Greg Farris wrote:
the incident, there was a
nothing he could have done to predict or prevent
I simply don't buy this. He made a mistake. Modern paragliders don't
"just collapse". His mistake may have been as simple as flying in
unflyable conditions.
this event, and b
nothing he could do about it once he was caught in it.
If high enough, modern paragliders will usually recover. and if
everything fails, responsible paraglider pilots wear a security chute.
If not high enough, though... well, then you're in about the same
situation as in a low spin.
I don't know about the place you live, but where I live, there are
usually a lot more paragliders in the air than aircraft. Despite this,
at the end of each year, there are more dead aircraft pilots than dead
paraglider pilots.
As I said, there is always some risk in every flying. And if you see die
your best friend, you don't care about statistics, of course.
Stefan