Parachute man’s Blackburn crash 'no big deal'

11:20am Thursday 15th May 2008

Comments (22)   Have your say »

By David Watkinson »

A MAN attempting to fly a motorised parachute ended up in "agony" in hospital after crashing into a wall while trying to take off.

Police said 51-year-old paramotor enthusiast Gabriel Cassidy could have been "very seriously" injured in the crash at a remote field.

Bodybuilder Mr Cassidy is now recovering in hospital after breaking his heel. It was at first feared that he had broken both of his legs.

Speaking from his bed in Royal Blackburn Hospital where he is recovering from his injuries he said the accident was "incredibly painful" but "no big deal".

He was flying a paramotor which is essentially a parachute attached to a petrol engine, which is worn like a back pack, and was attempting to take off from a field in the outskirts of Blackburn.

The accident happened at a farm off Brokenstone Lane near Feniscowles at 10.30am on Sunday. He told police that he was hoping to fly to Barton Airfield, near Eccles, Manchester, reaching heights of up to 5,000ft.

His friend, Mark Ingham, who runs Pendle Para-motoring, said that Mr Cassidy's weight may have saved him from further injury.

He said: "Gabe is a big man and did a lot of bodybuilding, which may have helped him because there's some bulk around his bones.

"Paramotoring is an extreme sport, but I think Gabe was just unlucky with the wind at the time. He was trying to take off but the wind took him straight into a wall.

"I know he uses that site a lot. There's nothing wrong with the field. He was just unlucky with the conditions."

Police said the incident has been referred to the air accident investigation branch of the Department for Tran-sport. A spokesman said that Mr Cassidy did not need to notify the authorities of his flight path but should have told them that he was planning a flight.

A police spokesman said: "It appears that Mr Cassidy misjudged the conditions. It was potentially a very serious accident."

A paramotor, which is also known as a powered para-glider, is a simple craft that consists of a small 2-stroke petrol engine driving a propeller, worn like a backpack under a paraglider wing.

Paramotors are relatively easy to learn to fly, yet being foot launched they do not need an airfield to operate from. They can be flown from an open, flat field with no need to find a hill site facing into wind or even to wait for the wind to blow.

They are quickly and easily rigged and de-rigged, and once dismantled can be put in the boot of a car.