German Safe After Phuket Paraglide Plunge

German safe after Phuket paraglide plunge

A paraglider takes off at the Phuket Fun Fly event earlier this year.

Organizers are calling for all pilots to be registered to so they can

enforce safety standards.

PHUKET: -- A German man paragliding over the popular tourist area of Nai Harn Beach luckily escaped serious injury yesterday after plunging into the jungle behind the Royal Phuket Yacht Club resort.

German national Ralph Gunper Luepke, 50, better known in paragliding circles by his nickname “Nino”, was reported missing at 2pm after setting off from a cliff above Nai Harn, said Phuket Paragliding Club President Dr Prasert Theplaong DDS.

“He was missing for a while before he was found injured in the jungle behind the Royal Phuket Yacht Cub,” said Dr Prasert.

Mr Luepke was rushed to Phuket International Hospital, where his only serious injury was a broken left arm.

He will be discharged from hospital this afternoon.

Mr Luepke told the Phuket Gazette that he had more than 20 years experience in paragliding.

“Most of that is in Phuket,” he said.

Although he declined to explain exactly what caused the plunge, Mr Luepke added, “Once you’re up in the air anything can happen. You have to cope with any problems that come up the best you can.”

Phuket Paragliding Club President Dr Prasert took the incident very seriously.

“The club warned him many times not to fly on his own before this happened,” he said.

“For this sport you have to make sure of three things: the person’s skill, the paragliding equipment and the wind conditions. You cannot miss any of these things if you want to fly safely,” he added.

Dr Prasert is also one of the main organizers of the annual Phuket Fun Fly paragliding event.

Although many gliders arrived on Phuket to take part in the event this year, all flights were grounded on the opening day for safety reasons due to strong winds.

“This is not the first paragliding accident, but it is the first time we have had a serious injury,” said Dr Prasert.

The club will now look into having all paragliders wanting to take to the air in Phuket first being required to register with the club as a legal requirement.

“I do not want any more accidents to happen in the future,” he said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/detail.asp?id=11038

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-09-24