Narrative:

I was taking my second training flight in a powered paraglider (ppg) and on initial climb out; I could not get into my seat for the pre-established 4 laps around the pattern. My instructor kept asking me if I was in my seat; however; the leg straps had become loose and I 'slid down' lower; making it harder to get into my seat. I was too low to even hook the seat strap with my boots; which is a common way of getting into the seat. So; I had no choice other than to let go of the left brake and try to push myself up into the seat using my left arm. I was so low that this was not working either. I simply could not get into my seat whatever I did because of the design of the harness/seat.I decided to fly the ppg around the pattern once and land to fix the issue; but because I was so low in the harness; I could not reach up and grab my left brake line handle. I had assumed that I would need both of my brake lines so that I could flare in the landing; so I did all that I could physically do to get to that left handle; which was blowing back in the wind. I then tried lifting myself with my right hand and reached one of the 'D' lines with my left hand to try to coax the brake line to within reach. By focusing on this problem; I had drifted over some nearby apartments; unfortunately.when I pulled the D lines towards me; a gust of wind came up suddenly and the left side of the wing deflated/collapsed and placed me into a spin/stall to the left in a surprisingly short amount of time. I let go of all the lines hoping to recover; but because I was only about 60 feet above the top of an apartment roof; a full recovery was only partially complete. As a result; I landed on top of the roof with some substantial vertical velocity. I was not hurt and was able to get off the roof with the help of some neighbors.the main problem that caused this hard landing onto a building was the seat design; which did not allow me to get into the seat no matter what I did; even with substantial effort. I also felt there was some pressure by the instructor to get into the seat; which caused me to fixate on this issue for some time. Finally; I felt that if I had known that I could have controlled the flare just before landing without the use of the brake handles; then I would not have made the effort to get to the left brake handle; which caused me to pull the D lines. Substandard equipment and lack of information were really the core causes.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A powered paraglider pilot reported a faulty seat caused them to lose control of the aircraft and land on a roof.

Narrative: I was taking my second training flight in a powered paraglider (PPG) and on initial climb out; I could not get into my seat for the pre-established 4 laps around the pattern. My instructor kept asking me if I was in my seat; however; the leg straps had become loose and I 'slid down' lower; making it harder to get into my seat. I was too low to even hook the seat strap with my boots; which is a common way of getting into the seat. So; I had no choice other than to let go of the left brake and try to push myself up into the seat using my left arm. I was so low that this was not working either. I simply could not get into my seat whatever I did because of the design of the harness/seat.I decided to fly the PPG around the pattern once and land to fix the issue; but because I was so low in the harness; I could not reach up and grab my left brake line handle. I had assumed that I would need both of my brake lines so that I could flare in the landing; so I did all that I could physically do to get to that left handle; which was blowing back in the wind. I then tried lifting myself with my right hand and reached one of the 'D' lines with my left hand to try to coax the brake line to within reach. By focusing on this problem; I had drifted over some nearby apartments; unfortunately.When I pulled the D lines towards me; a gust of wind came up suddenly and the left side of the wing deflated/collapsed and placed me into a spin/stall to the left in a surprisingly short amount of time. I let go of all the lines hoping to recover; but because I was only about 60 feet above the top of an apartment roof; a full recovery was only partially complete. As a result; I landed on top of the roof with some substantial vertical velocity. I was not hurt and was able to get off the roof with the help of some neighbors.The main problem that caused this hard landing onto a building was the seat design; which did not allow me to get into the seat no matter what I did; even with substantial effort. I also felt there was some pressure by the instructor to get into the seat; which caused me to fixate on this issue for some time. Finally; I felt that if I had known that I could have controlled the flare just before landing without the use of the brake handles; then I would not have made the effort to get to the left brake handle; which caused me to pull the D lines. Substandard equipment and lack of information were really the core causes.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.