B7/2009L Collision of a powered hang glider and a powered paraglider near the light aviation aerodrome of Tuorla on 20 October 2009

On Tuesday 20 October 2009 at 17:20 local time, an aviation accident occurred in the town of Kaarina near the light aviation aerodrome of Tuorla, as a powered hang glider and a powered paraglider collided with each other. By decision No. B7/2009L of 23 October 2009, the Accident Investigation Board of Finland set up an investigation commission to investigate the accident. Investigator Kalle Brusi was appointed as investigator-in-charge and investigators Olli Borg and Hannu Aaltio were appointed as members of the commission. On 27 May 2010, Fredrik Lindholm was appointed as legal adviser for the investigation.

The hang glider approached the aerodrome from the western side of Tuorla Agricultural Institute, having been flying above the town of Kaarina. It collided almost head-on with the paraglider which had just taken off from the aerodrome, at a height of about 250 metres. The hang glider was able to land at the nearby aerodrome. The paraglider crashed down on an open field, and the pilot was killed from injuries sustained in the crash.

The investigation revealed that the gliders were flying towards each other without any noticeable attempts for avoiding action. The light aviation aerodrome was located within the control zone for Turku Airport. The duty officers at the emergency centre failed to obtain sufficient information about the condition of the victim. Moreover, it came out during the investigation that the Finnish Aviation Act and Aviation Regulation OPS M2-9 are, in certain parts, in contradiction with each other.

The cause of the accident was that the pilots did not notice each other, which led to a collision. A contributing factor was the difficult landing circuit practice at the aerodrome.

The investigation commission did not issue any safety recommendations. The investigation showed no such safety deficiencies that, in the investigators’ opinion, could be rectified so as to certainly reduce the probability of a similar incident recurring. The investigation commission stresses that it is important to practise recovery from unusual flight attitudes and the use of the emergency parachute in glider flying also after basic training.

B7/2009L Report (pdf, 0.83 Mt)