How safe are hanggliders?
Like any form of sport aviation, hanggliding can be dangerous if pursued carelessly. That said, however, hanggliding can be a very safe sport. Gliders in the US are now certified for airworthiness by the Hang Glider Manufacturers Assn. (HGMA) so structural failures on recent equipment flown within its placarded limits are a thing of the past. In addition, reserve parachutes are used on all high altitude hangglider flights now and provide a measure of safety in the rare instances of severe glider damage or complete loss of control. Also, hanggliding instruction has been standardized and most students learn from certified instructors using a thorough, gradual training program. So the days of untrained pilots trying unsafe maneuvers at dangerous sites are also largely gone. Despite these advances, people still make judgement errors and aviation is not very forgiving of such.
Like any form of sport aviation, hanggliding can be dangerous if pursued carelessly. That said, however, hanggliding can be a very safe sport. Gliders in the US are now certified for airworthiness by the Hang Glider Manufacturers Assn. (HGMA) so structural failures on recent equipment flown within its placarded limits are a thing of the past. In addition, reserve parachutes are used on all high altitude hangglider flights now and provide a measure of safety in the rare instances of severe glider damage or complete loss of control. Also, hanggliding instruction has been standardized and most students learn from certified instructors using a thorough, gradual training program. So the days of untrained pilots trying unsafe maneuvers at dangerous sites are also largely gone. Despite these advances, people still make judgement errors and aviation is not very forgiving of such. The bottom line is that out of about 10,000 active pilots in the US, 5 to 10 will have a fatal hanggliding accident
Like any form of sport aviation, hangliding can be dangerous if pursued carelessly. That said, however, hangliding can be a very safe sport. Gliders in the US are now certified for airworthiness by the Hang Glider Manufacturers Assn. (HGMA) so structural failures on recent equipment flown within its placarded limits are a thing of the past. In addition, reserve parachutes are used on all high altitude hanglider flights now and provide a measure of safety in the rare instances of severe glider damage or complete loss of control. Also, hangliding instruction has been standardized and most students learn from certified instructors using a thorough, gradual training program. So the days of untrained pilots trying unsafe maneuvers at dangerous sites are also largely gone. Despite these advances, people still make judgement errors and aviation is not very forgiving of such. The bottom line is that out of about 10,000 active pilots in the US, 5 to 10 will have a fatal hangliding accident in a
