Australian police were on Sunday trying to recover the body of a para-glider who crashed into a cliff face south of Sydney and fell to his death.
Police said that on Saturday afternoon they were called out to "a popular paragliding location, following reports a glider had crashed into the side of the cliff."
The man, who has not yet been formally identified, hit the cliff and dropped almost 200 metres (650 feet) down the sheer face.
Police said the recovery effort on Saturday was hampered by the difficult terrain and "due to poor light," and renewed efforts to recover the man´s body were underway early Sunday.
The incident took place near Bald Hill, which offers sweeping views of verdant cliffs and the South Pacific a short drive from Sydney.
Local media reported the man, believed to be in his 50s, may have been blown back into the cliff after takeoff.
3 Pilot Equipment
3.1 Gliders
1. Pilots are responsible for the choice and maintenance of their flight equipment.
2. Pilots must fly with the same glider during one event. In special cases (lost
luggage, damaged equipment, etc.) the TD can allow a glider change to one of
equal or lesser certification during the event. Any pilot who changes their glider
outwith these conditions will incur a penalty of 2% of winner’s points if the change
is notified, and zero for the day if not notified.
3. Only certified gliders up to CCC (single size acceptable) or EN 926 or LTF 91/09,
but with tolerances on lines and risers as defined in Appendix E: Glider Checking
Procedure, are allowed in World Cup competitions. Wings certified in both EN and
CCC before Sep 30, 2016 may only be flown in the later configuration.
4. As an exception to 3, but not in the Super Final, it is permitted for a single test
pilot from a partner manufacturer to fly a glider that conforms entirely to CCC, but
is not yet certified (RFC). The glider must be fully documented, may not be
modified in any way during the competition and must be correctly trimmed.
5. The PWCA reserves the right to reject any application for RFC status.
6. It is not permitted for the pilot to modify the glider in any way, except for the length
of the brake main-line.
7. The pilot must fly in the homologated weight range.
8. Uncertified sizes of a certified model that was available for sale earlier than 1st
November 2011 will be permitted.
9. On registration, pilots have to specify the model, size and colours of the glider to
be flown during the competition.
10. Gliders will be checked after a complaint or according to some predetermined or
random selection schedule. In addition, the MD or TD can request that any pilot’s
glider be checked.
11. Every pilot must give his glider to the organisation for checking or comparing
immediately upon any such request.
12. The TD will nominate a qualified person to perform glider checks according to the
published procedure (see Appendix E: Glider Checking Procedure).
13. Results from all glider checks will be published on the Championship information
boards and on the World Cup website at http://pwca.org/remote/check.
3.2 Communication Equipment
1. Radios (2 metre band) are mandatory for all pilots and must be used for safety
purposes only.
2. All pilots’ radios must be switched on and tuned to the safety frequency
announced at the task briefing.
3. The use of voice-activated microphones (“VOX”) is prohibited.
4. All pilots must carry a mobile telephone with them while flying.
5. Pilots not fulfilling these requirements can be grounded or penalized.
3.3 GPS Receiver
1. GPS is the only evidence used for flight verification in Paragliding World Cup
events.
2. All pilots must be equipped with at least one GPS receiver with GPS altitude
recording capability. Only some specific models are accepted (see section 14.9
and Appendix F: GPS Receivers).
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3. It is the pilot’s responsibility to have at least one working GPS receiver, and to set
it up with the right parameters.
4. Pilots must bring their GPS receivers to report-back after each task in order to
download their flight tracks.
3.4 Live Tracking
1. The PWCA provides a Flymaster Live for each competitor as a safety measure to
know at all times where they are whilst flying. As well as being a fully fledged
flying instrument, the Flymaster Live provides one-second resolution live tracking,
and in-flight communication between the organisers and the pilots (level calls,
task cancellation, etc.)
2. Each competitor must take the Live Tracker at take-off, and he must carry it on
his person whilst flying and whilst being retrieved.
3. Any competitor that does not take his Live Tracker will be deemed not to be flying
that day and will not score any points.
A pilot who does not return his Live Tracker may be not be displayed on score
sheets until it is returned.
