Safety is often a concern that we are confronted with when dealing with first-time paragliders. We frequently get asked the question “How safe is paragliding?”. The short answer is as safe as you make it. Any experienced pilot will tell you that the most important safety factor in paragliding is not wind, air pressure, or visibility. In fact, it’s not any external factor. The most important factor is the paraglider’s own attitude and preparedness.
A student with the right attitude will do far better in the long run than someone who happens to pick up the sport easily at the outset. We give our students the choice to start out by flying tandem with an experienced paragliding instructor. This gives our students peace of mind to know that they are in good hands. Once our students understand the safety elements of paragliding, the do’s and don’ts and other important factors, we’ll give them the opportunity to ‘go solo’.
Here are 4 facts about paragliding safety that each and every student should know:
- Statistically, paragliding is as safe as driving.
The number of deaths due to paragliding accidents are lower than the number of deaths due to car accidents. About 1 in 11000 pilots are killed in paragliding accidents every year, this number is slightly lower than the fatality rate of car accidents.
2. Pilots are almost never injured because of equipment failure.
Paragliders built today are uniformly very stable. They are designed to recover quickly in the event of glider collapse. As long as you are using new paragliding equipment, which you check before every flight, there is little risk of an accident resulting from equipment malfunctions. Almost all accidents happen because of mistakes made by the pilot.
3. No need for speed
We find that our students are afraid of the fact that they think they will be going too fast. Fortunately, paragliding is not about speed. Our students will be gracefully floating on the breeze with fantastic views of the landscape surrounding them. Paragliding is not a speed sport at all.
4. Feeling vulnerable is good
As long as you are learning with a good instructor, paragliding is a very safe activity. It’s also relatively easy to get started. While it is important to have fun in the air, it is extremely important never to let your guard down just because things are running smoothly. If you adopt the safety techniques your instructor teaches you during the initial period of learning to paraglide, you will greatly reduce the risk of accidents both in the short and long term.
