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Home / New Zealand

Hang glider survives his 'silly mistake'

By Samantha McPherson
APN / NZ HERALD·
20 Nov, 2012 06:06 PM2 mins to read

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Reece Fisher admits he is lucky to be alive. Photo / APN

Reece Fisher admits he is lucky to be alive. Photo / APN

A hang glider pilot who fell 30m and nearly crashed into power lines says a silly mistake could have cost him his life.

Christchurch labourer Reece Fisher, 25, broke his femur, collarbone and two ribs when his hang glider hit the ground and slid along a paddock at 35km/h last Friday.

Mr Fisher was one of seven advanced hang glider pilots who launched off a hill at Governors Bay in Canterbury. The group was making the most of exceptional weather before finishing in a landing paddock.

But Mr Fisher said he noticed before the flight that a cord which allows the pilot to adjust wing performance and handling was tangled around the wheel but did nothing about it.

"I should've checked it thoroughly before I took off. It was a silly mistake that could've killed me. It was scary," he said from his Christchurch Hospital bed yesterday.

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Mr Fisher was in the air for more than an hour before he struck trouble, five minutes before he crash-landed.

"I decided to pull on the cord to try and untangle it. It got harder and harder to turn. ... I tried to steer away from power lines but a gust of wind changed my flight direction."

He remembered little else, he said.

"I was told afterwards I was going in and out of consciousness and I had crashed in the paddock before the power lines."

Hang gliding safety officer Cris Lawry said an internal investigation would be carried out.

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