Santa Barbara - Authorities in Santa Barbara have discovered the body of a man who fell 3,000 feet from a tandem paraglider into the rugged Rattlesnake Canyon after 'he forgot to put his leg straps on.'
Reports indicate that the incident happened on Sunday when the unidentified victim was paragliding with his teenage daughter above the La Cumbre Peak off the 2900 block of Gibraltar Road.
John Greynald, a public relation officer with the Santa Barbara Soaring Association, said because the man was not appropriately strapped he put himself in a position where it was difficult to properly control the aircraft.
"The pilot in command failed to hook in appropriately. He managed to stay airborne for a few minutes but apparently had some complications and fell from the paraglider."
"The hangliding, paragliding community in Santa Barbara is very sad. This is our first fatality since the 1970s," Greynald said.
According to County Fire spokesman Mike Eliason, the girl, who was not an experienced pilot, managed to stay strapped in the paraglider. She crashed into a tree from where she watched her father fall.
She suffered only minor injuries and was later rescued by a helicopter.
Eliason added that around 12:30 p.m. officials received a distress call of the paragliding accident. A group of UCSB geology students who were hiking through the canyon heard the man's fall. The students assisted search and rescue teams in locating the man's body.
"They were vital in helping rescuers locate that man and the female passenger," Eliason said.
He added that the teenager has been transported to a local hospital for treatment and she is alert and aware of what has transpired.
The names of the father and daughter have not yet been released because family members have not been informed about the accident.
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