Hang gliding

Is hang gliding safe?

It carries real but moderate risk, a little below paragliding and about twice a skydive per outing. The best-known figure, from Blastland and Spiegelhalter's The Norm Chronicles, puts one hang-gliding flight at about 8 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary, a 1 in 125,000 chance of death. British club data point the same way. Feletti and colleagues analysed accident reports from BHPA members in 2000–2014 and found 40.4 deaths per 100,000 hang glider pilots a year.

The two numbers fit if an active pilot flies about 50 times a year. Keen pilots who fly most weekends, or fly long cross-country routes, take on more.

How it compares with other air sports

Activity	Deaths per 100,000 pilots a year (BHPA, 2000–2014)
Hang gliding	40.4
Paragliding	47.1
Powered hang gliding (trikes and harness motors)	61.9
Powered paragliding	83.4

Hang gliding is the least deadly of the four foot-launched sports in that data set, but the gaps are not large. Per flight, paragliding sits at about 14 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary on a more recent UK estimate and a US skydive at about 4. Adding an engine raises the risk in both kinds of glider.

Where accidents happen

A hang glider is a rigid aluminium frame with a fabric wing. The pilot hangs below in a harness and steers by shifting weight against a control bar. The frame keeps its shape in turbulence, so the paraglider's "collapse" problem does not apply. The risks sit elsewhere.

Launch. In a classic study of 75 injury accidents in the Tyrol in 1973–1976, 34 happened during launch, 13 in flight and 28 on landing. Seven pilots died. Poor launch technique, misjudged wind and a bad choice of site were the main causes. Gliders are much better now, but launch remains a critical few seconds: a gust, a stumble or a wing tip catching the ground can turn the glider into the slope.

Forgetting to hook in. A pilot who runs off a hill without the harness clipped to the glider cannot fly it. It sounds absurd, yet it has killed experienced pilots. This is why schools teach a hang check just before launch, where the pilot lifts the glider and checks the harness takes the weight.

Stalls and tumbles. Stalling close to the ground, often in rough air or while turning on approach, leads to hard impacts. In rare cases strong turbulence flips the glider over, and the frame can break. Then the only way out is the reserve parachute.

Landing. Landings are where most injuries happen, and the pattern has barely changed in 50 years: ankles, legs, wrists and arms, with spine fractures after the hardest impacts. Rekand's 2012 review notes that power lines are a particular hazard and can cause severe burns.

Injuries

Feletti's study counted 1,411 injuries in BHPA reports across all foot-launched sports, most often to the ankle and lower leg, then the upper limb. Hang glider pilots are exposed to arm and shoulder injuries because they hold a rigid bar when the glider hits the ground. Hospital studies from the 1970s in California, Colorado and the Tyrol describe frequent spine and arm fractures.

A Swiss review of foot-launched flying deaths in the canton of Berne from 2000 to 2018 found multiple trauma to be the most common cause of death. The authors concluded that better education and a cautious attitude would prevent many of them.

Who should be careful

• Newly qualified pilots flying unfamiliar sites, especially mountain sites with strong thermals.
• Pilots moving to higher-performance gliders. Topless and competition wings are faster and less forgiving on landing.
• Anyone tempted to fly in strong midday conditions, gusty wind or approaching storms.
• Powered hang glider pilots, whose yearly death rate in the BHPA data was half as high again as unpowered pilots.

How to fly more safely

1. Learn at a school approved by your national association (BHPA in the UK, USHPA in the US, DHV in Germany), and fly supervised until rated.
2. Do a hang check before every launch, every time, even if you were just interrupted. Use the same routine so a missed step feels wrong.
3. Make the weather call conservatively. Watch the wind, other pilots and the sky. Not launching is always an option.
4. Practise landings. Flare timing and approach planning prevent most broken arms.
5. Fit wheels to the control bar for training and on rough landing fields, and wear a full-face helmet.
6. Carry a reserve parachute, keep it repacked on schedule and know how you would throw it.
7. Carry a radio or tracker and tell someone where you plan to land, especially on cross-country flights.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (63) reflects about 8 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per flight, in the same band as paragliding but a little better. Injury risk (62) and controllability (65) are similar to paragliding, with most accidents traced to launch, landing and weather choices. The rescue environment (52) is weak because flying happens over hills, mountains and open country. Compare private flying, the other common way to fly yourself.