ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 236656
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 June 2020 |
| Time: | c. 20:30 |
| Type: | Ozone Mag Max 2 41, Condor trike |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | D-MJBE |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Didam, Gelderland -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Didam |
| Didam | |
| Investigating agency: | Dutch Safety Board |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 2 June 2020, the pilot and sole occupant of a paramotor trike, consisting of a wing with a motorised trike, took off from a field in Didam. The pilot would make a flight together with another, experienced, pilot, each in his own paramotor trike. It was the pilot’s first flight as licensed pilot since he had obtained his licence a few days earlier.
Shortly after the pilot took-off, the weather circumstances suddenly changed strongly, with a sharp increase in wind and turbulence. The pilot lost control of the paramotor trike due to the sudden worsening of the weather conditions. He was unable to regain control and ended up in a spiral flight. During this spiral flight, the G-forces were so high that the pilot probably lost consciousness and the aircraft ultimately crashed. The pilot was fatally injured.
The aviation weather forecast that day mentioned that a ‘vore’, a convergence line between warm and cold air, was passing from west to east over the Netherlands. Shortly after its passage, turbulence and wind would increase strongly, locally up to 20 knots.
The radar images showed that this convergence line passed Didam at the moment that both paramotor trikes had just taken off. Although the pilot had consulted weather forecast sources via various apps prior to the flight, he was not aware of the expected weather change. The other pilot was not aware of this either.
The pilot had purchased the wing during his training. The wing manufacturer Pilot's Manual states among other things that the wing is suitable for experienced, qualified tandem pilots and that the wing is intended for competent pilots only and is not suitable for beginner pilots nor those under training. On the other hand, according to the applicable standards, the wing was classified as a B wing, which means that the wing is suitable for all types of pilots, including pilots in training. The manufacturer stated that this wing was designed and tested as a paragliding wing. The use of this wing for a paramotor trike results in different flying characteristics. Therefore, it is not clear whether the type of wing was suitable for this beginner paramotor trike pilot.
The investigation also revealed that the judicial definition of a powered paraglider is not suitable for a paramotor trike and that a paramotor trike is not mentioned separately in aviation legislation. Paragliding has developed further over the years with the introduction of trikes, but the legislator has not actively followed this development. The result of this
is that these paramotor trikes have been flown since approximately 2010 while no legal regulations exist for this form of aviation. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W) was aware of this and started developing laws and regulations in 2015, in cooperation with the Royal Dutch Aeronautical Association (KNVvL). Despite KNVvL’s insistence, I&W has not yet resolved this situation due to a lack of capacity and priority.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.nu.nl/binnenland/6055397/paraglider-overleden-na-crash-nabij-gelderse-plaats-didam.html
https://www.gelrenieuws.nl/2020/06/paraglider-stort-neer-in-didam-en-overlijdt.html
https://www.gelderlander.nl/montferland/paraglider-stort-neer-in-maisveld-buiten-didam-piloot-overleden~addec1d4/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jun-2020 22:08 | RobertMB | Added |
| 20-Jun-2022 00:47 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 28-Jun-2022 11:18 | harro | Updated [Category] |
| 06-Jul-2022 09:12 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
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