This white paper defines human gliding activities and the hazards that these activities create for both the helicopter rescue communities and the glider pilots themselves.

Paragliding

Paragliding is a recreational and competitive sport using lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies almost supine in a cocoon-like ‘pod’ suspended below a fabric wing. The wings are retained in shape by suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents at the front, and the air flowing over the outside.

Paraglider flights can last several hours and cover hundreds of kilometers, though shorter flights of one to two hours are more typical. Using sources of lift – such as thermals – the pilot may gain height, often climbing to altitudes of a few thousand meters.

Hang gliding

Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity that uses a light, non-motorized, foot-launched, heavier-than-air aircraft. Most hang gliders are made of an aluminum alloy or composite frame covered with synthetic sailcloth to form a wing. Typically, the pilot is in a harness suspended from the airframe, and controls the aircraft by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame.

Hang gliding pilots have been known to fly for hours, gain thousands of feet of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics, and glide for hundreds of kilometers. The World Air Sports Federation and national airspace governing organizations control some regulatory aspects of hang gliding.

BASE jumping

BASE jumping is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, then using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for the four main categories of fixed objects from which one can jump:

• Buildings
• Antennas (referring to radio masts)
• Spans (bridges)
• Earth (cliffs).

Participants jump from one of the BASE categories and, after an optional freefall, deploy a parachute to slow their descent and land. A popular variant form of BASE jumping is wingsuit BASE jumping.

BASE jumps differ largely from skydiving out of airplanes as they are instead performed from fixed objects generally at much lower altitudes. Also, BASE jumpers only carry one parachute. BASE jumping is significantly more hazardous than other forms of parachuting, and is considered to be one of the more dangerous extreme sports.

Wingsuit flying

Wingsuit flying or wingsuiting is a sport that involves skydiving while wearing a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit (known as a wingsuit). The webbed area on the diver’s body generates increased lift, which allows extended air time by gliding rather than just free falling. A wingsuit uses a pair of fabric membranes stretched flat between the arms and flanks/thighs to imitate an airfoil and often also between the legs to function as a tail and allow limited aerial steering.

Like all forms of skydiving, a wingsuit flight generally ends with a deployment of a parachute, and so a wingsuit can be flown from any point that provides altitude sufficient for this, such as a from an aircraft or BASE jump from a tall cliff or mountaintop. The wingsuit flier wears specially designed parachuting equipment for skydiving or BASE jumping. While the parachute flight is normal, the flier must unzip their arm wings (after deployment) to be able to reach the steering parachute toggles to control the descent path.

Speed flying/riding

Speed riding/flying is considered a sub-sport of paragliding; however, speed riding/flying takes place in different terrain than paragliding and the pilots have different intentions.

This means rescue actions may be different for speed riders/fliers, paragliders, BASE jumpers, and wingsuit fliers. The differences in terrain and intentions have an influence on where mountain rescuers may focus their search and the types of evacuations they may be called upon to perform. The time of year also makes a difference.

Sometimes called ‘hike and fly’, speed riding/flying tends to happen in rugged terrain, often alpine terrain

Terrain: Sometimes called ‘hike and fly’, speed riding/flying tends to happen in rugged terrain, often alpine terrain. While paragliders fly over all sorts of terrain, they might not be as specific in their terrain choices as speed riders/fliers

Pilot intentions: Paragliders generally seek to stay to stay aloft for as long as possible and to stay well away from the ground until landing. Speed fliers/riders fly close to the ground to “swoop the mountain” (Skydive Mag, 2019). Speed riders (with skis) will often seek to touch the mountain while flying

Time of year: As speed riders use skis, they tend to fly in winter or when the terrain has some amount of snow cover. Wintertime often compounds the challenges for mountain rescuers.

The popularity of paragliding arose in the 1970s when pilots in the French town of Mieussy successfully launched a wing by running down the hillsides of the Alps. André Bohn and Gérard Bosson were mostly responsible for developing the sport into how it is today. Bosson introduced paragliding at the 1979 World Hang Gliding Championships. It was not long until paragliding schools were opening up around the world.

Equipment has continued to improve, and the number of paragliding pilots and established sites has continued to increase. The first (unofficial) Paragliding World Championship was held in Verbier, Switzerland, in 1987, and the first officially sanctioned FAI World Paragliding Championship was held in Kössen, Austria, in 1989. Europe has seen the greatest growth in paragliding, with France alone registering in 2011 over 25,000 active pilots.

Issues of concern

There are a number of areas of concern for the HEMS and HEC community relative to paragliders and BASE jumpers.

When seen by a HEMS/HEC pilot, airborne paragliders and BASE jumpers may unknowingly cause delays in an area where HEMS/HEC aircraft have been called to assist in an emergency. Helicopter pilots will understandably delay their response and approach to the ground in the presence of paragliders and BASE jumpers. Furthermore, helicopter pilots and crewmembers could potentially lose situational awareness related to flight operations while focusing on the paraglider or BASE-jumping pilots in the sky.

Helicopter pilots and crewmembers could potentially lose situational awareness related to flight operations while focusing on the paraglider or BASE-jumping pilots in the sky

When not seen by a HEMS/HEC pilot or crew, airborne paragliders and BASE jumpers present an even greater risk of an airborne collision that could result in catastrophic and tragic outcomes for both the recreationalist and the HEMS/HEC aircraft.

Equally, paragliders and BASE jumpers have reason to be concerned when engaging in their sports in areas where helicopters may be operating. These include:

Having a method to be notified of pending flights by helicopter operators

Having an in-depth knowledge of wake turbulence from a helicopter’s rotors, and how it can cause a lengthy and long-lasting disruption to air in the wake of a helicopter’s flight, creating a hazard to paragliders and BASE jumpers.

Deconflicting airspace

Deconflicting airspace for paragliders/BASE jumpers and rescue helicopters is a complicated task, one that requires pre-established coordination and direct communication between the recreationalists and the helicopter rescue programs well in advance of the moment of an emergency flight into a popular paragliding or BASE jumping area.

Coordination and communication

To solve this problem, many helicopter rescue programs have implemented protocols designed to increase communication and coordination between these two communities. These protocols include:

In Canada:

• After an incident where an in-flight paraglider delayed the air rescue of an injured BASE jumper on a cliff, the local paragliding community became more active with Alberta Parks land managers to avoid repeating this situation. Local paragliders now call the helibase in Canmore before launching, and many of them carry air-to-air radios so they can communicate through traditional aircraft radio communication methods. The Alberta Parks permitting process is also exploring options for increasing safety measures like these as requirements for paragliders.

In France:

• Sécurité Civile reports that an educational brochure has been printed and issued to the paragliding and BASE jumping communities. The brochure has also been posted on signs that have been installed at parking areas of popular paragliding sites. This information includes:
  • What to do when a paragliding incident/accident occurs
  • What not to do during a helicopter rescue operation in the area.
• Sécurité Civile also reports that when they have to operate in popular gliding areas, their pilots make a radio call on the paragliding frequency and fly over their liftoff sites to inform paragliders ready to lift off that a rescue operation is in progress.

In Norway:

• The Norwegian Red Cross reports on key rescue criteria, including:
  • Performing a reconnaissance flight to assess whether the subject is alive, keeping a safe distance from the parachute
  • Deploying rescuers a safe distance from the victim and the parachute
  • Securing the victim quickly and wrapping the parachute.

In Switzerland:

• Helicopter company Air-Glaciers notes that it has created a full presentation of information in three languages
• Swiss Air-Rescue Rega created something similar, and all paragliding schools and associations were contacted and a Rega guideline presented
• In the BASE jumper area in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, the Swiss Base Association has installed placards at all exit points, suggesting that BASE jumpers must call Air-Glaciers before their intended jump in order to coordinate with an eventual approach or start of a helicopter. Air-Glaciers reports that this is effective and that the BASE jumpers respect this approach
• Air-Glaciers also reports that it published a recommendation not to jump on days where it has heavy helicopter traffic (such as during the Lauberhorn World Cup Downhill ski race).

Snohomish County, in Washington, reports issues of the growth of popularity of paragliding, BASE jumping and wingsuiting, noting the importance of communication and coordination between land managers/rescue agencies and the paragliding/BASE jumping/wingsuiting communities

In the USA:

• Snohomish County, in Washington, reports issues of the growth of popularity of paragliding, BASE jumping and wingsuiting, noting the importance of communication and coordination between land managers/rescue agencies and the paragliding/BASE jumping/wingsuiting communities
• In New Mexico, the Sandia Mountains have a long history of hang gliding and paragliding. To manage gliders in the same airspace, all of the glider pilots are required to have a radio and monitor 151.925 MHz, and rescuers have utilized this frequency when launching a helicopter mission in the same airspace as the gliders to communicate with them. Also, most of the pilots will fly with an in-reach on and share their location on a central app that helicopter rescue units can look at before taking off.

It has been reported that, in some places, there have not yet been similar discussions with the BASE and wingsuit community, as these user groups remain more ‘underground’ in certain areas. They may be reluctant to engage with land managers since their activity may be illegal in certain areas.