Thriller killer
Shivani and her instructor, Sumal Nepali, 26, died on January 19 after their paraglider crashed into a ravine immediately after takeoff from a cliff in Keri village, North Goa
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Adventure sports, including paragliding, skydiving, rafting, and trekking, are extremely popular. But of late, the increasing number of accidents, particularly during paragliding at major tourist hotspots, has set alarm bells ringing. In January alone, multiple accidents occurred, resulting in serious injuries and even deaths, which highlights the urgent need to regulate the adventure tourism sector in the country.
Shivani Dable, a 27-year-old from Pune, went to Goa to explore and make memories, but her journey ended in disaster. Shivani and her instructor, Sumal Nepali, 26, died on January 19 after their paraglider crashed into a ravine immediately after takeoff from a cliff in Keri village, North Goa. Similarly, two tourists died in separate “tandem paragliding’ crashes in Kullu and Kangra districts recently, raising questions about the safety standards practiced in adventure sports in Himachal Pradesh.
Inexperienced pilots, poor equipment, unlicensed operators, and no governmental control are what are turning paragliding deadly.
Fake licenses
Extreme sports enthusiast, Sukumar Dashas, who recently captured the world’s attention by flying a paramotor adorned with the Indian flag over the majestic Giza Pyramids in Egypt, gives an altogether new dimension. He alleges that the licenses issued to pilots by the Aero Club of India are being manipulated by some persons who claim to be licensed pilots. “These people are taking photocopies of the ACI licenses, replacing the names of genuine pilots with the fake ones and claiming to be licensed pilots,” he says. He says while few institutes follow strict rules, the new institutes that are mushrooming don’t impart quality training and lack equipment.
“The pilots trained in such institutes lack the basics of flying. They have no knowledge about the equipment and its limitations. Anyone can walk into such institutes and come out as pilots,” he says.
Acrobatics
Referring to the incident in Goa, Sukumar says the pilot was indulging in acrobatic stunts, without knowing how to recover from those stunts. “He seems to have stretched his limit beyond his experience. There has to be a good number of solo flying hours after which the pilot can take another passenger. They don’t even maintain logbooks, which is a must for any pilot,” explains Sukumar.
He says until there are good instructors, there cannot be good pilots. Equipment failure is a contributing factor to the increasing number of accidents. Pilots don’t know how long they can use the equipment. If they are able to take off, they think it’s good enough,” he points out.
Ethical flying
“Even after undergoing training from institutes, self-regulation and ethical flying are very important,” says Samarth Sharma, Pilot flying multiple wings as hang gliding, paragliding and paramotoring and founder of SkyVentures. “Some pilots keep money as a top priority without bothering about weather conditions. That is when accidents happen,” says Samarth, highlighting just why pilots need to have a sound knowledge of prevailing weather conditions.
He asserts that the National Air Sports Policy (NASP) is progressing slowly. “It is already draughted but is yet to come into force,” informs Samarth.
Prep Up
Padakanti Vishwanath, the 16-year-old who recently climbed Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, says adventure sports are thrilling, but staying safe is the key. “Always research the terrain, check your gear, and be physically prepared. Wear safety equipment, monitor the weather, and never go alone—use the buddy system,” suggests Vishwanath. He also advises, “If you’re new, go with an expert. Plan for emergencies, and most importantly, respect nature,” he says, adding one needs to stay safe while staying adventurous.
More in business
Vinay Menon, a biker who gets high by jumping off cliffs, believes a thorough investigation is necessary to understand the cause of the paragliding deaths. “As the number of adventure sports enthusiasts is rising in India, more service providers are getting into the business of experienced facilitators,” he says. There are global safety guidelines available in order to practice adventure sports safely. “But often, the commercial operators in India aren’t sufficiently trained, use low-quality equipment, and conduct activities with “sales volume” in mind rather than the safety of an instructor or client,” says Vinay.
Having said that, weather conditions are beyond control; being aware of possible outcomes is necessary.
More accidents coming
Sukumar warns that there will certainly be more such accidents in the future. “Unless we have some control or a policy over equipment and have regular inspections of the equipment, such accidents will keep happening. The central government has no clue about the number of paragliders and their experience. Even the companies dealing with paragliders are mushrooming, without the technical know-how,” he says. Sukumar suggests that pilots operating paragliders in tourist spots should receive education in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). “There has to be some initiative to educate them about the flying, personal safety equipment, and weather conditions. Education and governmental control are the solutions.”
Reasons behind paragliding accidents in India, according to Dream Adventures:
Using poor-quality paragliding equipment by tandem paragliding companies who provide paragliding at cheap prices to make more business.
Hiring a less experienced pilot by the companies to reduce the cost and more profit.Flying in unsafe weather to make money.
The pilot didn’t check the passenger harness’s safety locks properly and later passenger fell during the flight and died. Because he was in a hurry to do one more round and make more money.
Not having a rescue parachute in flight (a rescue parachute is an emergency parachute that the pilot use in case of any emergency during the flight)
Pilots are performing acrobatic tricks with passengers without good training & knowledge to charge them more money.
Pilots are using alcohol or drugs before flying with passengers ( such as - opium, ganja, charas, tablet, etc.)
These people are taking photocopies of the ACI licenses, replacing the names of genuine pilots with the fake ones and claiming to be licensed pilots — Sukumar Dashas, extreme sports enthusiast.
Always research the terrain, check your gear, and be physically prepared. Wear safety equipment, monitor the weather, and never go alone—use the buddy system.” Padakanti Vishwanath, 16-year-old mountaineer.
As the number of adventure sports enthusiasts is rising in India, more service providers are getting into the business of experienced facilitators. but, the commercial operators aren’t sufficiently trained.” vinay menon, biker
NASP 2022 lays out the vision of making India one of the top sports nations by 2030 by providing a safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable, and sustainable air sports ecosystem in India. It has been developed based on the input received from policymakers, air sports practitioners, and the public at large and will ensure the establishment of good-quality infrastructure, equipment, instructors, and services.
Goa Tourism and IT Minister Rohan Khaunte on Sunday said that paragliding operations in Goa have been temporarily suspended. The suspension is in place to allow operators to comply with regulations and verify their documents with the department. This decision will remain effective until the tourism department reviews all permissions.