Dania, Florida man killed in powered paraglide crash
A man from Dania Beach, Florida was killed on December 25, 2009, when the powered paralgide he was piloting with his wife on board, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the Dania Beach pier.
The paraglide pilot, 52, died on Christmas when he was unable to to get out from his safety harness after the paraglider hit the water. His wife, who also strapped in, was able to get out safely.
Lifeguards were able to pull the pilot and his wife from the ocean, but paramedics were unable to revive him. He was pronounced dead at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida.
Powered paraglides do not require a pilot's license, but are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration under the "ultra-light aircraft category," but these aircraft need permission from the nearest airport to take off.
According to Wikipedia, research done by the United States Powered Paragliding Association "USPPA" estimates that the activity is statistically safer than riding motorcycles and more dangerous than riding in cars. The greatest cause of serious injury is body contact with a spinning propeller. The next most likely cause is pilot error result from flying a working paraglide into something other than the landing zone. Pilots sometimes pack a reserve parachute designed to open in as little as 50 ft (15 m) of altitude.
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