Injured paraglider was flying new 'speed wing' device
Smaller, faster version of paraglider so far lacks formal training protocols
CBC News
Posted: Feb 16, 2013 2:00 PM MT
Last Updated: Feb 16, 2013 1:54 PM MT
A man was rescued from a mountain near Canmore on Thursday after he crashed while paragliding. (@CanmoreFireRes/Twitter)
New details are emerging about a crash involving a paraglider near Canmore earlier this week.
The 38-year-old man hit the side of a steep slope on Thursday and had to be airlifted off Mount Lady MacDonald by a helicopter. He suffered a broken pelvis and might also have abdominal injuries, officials said.
According to the head of the Alberta Hangliding and Paragliding Association, the man was using a relatively new device called a speed wing.
Speed wings are smaller than paragliders and they fly faster and closer to the ground, Bruce Busby said.
“So normally in a paraglider you'd be much higher and moving much slower, so if you have some kind of problem you have a much longer time to react, to sort the problem out before you actually impact,” he said.
There is no formal training or certification for speed wings in Canada, yet. But the associations are working on it, Busby said.
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