20150922014689I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Aircraft · Saline, MI · September 22, 2015

Date: September 22, 2015 · 20:00 local
Place: Saline, MI
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: Ultralight vehicle (Part 103)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: NONE
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 1

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot stated that during normal cruise flight he misjudged the height of a tree. Upon contact with the tree branches the lower half of the engine stand hooked a tree limb which caused the parachute to collapse and become entangled with the tree branches. The pilot climbed out of the harness and sat on a branch until the local fire department rescue came to assist him in getting down from the tree. The height of the tree is estimated to be approximately 70-80 feet above the ground.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT STATED THAT DURING NORMAL CRUISE FLIGHT HE MISJUDGED THE HEIGHT OF A TREE. UPON CONTACT WITH THE TREE BRANCHES THE LOWER HALF OF THE ENGINE STAND HOOKED A TREE LIMB WHICH CAUSED THE PARACHUTE TO COLLAPSE AND BECOME ENTANGLED WITH THE TREE BRANCHES. THE PILOT CLIMBED OUT OF THE HARNESS AND SAT ON A BRANCH UNTIL THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUE CAME TO ASSIST HIM IN GETTING DOWN FROM THE TREE. THE HEIGHT OF THE TREE IS ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 70-80 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.