Key facts
- Simon Chan Siu-ming is executive secretary of the Hong Kong China Paragliding Association.
- The association said fellow enthusiasts knew about the pilot about nine months before the November 8 accident.
- The Civil Aviation Department said it is working with law enforcement agencies to follow up.
- Hong Kong law requires no licence for personal leisure paragliding that is neither commercial nor for reward.
- The Civil Aviation Department has run a real-name registration and equipment-tag scheme since late October 2023.
Hong Kong's paragliding association said on November 10 it is open to compulsory registration after a self-taught pilot injured three hikers at Ma On Shan on November 8. Simon Chan Siu-ming, executive secretary of the Hong Kong China Paragliding Association, said fellow enthusiasts had known about the pilot and his lack of proper training about nine months before the accident and had urged him to seek coaching.
The paraglider lost control on landing at Ngong Ping in Ma On Shan Country Park on November 8 and struck three hikers, who were airlifted to hospital. Police took the 50-year-old pilot to a station for inquiries and found no criminal element on an initial reading. The Civil Aviation Department said it was working with law enforcement agencies to follow up.
Under Hong Kong law, personal leisure paragliding that is neither commercial nor for reward requires no licence. The Civil Aviation Department has run a real-name registration and equipment-tag scheme since late October 2023, and pilots seeking a permit for hire or reward must pass a paragliding aviation law exam.