Paramotor pilot crashes into parked car during emergency landing

A 35-year-old paramotor pilot was seriously injured after crashing into a parked car during an emergency landing in Sankt Marein im Mürztal, the ORF reported. The incident happened on Tuesday evening in the Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district.

According to witnesses, the pilot was flying over a settlement in Schaldorf, a part of the municipality, when the engine of his backpack-mounted paramotor failed at a height of about 15 metres and could not be restarted. He then began an emergency landing on a meadow beside a residential building.

During the landing, he collided with a parked car and apparently suffered a serious leg injury. After receiving first aid, he was taken by rescue helicopter to the state hospital in Leoben.

During an initial interview, the pilot told police that he had been too high on his approach and had therefore hit the car. The vehicle was damaged, although the extent of the damage was not known.