A paramotor pilot in Hawaii had a lucky escape as he was able to navigate to a rocky beach landing on the island of Oahu.
In March of 2017, the pilot was paramotoring over the ocean enjoying breathtaking views of the Hawaiian Islands as well as two whales beneath him. He decides to move in closer to try to get a picture of the whales on his phone. As he’s doing this, he realizes the netting has gotten tangled in the propeller. The tightening system had gotten loose and wrapped itself around it. He frees one leg to see if he can attempt to remove the net mid-air. The engine did not stall in this moment, but as he gave throttle he realized the netting was severely wrapped around the propeller and he had no choice but to kill the engine.
After turning off the engine, the pilot immediately turned back to head towards land. As he’s doubtful whether or not he’ll approach land in time, he starts making the proper safety procedures to prepare himself for an emergency water landing. While he’s coasting in the air uncertain about his upcoming descent, two large whales are still swimming beneath him.
As he approached land it appears doubtful that he’ll secure a safe landing since there are many rocks on the shoreline. The pilot ends up making the perfect running landing in the sand. What was meant to be a relaxing, sunset filled flight ended in a nail-biting descent. Luckily the pilot survived the incident and was completely unharmed.
