Paraglider pilot still defiant

Mark Poole is an experienced paraglider.

A highly experienced paraglider pilot who crashed into a tree and then fell 8m onto Marine Parade has been prosecuted.

Sickness beneficiary Mark Wallace Poole, 53, of the Kaimais, escaped serious injury after crash-landing onto the road near Oceanside Apartments after clipping a Norfolk pine about 4.45pm on June 17, 2012.

Poole, who appeared in Tauranga District Court yesterday, pleaded guilty to two charges laid by the Civil Aviation Authority.

He has admitted operating a paraglider knowing it did not have a warrant of fitness and also operating a paraglider without a current pilot's certificate.

But he has denied two further charges of operating a paraglider in a careless manner and carelessly operating a paraglider causing unnecessary danger to other people.

Outside court yesterday, Mr Poole described the civil aviation charges as "bureaucracy overload" and he was the victim of "too much red tape".

Mr Poole said he had clocked up 30 years' experience in the sport and had run a paragliding school with a friend for five years.

His German-designed Nova paraglider was "top of the range" in terms of its safety features, he said.

"I'm one of the most experienced paragliders in this country. I was the first instructor in New Zealand and taught myself after 10 years of parachuting. I have jumped off Mauao probably 2000 times without incident before. Why do I need to pay for a piece of paper each year just to prove to some bureaucratic department that I'm experienced and can operate a paraglider safely?

"In fact, I know the person doing the warrant of fitness inspection would have far less experience than myself. I would never fly a paraglider if it was unsafe, and check my equipment every time I fly, not just once a year," he said.

Mr Poole said he stopped paying the $60-$90 warrant of fitness fee, and $160 annual local paragliding club membership fee for financial reasons but also refused to pay because he believed it was an unnecessary expense.

On the day of the crash, Mr Poole said he and six to seven other paragliders jumped from the northern ridge of Mauao, and everything had gone smoothly until he hit "freaky" downdraft wind conditions.

"No one was placed in danger as there was no one else on the road," he said.

Mr Poole, who suffered a pulled muscle in his right leg and some bruising, confirmed he has been fined at least twice for the same admitted charges.

Mr Poole is yet to be sentenced on the charges he pleaded guilty to. He will next be called to court on October 15 when a defended hearing date is expected to be confirmed for the charges he has pleaded not guilty to.

Meanwhile, Mr Poole is due to be sentenced on a cannabis cultivation charge today following a police raid on his upper Kaimais property on March 11 during which 45 plants were found but sentencing is likely to be adjourned.

He said he has suffered numerous health problems over the years and was using cannabis as a form of pain and stress relief.