Drama in Schoppernau

Paraglider pilot seriously injured in crash

A serious paragliding accident occurred on Sunday morning in the Bregenzerwald municipality of Schoppernau. A 24-year-old German man hit the ground hard after a failed "test" and suffered serious injuries.

The course of the accident can be described as highly unfortunate: The 24-year-old paraglider pilot wanted to test the deployment of the emergency parachute without any necessity. However, this became entangled in the main parachute, causing the German to spin uncontrollably towards the ground at high speed.

Although he still deployed the second emergency parachute, it was only able to cushion the impact slightly - the man crashed to the ground right next to the landing area, where he remained seriously injured. After receiving first aid from the emergency services, he was flown by emergency helicopter to Feldkirch Regional Hospital.