Tribute
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In this first list are pilots we knew or met just once, and who passed away in hang gliding or paragliding accidents. The names are withheld for privacy reasons. The cases generally accounted for as human mistakes, but which could have been avoided by a better equipment design, are marked in red (if any doubt, they are left in black).
- * Flex: hang glider, weight-shift control
- Para: paraglider, no tube structure
- 2: tandem
- Exp: experimental, control surfaces
- Rigid: hang glider, weight-shift in pitch, control surfaces in roll/yaw
| Year | Place | Sex | Age | Nation | Wing* | Cause |
| 88 | F | M | 32 | F | Flex | Sail failure low |
| 91 | F | M | 38 | F | Flex | Obstacle in final |
| 93 | F | M | 41 | F | Para 2 | Frozen, collision with terrain |
| 94 | E | M | 27 | F | Flex | Lost landing options |
| 94 | CH | M | 46 | CH | Exp | Structure failure low |
| 95 | CH | F | 33 | CH | Flex | Tumble low |
| 98 | AUS | M | 38 | F | Flex | Tumble, knocked out |
| 98 | F | M | 32 | F | Flex | Wrong hook-in |
| 98 | USA | M | 43 | USA | Flex | Tumble, chute rope breaks neck |
| 99 | F | M | 66 | F | Para | Collapse low |
| 00 | H | F | 30 | H | Flex | Lockout |
| 00 | F | M | 38 | F | Flex | Forgotten leg loops |
| 00 | AUS | M | 24 | AUS | Flex | Blown launch |
| 01 | F | M | 36 | F | Rigid | Spin low |
| 03 | I | M | 56 | I | Rigid | Structure failure low |
| 04 | F | M | 48 | HR | Flex | Obstacle in final |
| 05 | AUS | M | 38 | N | Flex | Lockout |
| 05 | USA | M | 29 | CDN | Flex | Swoop, pounded in |
| 05 | F | M | 28 | CH | Flex | Aerobatics low, collision |
| 06 | F | M | 33 | F | Flex | Side wire failure low |
| 06 | RUS | F | 41 | RUS | Flex | Lockout, pounded in |
| 06 | F | M | 38 | F | Flex | Frozen, lee, pounded in |
| 07 | F | M | 49 | B | Flex | Collision with terrain |
| 08 | F | M | 44 | MA | Para | Forgotten leg loops |
| 08 | AUT | M | 44 | CH | Flex | Tumble low |
| 09 | F | M | 54 | NL | Flex | Spin low |
| 11 | AUS | M | 29 | GB | Flex | Lee, obstacle in final |
| 11 | AR | M | 55 | F | Para | Collapse, chute, high altitude |
| 12 | BR | M | 44 | AUS | Flex | Blown launch |
| 12 | CH | M | 56 | CH | Rigid | Blown launch |
| 12 | F | M | 62 | F | Para | Collapse low |
| 13 | F | M | 26 | F | Flex | Aerobatics low |
| 13 | F | M | 41 | CO/F | Flex 2 | Lockout |
| 14 | F | M | 44 | J | Rigid | Frozen, collision with terrain |
| 14 | I | M | 71 | I | Flex | High grass, pounded in |
| 14 | AUS | M | 46 | AUS | Flex | Aerobatics low |
| 14 | F | M | 55 | F | Flex 2 | Obstacle in final |
| 15 | F | M | 49 | GB | Flex | Obstacle in final |
| 15 | F | M | 30 | F | Flex | Lee, aerobatics, chute malfunction |
| 15 | ZA | M | 52 | F | Flex | Blown launch |
| 16 | F | M | 48 | I | Flex 2 | Forgotten hook-in |
20, almost 50% of these 41 cases, which were accounted for as human mistakes, can also be seen as caused by poor design, meaning they could have been avoided. This is a personal list, not a statistic, but we are far from the legendary 90% of human mistakes…
In this second list are only tandem passenger victims we know of. One can consider that pilots accept somehow the risks of their sport, but passengers do not as obviously, they trust the instructor.
| Year | Place | Sex | Age | Nation | Wing* | Cause |
| 03 | NZ | F | 23 | GR | Flex 2 | Forgotten hook-in |
| 08 | AR | M | 28 | GB | Para 2 | Forgotten leg loops |
| 09 | CO | M | 48 | CO | Para 2 | Forgotten leg loops |
| 12 | BR | F | 27 | BR | Para 2 | Forgotten leg loops |
| 12 | CDN | F | 27 | MEX | Flex 2 | Forgotten hook-in |
| 17 | AR | F | 28 | AR | Para 2 | Forgotten leg loops |
At least 6 young persons lost their lives because of that typical mistake made by someone else. In one case, the captain was sentenced 5 months in jail for a fault, but one could say that the next victims were doomed at the same time: blaming extends the problem instead of solving it.
The unconnected passenger is an unforgiving configuration, as the only option for the captain in panic is to fly straight towards the landing, putting the aircraft even higher above the terrain. Nevertheless, one fortunate case happened recently, the video is easy to find (Swiss mishap).