[Injury patterns and typical stress situations in paragliding]

[Injuries and influencing factors on accidents in paragliding]

Approximately 100 000 pilots worldwide practice the sport of paragliding. Most studies performed to date have been conducted retrospectively, using data from hospitals or emergency rescue organisations and focusing on injury patterns. Reasons for accidents and possible influencing factors have hardly been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse paragliding accidents in the Alps and to identify possible influencing factors. The data were taken from the "Flash-News" magazine (issues no. 149-160) covering the years 2015 to 2017. Only accidents occurring in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy were considered. All in all, 487 accidents met the inclusion criteria of using a conventional paraglider and were analysed in this study. 88.5 % of the pilots involved were male and the average age was 42.9 ± 13.7 years. Most accidents happened in summer and during the afternoon hours. The majority of incidents happened during the flight phase, but the comparison of tandem and solo pilots showed that tandem pilots had significantly more accidents during the take-off phase, whereas solo pilots had more accidents during the landing phase. Mistakes by pilots were identified as the main reason for accidents, followed by accidents caused by wind. In 71 of 487 (14,6 %) accidents, the pilots were not injured. If they were injured during the accident, the lower limbs were injured most frequently (35.5 %). In 45 of 487 accidents, the pilots died during the accident (9,2 %). The fact that more flights were executed during the summer months, combined with the more demanding flight conditions in summer (wind, weather, thermal conditions) may have led to the increased number of incidents in the period from April to August. Mistakes by pilots were identified as the major causes of accidents; therefore, training to handle difficult situations and the equipment are suggested. In general, the documentation of paragliding accidents is insufficient and inconsistent. The implementation of a harmonised, transnational form to document paragliding accidents is recommended to get unified and comparable data.

Aviation Sports Crashes in the Austrian Mountains: A 10-Year Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION

We aimed to describe the epidemiology and injury patterns of aviation sports crashes in the Austrian mountains and identify risk factors.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, out-of-hospital data on patients who sustained crashes when participating in aviation sports from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2015 were assessed. The out-of-hospital data were merged with in-hospital data obtained from Innsbruck Medical University Hospital.

RESULTS

A total of 2037 persons were involved in 1856 aviation sports crashes. Data on 126 in-hospital patients were available. Wind and pilot error were the most common causes. Most injuries occurred in paragliders (n=111, 88%). Most commonly, paragliders sustained injuries to the lumbar spine and hang gliders to the thoracic spine. Rescue operations were undertaken mainly by helicopter emergency medical services (n=87, 69%) or combined rescue forces (ground and helicopter, n=100, 79%.). The Injury Severity Score was 15±15, with a peak in patients with isolated injuries of the lower extremities (n=38, 32%) and a second peak in patients with multiple trauma (n=44, 35%).

CONCLUSIONS

In the Austrian mountains, wind and pilot errors are the most common causes of aviation crashes. Aviation sports crashes frequently resulted in severe injuries and multiple trauma. The lumbar spine is particularly at risk in paragliders, whereas the thoracic spine is commonly affected in hang gliders. Injuries frequently caused long-term paralysis and limitations in quality of life. To minimize long-term consequences and save lives, skilled and well-equipped teams may be beneficial to provide effective on-site care and safe transportation to a trauma center.

Mortality in Different Mountain Sports Activities Primarily Practiced in the Summer Season-A Narrative Review

Millions of people engage in mountain sports activities worldwide. Although leisure-time physical activity is associated with significant health benefits, mountain sports activities also bear an inherent risk for injury and death. However, death risk may vary across various types of mountain sports activities. Epidemiological data represent an important basis for the development of preventive measures. Therefore, the aim of this review is to compare mortality rates and potential risk factors across different (summer) mountain sports activities. A comprehensive literature search was performed on the death risk (mortality) in mountain sports, primarily practiced during the summer season, i.e., mountain hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, trekking, rock, ice and high-altitude climbing. It was found that the death risk varies considerably between different summer mountain sports. Mortality during hiking, trekking and biking in the mountains was lower compared to that during paragliding, or during rock, ice or high-altitude climbing. Traumatic deaths were more common in activities primarily performed by young adults, whereas the number of deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases was higher in activities preferred by the elderly such as hiking and trekking. Preventive efforts must consider the diversity of mountain sports activities including differences in risk factors and practitioners and may more particularly focus on high-risk activities and high-risk individuals.

Characteristics of injuries caused by paragliding accidents: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

This study was undertaken to analyze the characteristics and risk factors relating to fatalities and injuries caused by paragliding.

METHODS

The judicial examination reports and hospital documents of 82 patients traumatized in 64 accidents during 242 355 paragliding jumps between August 2004 and September 2011 were analyzed.

RESULTS

In these accidents, 18 of the 82 patients lost their lives. In the patients with a confirmed cause of accident, most of them were involved with multiple fractures and internal organ injuries (n=8, 44.4%).

CONCLUSION

We investigated the incidence of paragliding injuries, the types of the injuries, and the severity of affected anatomical regions. The findings are significant for the prevention of paragliding injuries and future research.

A fatal case of anaphylactic shock during paragliding

The growth in popularity of flying ultralight aircraft and paragliding has been associated with an increased involvement of Emergency Medical Services because of various types of trauma suffered from both inexperienced and skilled individuals. This case presentation reports on a paraglider pilot, who was seen spinning "unusually" rapidly toward the ground, without visible attempts to regain control of the aircraft. Besides the bilateral mydriasis and the absence of any ECG activity, there was a significant swelling of face, lips, neck, and tongue. Upon opening the mouth, a dead bee was found over the tongue, underneath the palate. A fatal anaphylactic shock was the likely cause of death of the pilot while still "in mid-air." This case is certainly different from the commonly reported accidents during paragliding. An updated review of the medical literature shows no reported cases of fatal anaphylactic shock during the practice of paragliding.