Witnessed a near fatal incident at CLO

[rick...@gmail.com]

Witnessed a near fatal incident:

On Friday, I planned an 8 hr flight until something happened to PG pilot, Carlos. It was around 5:30 pm with just Carlos and l sharing the sky. He was able to make it to North Point to join me and we had a great time at NP. I then decided to fly back to launch and head out offshore to take videos of "Face of the man" below launch. When flying back to the first gap, I saw Carlos by the end of the cape and heard his voice in panic over the radio reporting that he could not penetrate and may end up in the water. During this point he was on the south side of the cape and too far from the beach . Over the radio, I told him clearly to avoid landing in the water if at all possible and to aim for trees.  I witnessed him sinking out fast in the rotors behind the cape and lost sight of him.  I tried flying to the edge of the cape at the backside to look for him when I too got nearly blown over.  The conditions were NNW approx 18-20mph and I wasn't that high either.  Since I had not heard from him again over the radio, I told the PGs on the ground to call 911 in case Carlos might have landed in the water. Afterwards, I heard him over the radio stating that he barely made it to some rocks near the boy scouts camp. What a relief! This was the second time I witnessed 2 PGs getting blown over to the backside of the cape within 2 weeks. The last incident took place during Oceanside Open week where I saw a pilot luckily landed safely at the beach on the south side of the cape. Definitely a scary sight having to watch another episode with Carlos disappearing behind the cape and knowing that there wasn't any beach for him to land. I'm so glad that both incidents had a happy ending.

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[Cristian]

That sounds very stressful and scary, it’s a  good reminder for everyone. Thank you for sharing!

On May 5, 2019, at 09:52, "rick...@gmail.com" <rick...@gmail.com> wrote:

Witnessed a near fatal incident:

On Friday, I planned an 8 hr flight until something happened to PG pilot, Carlos. It was around 5:30 pm with just Carlos and l sharing the sky. He was able to make it to North Point to join me and we had a great time at NP. I then decided to fly back to launch and head out offshore to take videos of "Face of the man" below launch. When flying back to the first gap, I saw Carlos by the end of the cape and heard his voice in panic over the radio reporting that he could not penetrate and may end up in the water. During this point he was on the south side of the cape and too far from the beach . Over the radio, I told him clearly to avoid landing in the water if at all possible and to aim for trees.  I witnessed him sinking out fast in the rotors behind the cape and lost sight of him.  I tried flying to the edge of the cape at the backside to look for him when I too got nearly blown over.  The conditions were NNW approx 18-20mph and I wasn't that high either.  Since I had not heard from him again over the radio, I told the PGs on the ground to call 911 in case Carlos might have landed in the water. Afterwards, I heard him over the radio stating that he barely made it to some rocks near the boy scouts camp. What a relief! This was the second time I witnessed 2 PGs getting blown over to the backside of the cape within 2 weeks. The last incident took place during Oceanside Open week where I saw a pilot luckily landed safely at the beach on the south side of the cape. Definitely a scary sight having to watch another episode with Carlos disappearing behind the cape and knowing that there wasn't any beach for him to land. I'm so glad that both incidents had a happy ending.

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[Gliderpete]

,Thanks for posting this. Another reminder that CLO is, statistically speaking, by far and away the most dangerous site in Oregon that we use with any regularity. We need to treat it with utmost respect, and remember that some of the risks are subtle. Smooth coastal air doesn’t feel as frightening as it should. Pete 

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On May 5, 2019, at 12:39 pm, Cristian <cristi...@gmail.com> wrote:

That sounds very stressful and scary, it’s a  good reminder for everyone. Thank you for sharing!

[greg krutzikowsky]

Several things I find odd about this post from Pete. First is the timing: odd to post about incidents from 2019 now in 2026. Second is using the words 'statistically speaking': statistics are based on numbers and sometimes probabilities if those types of analyses are done. While I completely agree that pilots should treat flying at Cape Lookout with the utmost respect, without the actual data in terms of numbers of flights, numbers of pilots, numbers of accidents/incidents one can't validate such an assertion. Rather it's only an intuitive perception of an individual, not backed up by actual statistical calculations. Yes, I am being picky about words, but words matter.

Greg 

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[Gliderpete]

Sorry. I have no idea why that 7 year old report appeared in my inbox a couple of days ago. But a lot of odd things happen to old codgers like me in cyberspace. I responded before I noticed the date. As to statistics .  Here they are. I think 2 people have died flying paragliders  in Oregon. Both were in the water at Cape Lookout. Pete

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On Jan 28, 2026, at 10:53 am, greg krutzikowsky <krut...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Several things I find odd about this post from Pete. First is the timing: odd to post about incidents from 2019 now in 2026. Second is using the words 'statistically speaking': statistics are based on numbers and sometimes probabilities if those types of analyses are done. While I completely agree that pilots should treat flying at Cape Lookout with the utmost respect, without the actual data in terms of numbers of flights, numbers of pilots, numbers of accidents/incidents one can't validate such an assertion. Rather it's only an intuitive perception of an individual, not backed up by actual statistical calculations. Yes, I am being picky about words, but words matter.