A paraglide pilot who crashed in the North Star Preserve on Monday was released from Aspen Valley Hospital without injury.
The pilot, Thomas Brinkmeyer, is a member of a local paraglider club called Parapente Aspen. Wind was blamed for the crash.
His fellow paraglide pilots said they had been in contact with the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport and were attempting to land after they were alerted that the wind was picking up. The pilot was about 40 to 50 feet from the ground when the wing on his paraglider collapsed and he crashed onto the ground, just feet from the Roaring Fork River.
A rescue team flagged down a canoe, which rowed medics to the other side of the shore to put the paraglider pilot on a backboard and a commercial raft was utilized to bring him back over and transport him to the ambulance. The process took well over an hour.
Another paraglide pilot in the club also had trouble due to the wind. She was blown backward and crashed into a nearby pond, which broke the brunt of her fall. She emerged from the crash unharmed.
For the complete story, see tomorrow’s Aspen Daily News.
