Behrooz briefing a student pilot pre-flight — safety harness check, calm and professional, cliffside launch in background
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Safety Guide
Is Paragliding Safe? Accident Rates, Real Risks & How Modern Training Works
Behrooz Jafarzadeh
June 2026
9 min read
"Is it safe?" is the first question almost everyone asks before their first paragliding experience — whether they're booking a tandem flight, considering a course, or just trying to understand what their pilot friend actually does on weekends. It deserves a proper answer. Not a reassuring dismissal, and not a dramatised list of dangers. Here is what the data actually shows, what causes most incidents, and how modern equipment standards and training have changed the risk picture over the past two decades.
What the Accident Statistics Actually Say
Fatality rates in paragliding have been studied across several national federations. The most commonly cited figure from European data sits between 0.76 and 1.4 fatalities per 100,000 flights, depending on the country, year, and how "flight" is defined. The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA) has reported rates closer to one fatality per 116,000 flights for registered solo pilots over a multi-year period.
These numbers mean something when placed in context. Motorcycle riding — a common comparator — carries a fatality rate roughly 40–60 times higher per hour of activity in most European countries. Recreational horse riding is comparable to or slightly higher than paragliding per hour of participation. Rock climbing falls in a similar range depending on the discipline. Paragliding is not as safe as sitting on your sofa, but it is not the extreme outlier in recreational risk that many people assume it to be.
The important caveat in all paragliding statistics is that incident rates differ substantially between pilot categories. Tandem passengers flying with a certified, experienced pilot represent a substantially lower risk cohort than solo pilots flying in challenging XC conditions. Low-airtime solo pilots in strong thermic conditions are the highest-risk group in the data. The sport's aggregate statistics are pulled upward by a relatively small group of pilots pushing beyond their experience level.
What Causes Most Paragliding Accidents
The DHV (Germany's paragliding authority) and BHPA both publish annual accident analysis reports. The consistent finding across decades of data is that the vast majority of serious incidents share one or more of the following factors:
Flying in conditions that exceeded the pilot's skill level — particularly strong or turbulent thermic air in mountain or inland environments.
Low-airtime pilots making judgement errors — the first 50–100 hours of solo flying are statistically the most dangerous period. Pilots have enough skill to fly in complex conditions but not yet enough experience to consistently read them correctly.
Rushed launches or poor site assessment — taking off in marginal conditions because the day is running short, or failing to recognise signs of rotor behind a ridge.
Collapses too close to the ground to recover — most collapses are recoverable with altitude. The problem is when a collapse occurs at low height with no time or space to respond.
Equipment beyond the pilot's handling ability — flying a high-performance EN C or D wing without the SIV training and airtime to manage it safely.
Equipment failure — a wing malfunctioning through no fault of the pilot — is a very small fraction of accident causes. Modern EN-certified paragliders are extraordinarily reliable pieces of engineering. The risk in paragliding is predominantly human and environmental, not mechanical.
How EN Certification Works
All paragliders sold in Europe are tested under the EN 926 standard before they can be sold or flown. This certification process tests the wing's behaviour in a controlled range of manoeuvres — including induced collapses, asymmetric deflations, full stall, and spiral dives — and categorises the wing's response into four classes:
EN A — Maximum passive safety. The wing recovers from any induced deformation with minimal pilot input. Suitable for beginners and pilots who fly infrequently. Glide performance is slightly lower than higher-rated wings, but the safety margin is the widest available.
EN B — Still accessible for recreational pilots with some experience. Collapses require slightly more active input to manage, but the wing remains forgiving. Most experienced recreational and club pilots fly EN B wings.
EN C — Higher performance, requires active pilot input during collapses. Intended for pilots with significant airtime and SIV training. Not suitable for beginners or infrequent flyers.
EN D — Competition-level performance. Demanding wings that can be flown safely only by expert pilots with very high airtime and regular SIV practice.
The fabric test most pilots don't talk about
Beyond EN certification, responsible pilots check their wing's porosity — the ability of the fabric to hold air under pressure. The standard check: cover the top surface with your palm and time how long air resists passing through. A healthy wing takes 10 seconds or more. A wing that passes in 3–4 seconds has degraded fabric and should not be flown. UV exposure and airtime degrade paraglider fabric over time regardless of visible condition. Age and hours matter as much as how the wing looks.
Is Tandem Paragliding Safe?
Tandem paragliding is significantly safer than solo flying for one simple reason: the person in control is a certified, experienced, current pilot who has made the same flight many times before. The passenger contributes nothing to the flight control and needs to follow only two or three simple instructions — primarily about the run at takeoff and the landing posture.
In Portugal, tandem pilots must hold a national PGI (Portuguese Paragliding Instructor) certification or equivalent, carry appropriate insurance, and fly wings certified to EN B or lower. At Fly with Behrooz, flights operate only within Behrooz's comfortable operating window — which means that if the conditions are not right for a smooth, enjoyable tandem experience, the flight does not happen that day.
The risk profile for a tandem passenger flying with a certified professional in benign coastal conditions is comparable to that of a ski lift or a sailing trip. There is inherent risk in any airborne activity, but it is managed, understood, and bounded in a way that makes it accessible to people of all backgrounds, ages, and fitness levels.
How Risk Compares Across Activities
Context matters when evaluating any activity's risk. The table below uses fatality rate per 100,000 hours of participation where data is available — recognising that different studies use different denominators and that all figures are approximations.
Activity
Approximate Fatality Rate
Primary Risk Factor
Paragliding (tandem, certified pilot)
Very low — comparable to ski lift
Equipment or pilot error — rare
Paragliding (solo, recreational)
~0.76–1.4 per 100,000 flights
Pilot judgement in conditions
Recreational skiing
~0.7 per 100,000 ski days
Speed, collisions, terrain
Horse riding (recreational)
~1–2 per 100,000 hours
Falls, unpredictable animal behaviour
Road cycling
~1.5 per 100,000 hours
Traffic, collisions
Motorcycle riding
~40–60 per 100,000 hours
Traffic collisions
What Behrooz Does to Manage Risk in Sesimbra
Behrooz holds a Portuguese PGI certification, has been flying for over 25 years, and has spent the majority of that time flying the specific sites around Sesimbra that all programmes use. Familiarity with a site is one of the most underrated safety factors in paragliding — knowing exactly where the rotor forms behind the eastern ridge, how the thermal cycle develops through the afternoon in different wind directions, and which section of the launch slope becomes unpredictable in light westerlies. This is knowledge that only accumulates through thousands of flights at the same location.
Practically, Behrooz operates a no-fly rule when conditions don't meet his standard for the day's activity. If the forecast has marginal XC conditions and there are low-airtime pilots in the group, the day becomes a soaring day. If the coastal ridge has rotor risk from an unusual wind direction, the group goes to a different site or takes the day off. No client has ever pressured him into a flight that didn't happen — and that is by design.
Questions to Ask Any Paragliding Operator
If you are evaluating any paragliding school or tandem operator — in Portugal or elsewhere — these are the questions worth asking before you book:
What is your certification? In Portugal: PGI, PFAA, or equivalent. In the UK: BHPA. In Germany: DHV. In France: FFVL. Ask to see it.
What is the age and EN rating of your tandem wing? A responsible operator flies an EN A or B tandem wing under ten years old with regular porosity testing.
What is your cancellation policy if conditions aren't right? A good operator cancels freely when conditions don't meet the standard. Be suspicious of anyone who never cancels.
Do you carry liability insurance? Required by law in Portugal. Should be readily confirmable.
How many tandem flights have you done? Experience at the specific site matters more than total airtime.
The Honest Answer
Paragliding is not without risk. Any honest answer must start there. But it is a risk that is well-understood, substantially manageable through proper training, appropriate equipment, good site knowledge, and sound judgement — and one that has been systematically reduced by improvements in wing design and certification over the past 25 years.
For a tandem flight with an experienced, certified pilot in benign coastal conditions, the risk is genuinely low — lower than many activities people do without a second thought. For a solo pilot with 300 hours who flies within their ability and doesn't push into conditions beyond their skill, the risk is comparable to other weekend sports. The incidents that generate the sport's reputation for danger are almost uniformly the result of pushing beyond experience, not of the activity itself being inherently uncontrollable.
If you have a specific safety question about flying with Behrooz in Sesimbra, message him directly. He's happy to talk through the specifics of what to expect.
Ready to Experience It Safely?
Every Fly with Behrooz flight operates within a clear safety framework — no-fly days when conditions aren't right, EN-certified equipment, and over 25 years of experience at these specific sites.
