- Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:35 am
#337140
Well, it's happened again, this time to a paraglider.
A mixed group of Hang and Para pilots flew Elsinore and went XC. One of the paras got low and "a concerned citizen" (ie old fuddy-duddy with a cell phone and no life who desperately wants to somehow be the center of attention) called 9-1-1. This non-story was reported in the Elsinore press as "Paraglider Blown Off Course," like it was a 747 going down in a cow pasture. The lazy press simply regurgitated hearsay from some uninformed "witnesses" and never spoke to the PG'er himself. In fact the PGer got back up and flew to his pre-arranged destination. He then had the courage to call the press to task on their lazy-ass reporting by publicly disputing the facts. Here's the story:
ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 26, 2013: A paraglider got more than he bargained for Saturday when high winds carried him four miles off course from the Ortega Mountains and forced him to land at a Lake Elsinore all terrain vehicle area, a sheriff's corporal said.
Witnesses on Interstate 15 alerted dispatchers at 2:06 p.m. about the paraglider who appeared to be coming in too low. Eastern winds blew the paraglider toward the ATV area where he landed without injury, Riverside County sheriff's Cpl. Joshua Morales said.
The paraglider whose name was not immediately available intended to land at the base of the Ortega Mountains when he was blown off course, Morales said.
UPDATE OCT. 28, 2013: A Lake Elsinore paraglider pilot is disputing the facts of the story below from City News Service that was posted Oct. 26, 2013 on Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch.
According to Michael "Everyday Mike" Estrada, he was with the group of hang glider and paraglider pilots who all launched together from the Ortega mountains above Lake Elsinore Saturday afternoon. Three hang glider and five paraglider pilots were in the group that included Estrada, he said.
Prior to the launch, three of the paraglider pilots agreed they were going "cross country" to a residence off Lemon Street in Wildomar; the rest of the group would pilot to a designated 56-acre landing area near SR-74 and Grand Avenue, according to Estrada.
Of the three who were headed to Wildomar, one paraglider pilot landed in an empty field near The Diamond Stadium, another near the Lemon Street destination, and one other landed in an open area just off Franklin Street, east of the 15 Freeway, in Lake Elsinore, Estrada explained.
One of the paraglider pilots did fly low over the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, but did not touch down there, he continued.
Saturday afternoon Estrada said winds were coming out of the south, not out of the east as reported by City News Service. He also said high winds were not a factor Saturday afternoon when the launch occurred around 2 p.m.
According to archived weather data for that date, winds were blowing out of the west/northwest at 3 mph with top winds reaching 14 mph and gusts up to 21 mph.
Estrada explained that if winds had been non-conducive, "we would not have launched."
Nothing was amiss Saturday, he added. No one was hurt in the incident and everyone made it safely to their destinations, he said.
Estrada also maintained that no one in the group ended up in the Lake Elsinore Skylark Field Airport drop zone. The facility is used for skydiving.
Comments + Leave a Comment
michael estrada October 28, 2013 at 01:07 PM
This is obviously a mistake. The story states that the pilot was blown by Eastrly winds to this ATV area from the Ortega mountains. The ATV area is East of the Ortegas. How can you be blown four miles East into an Easterly wind? Apparently no law enforcemnet talked to the pilot. They would have found that the pilot wasn't 'blown off course'. but was heading to a friends house. There were three paragliders involved. One did get low in that area and 'a concerned citizen' called 911. That pilot was able to catch a thermal and climb out of the area and then land near his house. His wife went to pick up the 2nd and third pilots. The 2nd pilot landed safely at the ATV area. This type of unconfirmed reporting is not good for the community in general and the sport specifically. Please report responsibley. The sherrif that responded did not talk to the pilot. He only talked to a dirt bike rider in the area to get the info he reported. Which was not even close to what happened. Please try to do better!
A mixed group of Hang and Para pilots flew Elsinore and went XC. One of the paras got low and "a concerned citizen" (ie old fuddy-duddy with a cell phone and no life who desperately wants to somehow be the center of attention) called 9-1-1. This non-story was reported in the Elsinore press as "Paraglider Blown Off Course," like it was a 747 going down in a cow pasture. The lazy press simply regurgitated hearsay from some uninformed "witnesses" and never spoke to the PG'er himself. In fact the PGer got back up and flew to his pre-arranged destination. He then had the courage to call the press to task on their lazy-ass reporting by publicly disputing the facts. Here's the story:
ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 26, 2013: A paraglider got more than he bargained for Saturday when high winds carried him four miles off course from the Ortega Mountains and forced him to land at a Lake Elsinore all terrain vehicle area, a sheriff's corporal said.
Witnesses on Interstate 15 alerted dispatchers at 2:06 p.m. about the paraglider who appeared to be coming in too low. Eastern winds blew the paraglider toward the ATV area where he landed without injury, Riverside County sheriff's Cpl. Joshua Morales said.
The paraglider whose name was not immediately available intended to land at the base of the Ortega Mountains when he was blown off course, Morales said.
UPDATE OCT. 28, 2013: A Lake Elsinore paraglider pilot is disputing the facts of the story below from City News Service that was posted Oct. 26, 2013 on Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch.
According to Michael "Everyday Mike" Estrada, he was with the group of hang glider and paraglider pilots who all launched together from the Ortega mountains above Lake Elsinore Saturday afternoon. Three hang glider and five paraglider pilots were in the group that included Estrada, he said.
Prior to the launch, three of the paraglider pilots agreed they were going "cross country" to a residence off Lemon Street in Wildomar; the rest of the group would pilot to a designated 56-acre landing area near SR-74 and Grand Avenue, according to Estrada.
Of the three who were headed to Wildomar, one paraglider pilot landed in an empty field near The Diamond Stadium, another near the Lemon Street destination, and one other landed in an open area just off Franklin Street, east of the 15 Freeway, in Lake Elsinore, Estrada explained.
One of the paraglider pilots did fly low over the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, but did not touch down there, he continued.
Saturday afternoon Estrada said winds were coming out of the south, not out of the east as reported by City News Service. He also said high winds were not a factor Saturday afternoon when the launch occurred around 2 p.m.
According to archived weather data for that date, winds were blowing out of the west/northwest at 3 mph with top winds reaching 14 mph and gusts up to 21 mph.
Estrada explained that if winds had been non-conducive, "we would not have launched."
Nothing was amiss Saturday, he added. No one was hurt in the incident and everyone made it safely to their destinations, he said.
Estrada also maintained that no one in the group ended up in the Lake Elsinore Skylark Field Airport drop zone. The facility is used for skydiving.
Comments + Leave a Comment
michael estrada October 28, 2013 at 01:07 PM
This is obviously a mistake. The story states that the pilot was blown by Eastrly winds to this ATV area from the Ortega mountains. The ATV area is East of the Ortegas. How can you be blown four miles East into an Easterly wind? Apparently no law enforcemnet talked to the pilot. They would have found that the pilot wasn't 'blown off course'. but was heading to a friends house. There were three paragliders involved. One did get low in that area and 'a concerned citizen' called 911. That pilot was able to catch a thermal and climb out of the area and then land near his house. His wife went to pick up the 2nd and third pilots. The 2nd pilot landed safely at the ATV area. This type of unconfirmed reporting is not good for the community in general and the sport specifically. Please report responsibley. The sherrif that responded did not talk to the pilot. He only talked to a dirt bike rider in the area to get the info he reported. Which was not even close to what happened. Please try to do better!
Last edited by miraclepieco on Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:43 am, edited 1 time in total.