Paraglider hits Tumalo power lines; pilot not seriously hurt

A visitor from London on a powered paraglider flight from Madras to Bend escaped serious injury Thursday evening when the craft’s parachute struck power lines in Tumalo and became entangled, leaving him briefly suspended until witnesses helped him down.

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and Bend Fire Department paramedics responded just before 5:30 p.m. to a field at the southeast corner of Tumalo Road and Half Mile Lane on a report of an ultralight-type aircraft hitting power lines, said sheriff’s Lt. Mark Eggert. The pilot was reported to be hanging from his parachute, tangled in the lines.

Deputies arrived to find the pilot, Tobias Osborne, 29, had been freed from the parachute and power lines.

Osborne told deputies and medics he was flying the paraglider from the Madras Airport to the Bend Airport when he tried to land in the field due to increased winds.

As Osborne began to land, he said, he realized his altitude was too low to clear the power lines. Eggert said the pilot tried to increase power to clear the lines, but the parachute got tangled in them.

Two citizens on scene who saw the incident freed Osborne from the harness that secured him to the parachute. After freeing the harness, the parachute came free from the power lines, Eggert said.

Medics examined Osborne and found only minor injuries that did not require a trip to the hospital.

Eggert agreed with the neighbor witnesses that Osborne was lucky he wasn’t more seriously hurt, noting he was “laughing and joking with firefighters” about what had transpired.

“I was actually surprised at the minor damage” to the craft’s netting and propellers, Eggert added.

The collision with the power lines knocked out service to a few nearby homes, until Pacific Power crews responded and restored service, the lieutenant said.

The incident was forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.