A retired police officer died in a paragliding accident on Lantau Island in June 2024 after losing control of his glider amid strong winds and adverse weather conditions, according to an investigation report released by the Air Accident Investigation Authority.
The 74-year-old pilot took off alone from Sunset Peak, the third-highest mountain in Hong Kong, on June 17, 2024. He planned a short flight down to Lower Cheung Sha Beach, a journey estimated to last two to three minutes. The pilot, who held 27.7 flight hours accumulated over 95 flights since July 2023, departed from a designated paragliding site at the 869-meter peak alongside five friends.
The report found that during a reverse launch—a standard take-off technique in paragliding—strong upward wind currents lifted the pilot off the ground backward. Shortly after lift-off, the paraglider was carried into thick cloud cover by strong updrafts. Wind speeds recorded nearby at Cheung Chau ranged from 22 to 28 kilometers per hour, with gusts peaking at 38 km/h, exceeding recommended limits for safe paragliding at the site. Low cloud cover completely enveloped the peak area at the time.
Witnesses among the pilot’s companions said a sudden gust pushed him into dense clouds near the direction of Pui O. Despite advising him over the radio to initiate descent procedures, they did not receive a response. The pilot briefly contacted them around 3 p.m., reporting that he was injured and trapped in a tree but was unable to provide his precise location before communication ceased.
Rescue teams found the pilot unconscious on a wooded slope near the Lantau Trail at 9:25 p.m. He was transported to North Lantau Hospital early the next morning but was declared dead on arrival. Autopsy results attributed the cause of death to multiple severe blunt force injuries sustained to the face, limbs, and torso.
The investigation concluded that the pilot lost effective control of the paraglider after being caught in strong atmospheric lift inside cloud cover, leading to a collision with terrain and impact with a tree. The report underscored that flight into clouds violated both the Hong Kong China Paragliding Association’s site guidelines and the Civil Aviation Department’s safety directives. These regulations explicitly prohibit entering clouds to avoid dangers posed by limited visibility and nearby air traffic, mandating that paragliders operate only under clear visual meteorological conditions.
The Air Accident Investigation Authority urged paragliding organizations to prioritize comprehensive risk assessments before flights to prevent similar tragedies in the future.