Man crashes paraglider into Westminster woods, ‘badly injured’

A 59-year-old man was being treated for serious injuries after he crashed a powered paraglider he was flying into a wooded area in Westminster Wednesday evening.

Neighbors with a Ring doorbell caught footage of three gliders landing in the field behind their house, according to a video posted by WCVB. The people operating the gliders went to dinner at the Woods of Westminster Golf Course, and when they came back and tried to take off again, one paraglider had a mechanical failure and crashed into the woods, the news station reported.

“They did find somebody that was badly injured in the woods,” Westminster Police Chief Ralph LeBlanc said, per WCVB.

Westminster Fire Chief Kyle Butterfield said the man was disentangled from the paraglider by the Jaws of Life tool and extricated with help from a stokes basket, a stretcher for confined spaces, according to The Boston Globe.

The man was alert when responders found him, and he was taken by a Lifeflight helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center.

WCVB reported that the Federal Aviation Administration said they would not investigate the incident because the Class 3 glider does not fall under their jurisdiction. 

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com