Mt Maunganui paraglider crash: Man lucky to walk away, having ‘fallen from a height’

A lucky paraglider has been able to walk away from a crash landing into Mount Maunganui.

Video by witness Sam Bayly shows the man’s parachute caught on trees high up on Mauao in Tauranga as it is commonly known.

A rescue helicopter can be seen hovering nearby while fire engines and emergency services rush to the scene.

Bayly said he didn’t know how the paraglider ended up in the trees but that Mt Maunganui is a popular launch point for paragliders.

Police said emergency services responded to an incident on Mauao in which it appeared a person had “fallen from a height”.

The man was apparently not seriously injured, however, and later told Bayly he was able to collect his parachute from off the trees and hike back up the steep mountain to safety.

“I asked him how he got out, and he said he hiked back up, and he’d come down a good way from the cliffs [on top of Mt Maunganui] so I don’t know how he got back up,” Bayly said.

“He’s pretty lucky to walk away from that.”

A paraglider has been lucky to walk away from a crash high on Mt Maunganui on May 27, 2023. Photo / Sam Bayly

The man was met at the top of the mount by emergency teams.

They later brought him down in a Surf Lifesaving rescue vehicle, accompanied by lifeguard paramedics and police, Bayly said.

Once down, he was checked out by ambulance staff.

Bayly also managed to chat to him once paramedics had seen him.

The man told Bayly he was an experienced paraglider.

“He looked in his early-20s and pretty shaken,” Bayly said.

Police have confirmed the incident has now been resolved “with one person retrieved from Mauao and being assessed for injuries by ambulance”.

There appears to be no serious injuries as a result of the incident, police said.

Bayly said Mt Maunganui is a popular spot for paragliders, especially in summer.

“They jump off Mt Maunganui, circle around to try and get uplifts and then they usually land on the beach.”

However, there have been fatal and serious accidents in recent years, Bayly said.

He said he had an acquaintance who crashed after launching off and spent months in hospital.

“They suffered broken ribs, broken legs, broken everything.”