An elderly Canadian traveller died in a paragliding accident on Sunday at Reynisfjara black sand beach near the village Vík in south Iceland. The cause of the accident is unknown, but police suspect equipment failure or a medical condition could have caused the man to lose control of his paragliding wing, causing it to crash.
400 visitors witnessed the accident
According to he police in South Iceland the accident took place at 18:43 at a time when large crowds were still at the beach. As many as 400 people who were in Reynisfjara beach at the time witnessed the accident. Attempts to resuscitate the man at the site were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the site.
The cause of the accident is unknown, as police is investigating whether an equipment failure could have caused the accident or whether he might have suffered a stroke or lost consciousness during the flight, causing him to lose control of the wing and crash to the ground. According to the local news site Vísir the man was with a group of paragliders when the accident took place.
An experienced paraglider
The man was an experienced paraglider who had visited Vík and Iceland on numerous occasions and spend considerable time paragliding in South Iceland.
The man has been identified by the local newspaper Morgunblaðið as David Fredrick McCord an elderly man with an extensive experience in paragliding. McCord was well known within the paragliding community where he was known as Grampa Dave, as well as in the small community of Vík where he had numerous friends and acquaintances after his numerous visits visited on numerous occasions, spending considerable time practicing his sport.
An elderly Canadian traveller died in a paragliding accident on Sunday at Reynisfjara black sand beach near the village Vík in south Iceland. The cause of the accident is unknown, but police suspect equipment failure or a medical condition could have caused the man to lose control of his paragliding wing, causing it to crash.
400 visitors witnessed the accident
According to he police in South Iceland the accident took place at 18:43 at a time when large crowds were still at the beach. As many as 400 people who were in Reynisfjara beach at the time witnessed the accident. Attempts to resuscitate the man at the site were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the site.
The cause of the accident is unknown, as police is investigating whether an equipment failure could have caused the accident or whether he might have suffered a stroke or lost consciousness during the flight, causing him to lose control of the wing and crash to the ground. According to the local news site Vísir the man was with a group of paragliders when the accident took place.
An experienced paraglider
The man was an experienced paraglider who had visited Vík and Iceland on numerous occasions and spend considerable time paragliding in South Iceland.
The man has been identified by the local newspaper Morgunblaðið as David Fredrick McCord an elderly man with an extensive experience in paragliding. McCord was well known within the paragliding community where he was known as Grampa Dave, as well as in the small community of Vík where he had numerous friends and acquaintances after his numerous visits visited on numerous occasions, spending considerable time practicing his sport.
