Shock in Kirchschlag: 72-year-old paraglider seriously injured in crash!

Shock in Kirchschlag: 72-year-old paraglider seriously injured in crash!

Today, April 16, 2025, a serious accident occurred in Kirchschlag near Linz, in which a 72-year-old paraglider from the Urfahr-Raum district was seriously injured. The man had gone on a flight into the sky with his son. About ten minutes after takeoff, a dramatic incident occurred when the paraglider collided with a telephone pole for reasons that are still unclear. The force of the impact was so strong that the mast broke and the paraglider fell

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The man's son observed the accident from the air and immediately recognized his father's critical situation. He quickly flew to the scene of the accident and alerted the emergency services. They arrived shortly afterwards and immediately provided initial medical care for the seriously injured person. The 72-year-old was finally taken to the Linz accident hospital. According to reports from 5min.at The exact circumstances of the accident are still unclear and are currently being investigated.

Statistical background on paragliding

Around 100,000 people worldwide are actively involved in paragliding. A review of previous research shows that most studies have mostly focused on retrospective data from hospitals and rescue organizations, particularly on injury patterns. However, the causes and influencing factors of accidents have often been neglected. A current analysis of paragliding accidents in the Alps aims to find out these factors and is based on data from “Flash News” magazine (issues 149-160) between 2015 and 2017, which document 487 accidents in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

• 88,5 % der betroffenen Piloten waren männlich.
• Durchschnittsalter der Piloten: 42,9 ± 13,7 Jahre.
• Die meisten Unfälle ereigneten sich im Sommer, während der Nachmittagsstunden.
• Hauptursache für Unfälle war der Pilotenfehler, gefolgt von Windbedingungen.
• In 14,6 % der Unfälle trugen die Piloten keine Verletzungen davon; Verletzungen betrafen häufig die unteren Extremitäten.
• Im Zeitraum wurden 45 von 487 Unfällen als tödlich eingestuft (9,2 %).

It was also found that tandem pilots were more likely to be involved in accidents when taking off and solo pilots were more likely to be involved in accidents when landing. Experts recommend increasing training to teach pilots how to safely deal with difficult situations and their equipment. Uniform, cross-border documentation of accidents could help generate better data and insights into this increasingly popular sport. This information comes from the study carried out in PubMed was published.

Today's accident once again highlights the risks associated with paragliding. Investigations into the exact causes of the accident are ongoing and may lead to improved safety standards in the future.