Watch: “This is an emergency” – How to handle an incident

Pilots may be asking themselves this question: how should they react immediately after an accident? A video filmed and released earlier this month by the safety officer of Wessex HGPG in the UK is increasingly being seen as a model of what club pilots in the UK should do.

“I publish videos once a month and sometimes they get 50 views, if I'm lucky 500,” says Robin Wallace. “There's definitely been an increase in interest in it, which is good – I wanted to publish it because it makes some good points.”

The video is unique because it captures both the incident itself – a collapse on landing – and the immediate aftermath and rescue in a way that requires pilots to watch the video, take notes and not flinch.

The incident occurred on August 12 in Bell Hill, Dorset. Wallace not only films, he also helps coordinate the rescue operation, sending pilots to the injured person, calling emergency services and clearing the skies for the rescue helicopter.

The big lesson, he says, is how important radios can be in such a situation. “On this occasion, it was fantastic to have four people in the air with radios. You could hear the communication between us in the air saying, 'Okay, someone's fallen, someone needs our help. Can you see them? Are they moving?' And even better, the injured pilot on the ground was reachable by radio. He could hear us and say, 'I'm conscious, but I'm in pain.'”

He adds that while the legality of 2m radios in the UK is borderline, there has never been a prosecution. “I've been the Wessex Club's safety officer for about six years now. We have a club frequency and we just encourage people to switch on that frequency. Communication is really important in the event of an incident.”

The other key lesson was using What3Words to call emergency services. “It's very handy for paragliders and the emergency services in our part of the country like to use it. And it's more reliable than using latitude and longitude.”

He also said that his first aid training had been helpful and that he had to keep the pilot calm while they waited for the paramedics. He added that the pilot was recovering well and gave his consent for the video to be published.

Wallace uses a helmet-mounted GoPro to film, but attaches it with Velcro so it can be easily ripped off if a line gets snagged.