Hang glider pilot’s first landing is 80ft up a tree
A TRAINEE hang glider pilot on his first solo flight was rescued from a tree after getting stuck 80ft up on the South Downs.
The learner told rescuers that he bought his glider on ebay, and was only minutes into his first solo flight when he lost control and veered into trees on the north side of Devil’s Dyke in Poynings, West Sussex yesterday.
The Technical Rescue Unit of West Sussex Fire and Rescue had to be called, and were able to get the man down after he was wedged in the tree for more than two hours.
The specially trained firemen used harnesses and climbing gear to bring the man down safely.
The Kent Sussex and Surrey air ambulance and the Coastguard rescue helicopter were on the scene, but the pilot – who police described as a man in his 50s from north London – had no serious injuries and was taken to hospital by road.
He was in the middle of his first lesson organised by the Southern Hang Gliding Club when he flew off course into the trees.
The most popular local area for hang gliders to take off from is the top of Devil’s Dyke in the South Downs National Park.