Incident
- ID:
- SFFL 5
- Incident category:
- Speed Flying Fatality List
- Date:
- 28. 01. 2009
- Time:
- —
- Cause of death:
- Impact obstacle
- Launch site:
- Switzerland › Neuchâtel › La Corbatière
Equipment
- Wing:
- Swing › Savage
- Wing size:
- 12.0 m²
- Safety devices:
- —
Personal
- Name:
- Patrick Itschner
- Age:
- 28
- Weight:
- —
- Gender:
- Male
- Nationality:
- Swiss
- Experience level:
- —
- Experience description:
- —
- Time on wing:
- —
Circumstances
- Conditions:
- Gusting
- Factors:
- Impact into Trailer
Description
Ground Handling Kiting wing in 20km/h wind, weird strong 80km/h gust took him into a trailer.
Patrick [28] was already a licensed skydiver and joining a 4 days speed-riding course from a paragliding school from Interlaken. On the second day, there was stormy weather, so they didn't even try to go up the mountain. Instead, they searched for a place to kite their wings in the flatland. They found a place in the Jura, called la Corbatière.
A huge flat snowfield with constant wind around 20km/h. Rather not enough to kite, then too much. Suddenly the whole group was hit by an unbelievable strong wind gust, which must have exceeded 80km/h. Some people were picked up in the air a few meters, others only dragged away.
Patrick got picked up around one meter and then got dragged very fast into a trailer which was standing on the near parking place. He then lost consciousness and was transported to hospital, where he died 3 days later.
Patrick was wearing a helmet and a back protector but still suffered a broken spine, head & internal injuries.
Details will follow after investigation.
https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/deux-adeptes-du-speed-flying-finissent-a-l-hopital-169819367973