Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Paraglider injured in Havelock North after 'very unfortunate series of events'

Gianina Schwanecke
Gianina Schwanecke
Reporter·Hawkes Bay Today·
22 Sep, 2021 02:14 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Emergency services were called to a HB Paragliding Club member who had hit Te Mata Peak cliff face. Video HB Today

A dramatic paragliding crash off Te Mata Peak "could have happened to anyone", a member of the Hawke's Bay Paragliding Club says.

The club's safety officer, Shane Davies, arrived below the crash site just as emergency services left to fly the injured paraglider, a man in his 60s, to Hawke's Bay Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

He said conditions were "light", but three pilots had successfully launched before the crash occurred.

"[It was] nothing that any of the locals would be unfamiliar with.

"It was just a very unfortunate series of events."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Davies described the local pilot, as an "infrequent but active member of the club".

The man in his 60s, who was rescued after a paragliding crash off Te Mata Peak on Tuesday, has been described as an "infrequent but active" member of the Hawke's Bay Paragliding Club. Photo / NZME
The man in his 60s, who was rescued after a paragliding crash off Te Mata Peak on Tuesday, has been described as an "infrequent but active" member of the Hawke's Bay Paragliding Club. Photo / NZME

About a half dozen fellow pilots were stationed at the popular launching spot with the season just beginning.

"We are coming into the punchier part of the season with spring thermals.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Historically, this is the time of year where we do have a few incidents because of conditions changing rapidly."

Davies believed the crash may have been the result of a collapsed wing, which is when the front edge of the wings fold in.

It was more difficult to correct when just taking off, he said.

"We've probably all experienced to a degree little collapses.

"If it happens 5000 feet above the ground you're totally fine but if it's not taken care of quickly it can end up in something worse."

He said it could have happened to anyone and Tuesday was a "happy result".

Hawke's Bay Paragliding Club member Andy Owen (left), and the club's safety officer Shane Davies (right) at the bottom of Te Mata Peak after the crash. Photo / NZME
Hawke's Bay Paragliding Club member Andy Owen (left), and the club's safety officer Shane Davies (right) at the bottom of Te Mata Peak after the crash. Photo / NZME

Davies thanked members of the public for their response, including one person who he understood was the first to reach the paraglider.

It is believed the man suffered moderate to serious injuries in the crash, but was reportedly in a stable condition at Hawke's Bay Hospital the next morning.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Emergency services were called out to the accident about 4.40pm on Tuesday with the rescue helicopter airlifting the paraglider off the ledge about 5.30pm.

Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter general manager Ian Wilmot said the man was "just off the peak" about 100m from the top.

He said the helicopter landed at the Te Mata Peak carpark before lowering a paramedic down and winching them both up.

Wilmot estimated about 10 per cent of callouts involved winching operations, and said Tuesday night's was "relatively straightforward".

Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Business

Inside Wattie's slide: Three years of losses and a $210m writedown

20 Sep 08:00 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

Ross Shield incoming - Wairoa is ready for its big week

20 Sep 06:00 PM
Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Detective of 40 years makes three of his biggest arrests weeks before retiring

20 Sep 06:00 PM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Premium
Inside Wattie's slide: Three years of losses and a $210m writedown
Business

Inside Wattie's slide: Three years of losses and a $210m writedown

Company paid out more to suppliers and employees than it earned from customers in 2024.

20 Sep 08:00 PM
Ross Shield incoming - Wairoa is ready for its big week
Hawkes Bay Today

Ross Shield incoming - Wairoa is ready for its big week

20 Sep 06:00 PM
Premium
Premium
Detective of 40 years makes three of his biggest arrests weeks before retiring
Hawkes Bay Today

Detective of 40 years makes three of his biggest arrests weeks before retiring

20 Sep 06:00 PM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP