Paramotor Pilot 'Paranoid' About Flying Close to Others Following Previous Accident
A climate activist involved in a fatal mid-air paramotor collision has stated at an inquiry that an earlier accident caused her to become "paranoid" about flying too close to other pilots.
Sacha Dench sustained serious injuries and Devon-based cameraman Dan Burton died when their light aircraft collided near Lochinver in the Highlands in 2021.
Dench told the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) held in Tain that the previous crash occurred while she was paragliding in Wales.
"I was coming into land and another pilot above me caught his knee in my wing and we both landed together."
She continued to describe the incident at the FAI:
"I got dragged off the top of the hill, dragged along on my face. I didn't know it at the time but I had broken my arm as well."
When asked about the impact of that accident on her approach to flying, Dench said she ceased flying in crowded areas and adopted a "very strict rule" of mostly flying alone.
"I essentially was very paranoid about no-one flying close to me,"
Dench and Burton were undertaking a round-Britain challenge to raise awareness of climate change ahead of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow when their crash occurred in September 2021.
The inquiry previously heard that they had flown together since 2012, including on a conservation project that earned Dench the nickname "human swan."
Victoria Andrews, representing the charity Conservation Without Borders, questioned Dench on why she was comfortable flying with Burton despite her earlier accident.
"I trusted him," Dench replied.
"We had flown a lot together, he was very well aware of my style of piloting."
Dench, originally from Australia, was also questioned by her representative, Simon Richards, regarding how two paramotorists operate and interact while airborne.
When asked what distance would be considered "unsafe" between two paramotorists, she responded that there was "no need to be within 50 metres of another pilot," and that flying side-by-side was the safest formation.
She explained that flying directly in front of or behind another pilot should be avoided, as flying in front generates turbulence and a pilot cannot see directly behind them.
Dench confirmed that it would be the "duty" of the pilot flying directly behind another paramotorist to avoid that position.
She noted that Burton would sometimes fly directly above or behind her to capture video or photographs, but "only if we were doing a specific flying protocol."
"The only time would be if we were in communication and he was specifically telling me where to go.
Otherwise he would not be anywhere near me."
Communication and Equipment Details
Richards also inquired about communication between the pilots while in flight.
The inquiry previously heard that Dench and Burton used headsets with an "open channel" that automatically connected when they came within approximately 2,624 feet (800 meters) of each other.
Dench explained that if either pilot was out of range, for example to film a video, an "audible sound" would be heard in the headset upon re-entering range.
Richards asked:
"If you are not in communication with another pilot then your belief would be they are not within range?"
Dench replied "yes" and agreed with Richards' suggestion that in such cases a pilot could move "up, down, right, left without having to warn" the other pilot.
Fiscal Depute Jemma Eadie questioned Dench about the gauges and instruments on board the aircraft used to monitor fuel levels and altitude.
Dench was unable to recall specific details multiple times and became emotional at one point, stating:
"It was four-and-a-half years ago and I hit my head pretty hard."
