A Clare man killed after his powered hang glider crashed in a field near his home last month had travelled less than 100 metres before hitting the ground, a preliminary report into the accident has revealed.
Michael Flynn, a married father of two from Kilcorcoran, Miltown Malbay suffered fatal injuries in an accident involving his Airwave hang glider which crashed in an agricultural field around one kilometre outside Miltown Malbay, on September 18th.
The pilot, who worked as a farmer and plumber, had taken off from the field off the Ballard road near the Co Clare town at around 4pm.
A preliminary report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit into the incident said evidence gathered from the accident site indicated the pilot had travelled less than 100 metres off the ground after launching the hang glider before impacting terrain in the same field.
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No fire was reported in the hang glider, which only suffered minor damage.
The AAIU report said its investigation team had spoken to eyewitnesses who had seen the hang glider on the day of the accident.
One witness, who was using a pair of binoculars, said they saw the pilot launch the hang glider and kick his legs back into the harness once airborne.
During this action, the witness said the glider jerked slightly and veered left before rapidly pitching downwards towards the ground.
Due to a lack of familiarity with hang gliding, the individual was not aware that the pilot might have been injured but recalled they could hear the engine still running.
AAIU inspectors revealed that one propellor blade was broken into three from the impact of the crash with the tip section embedded into the hang glider wing which was torn.
A variometer used to measure the rate of climb or descent of a flight was found detached from the hang glider.
The AAIU said its investigation into the crash was ongoing and a full report would be published in due course.