Young Paraglider Dies After Crashing Near Willard Peak in Utah

A young man was killed in a horrific paragliding accident on Friday, October 25.

Paragliding / Unsplash

A 25-year-old experienced a fatal crash while paragliding near Willard Peak in Northern Utah on October 25. The young man's identity remains undisclosed at this time.

According to Box Elder County Sheriff's Office, alarm was raised at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Sunday after the young man failed to return. Officials immediately jumped into action and deployed.

"Search and rescue operations were initiated, and a Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter was sent to assist," the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office wrote in a social media post. "Tragically, the helicopter identified a debris field and confirmed that the paraglider was involved in a fatal accident near Willard Peak." The DPS helicopter was able to recover his body.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends affected by this tragic loss," the Sheriff's Office wrote. "Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this incident."

This tragedy occurred just two weeks after a previous paragliding accident in Utah that took the life of 56-year-old David Gest, an Illinois resident. The accident took place on the south side of Flight Park State Recreation Area in Utah County after Gest was unable to regain control while flying. Following the incident, Gest was transported to the Intermountain Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Sage Journals published a study, Quantifying Risk in Air Sports: Flying Activity and Incident Rates in Paragliding, two years ago that dissected the rates of injury in paragliding. In the study, it was found that 6 percent out of 1,788 participants had to seek medical attention or miss work in 2019 due to a paragliding injury. Adventure sports, paragliding included, present an immense risk for all participants. While athletes do their best to mitigate that risk, unexpected challenges do occur.

Authorities are working diligently to investigate the the 25-year-old's accident.