In flight wing deflation of parachute.

Since the shape of the wing airfoil is formed by the moving air entering and in flatting the wing, in turbulent air, part or all of the wing airfoil can deflate collapse. Piloting techniques referred to as active flying will greatly reduce the frequency and severity of deflation or collapses. On modern variational wings such deflation will normally recover without pilot intervention. In the event of a severe deflation, correct pilot input will speed recovery from a deflation but incorrect pilot input may slow the return of the glider to normal flight so pilot training and practice in correct response to deflation is necessary. For the rate occasions when it is not possible to recover from a deflation or from other threatening situations such as a spin, most pilot carry a reserve emergency rescue parachute. Most pilots never have cause to throw their reserve should a wing deflation occur at low altitude, shortly after take off or just before landing the wing paraglidint may not recover its correct structure rapidly enough to prevent an accident with the pilot often not having enough altitude remaining to successfully deploy a reserve parachute with the minimum altitude for this being approximately 200ft but typical deployment to stabilization periods using up 400-600ft of altitude. It is also important to note that should the wing collapse have been due to turbulence. This bad air can cause the reserve parachute to take significantly longer to inflate and stabilise. In this example, it may be of greater benefit to the paragliding to purposefully lose altitude to clear this turbulent air before deploying their reserve should they have spare altitude to use on this process. Low altitude wing failure can result in serious injury or death due to the subsequent velocity of a ground impact where ironically a higher altitude failure may allow more time to regain some degree of control in the descent rate and critically deploy the reserve if needed. In flight wing deflation and other hazards are minimized by flying a suitable glider and choosing appropriate weather conditions and locations for the pilot's skill and experience level.