Man, 74, lost control of paraglider in strong winds, probe into fatal crash finds

A 74-year-old retired Hong Kong police officer lost control of his paraglider in strong air currents and was fatally injured after crashing on Lantau Island, a probe into the 2024 accident has found.

A report published by the Air Accident Investigation Authority on Monday detailed the incident involving the pilot at Sunset Peak, Hong Kong’s third-highest mountain, on June 17, 2024.

The authority urged paragliding groups to stress the importance of thorough risk assessments before flights.

According to police records from the time, the unnamed pilot went to Pak Kung Au on Lantau with five friends to paraglide.

Equipped with walkie-talkies, he was the first in the group to take off solo from a designated paragliding site on the 869-metre (2,850 feet) peak.

He had 27.7 flying hours from 95 flights between July 2023 and that month.

The investigation found that strong winds had lifted the pilot off the ground backwards during a reverse launch, a take-off technique used in paragliding.

The man had planned to fly down to Lower Cheung Sha Beach in a two- to three-minute trip, the investigation report said.

But shortly after take-off, strong updrafts lifted the paraglider – a high-performance BogdanFly X-wing – higher and into thick cloud cover.

His companions previously said a sudden gust of wind swept him into dense clouds in the direction of Pui O. They advised him over the radio to deploy descent techniques but received no response, the investigation revealed.

The pilot made brief radio contact with his companions at about 3pm, saying that he was injured and stuck in a tree, but could not reach his phone to transmit his location before going silent.

Rescuers located him unconscious at 9.25pm on a slope near a section of the Lantau Trail. He was taken to North Lantau Hospital at 2.40am the next day and pronounced dead on arrival.

The authority’s final investigation concluded the pilot lost effective control of the paraglider due to strong atmospheric lift while flying inside cloud cover, resulting in a collision with terrain and impact with a tree that caused multiple fatal injuries.

The cause of death was multiple severe blunt force trauma injuries to the face, limbs and torso, the investigators reported.

During the incident, recorded wind speeds at nearby Cheung Chau reached 22 to 28km/h (14 to 17mph), with gusts peaking at 38km/h – well above recommended site limits.

Additionally, low cloud cover completely engulfed the peak area.

The report highlighted that flying into clouds violated the Hong Kong China Paragliding Association’s site guidelines – which explicitly warn against entering clouds due to nearby air traffic – as well as the Civil Aviation Department’s safety guidance requiring paragliders to operate under visual meteorological conditions and remain clear of clouds at all times.

Following the investigation, which adhered to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, the authority issued a safety recommendation to both the Hong Kong China Paragliding Association and the International Paragliding Association.

It urged both organisations to re-emphasise to all local participants the critical importance of conducting thorough risk assessments to ensure flight risks were kept as low as reasonably practicable.