about 10-15mph, so we started our
favorite pastime, para-waiting. As
conditions improved, I took off with a
good launch, headed straight out and
went up. First, a hundred feet over
launch, then 1500 feet, hitting climbs
of 400-900fpm. I could have headed
over the back, but decided to head
east toward Blue Mountain. I wanted
to see if anyone would join me. It was
beautiful flying along the mountain
ridge. The colors were the base brown