A paraglider pilot has been airlifted to hospital after crashing into a cliff at Stanwell Tops on Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Emergency services were called to Bald Hill Lookout about 1.30pm to reports a 32-year-old man had crash-landed about 50m down the cliff face.
NSW Fire & Rescue, the SES and Police Rescue worked to pluck the man to safety.
It is understood the man was an experienced pilot and a member of Stanwell Park Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club (SPHGPC).
He was treated by paramedics for pelvic and chest injuries and flown by helicopter to St George Hospital in a moderate condition.
Witness and ‘’good friend’’ Callum Clark said he saw the tail end of the ‘’high impact crash’’.
‘’I spoke to him and he has some chest and back pain but he has movement and is feeling okay,’’ Mr Clark told the Mercury.
Stanwell Park Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club committee member Peter Wennersden said the man was a very experienced paraglider pilot with a lot of hours under his belt.
‘’He was coming in for a landing and caught a bit of rota [off the trees], which caused him to stall and then crash just up from the lip of the cliff face….about 15 feet up from the tree line,’’ Mr Wennersden said.
‘’In marginal conditions such as this, this can happen to anyone.’’
Inspector Matt Starling from Ambulance Service of NSW said extracting the man was quite difficult due to the gradient of the land.
‘’Paramedics in a joint initiative with NSW Fire and Rescue and SES managed to successfully extracate a male patient with pelvic and chest injuries,’’ Insp Starling said.
‘’The patient was transported in a moderate condition to St George Hospital.’’