Paragliding accident on Emberger Alm: 77-year-old seriously injured!

Paragliding accident on Emberger Alm: 77-year-old seriously injured!

On June 10, 2025, a serious accident occurred while paragliding on the Emberger Alm in the municipality of Berg im Drautal, Spittal an der Drau district. A 77-year-old paraglider from Germany encountered turbulence during the landing approach and was hit by a sudden gust of wind. This caused him to lose control of his glider. The pilot descended and collided with a parked car in a parking lot, causing damage to the right side of the vehicle. The paraglider suffered injuries of an unspecified degree and was immediately treated by two paramedics from the Greifenburg Red Cross, two first responders and the team from the “RK1” emergency medical helicopter before he was transported to the Spittal an der Drau district hospital. Klick Kärnten reports that the incident took place around 11:00 a.m.

This accident is not the only incident that has occurred on the Emberger Alm in recent weeks. On April 28, 2025, a 60-year-old German paraglider fell into the treetop about 5 meters above the ground during his landing approach. At this point the weather conditions were stable. The crash was the result of a sudden problem in which the paraglider collapsed about 200 meters above the ground, resulting in a loss of control. The rescue services, including the fire department and mountain rescue, were quickly on site and took the injured man to the Spittal an der Drau hospital with unspecified injuries. The RK1 emergency medical helicopter was also used here. 5min provides further details about this incident.

Common accidents and safety discussions

The increase in paragliding accidents raises questions about safety in this sport. According to Kleine Zeitung many accidents are due to human error. Experts emphasize that overconfidence, inadequate training and a lack of weather knowledge are key factors. Despite stable weather conditions, sudden winds can often have devastating consequences.

The safety situation is tense, especially since there have recently been several fatal accidents in Tyrol and Carinthia. While the overall number of injuries has fallen since 2017, the number of fatal accidents has increased, attributed to changing weather conditions and an increase in paragliding pilots. Experts warn that the 30 percent increase in licenses last year and the addition of 1,300 new pilots also bring new challenges.

The Austrian paragliding hotspots attract both locals and foreign pilots. There are around 110,000 active paragliders registered in Europe and the number of rescue operations due to failed landings is increasing. Mountain rescue is increasingly reporting claims for compensation from those rescued, especially if their umbrellas are damaged during the rescue.