Deschutes County Sheriff's Office
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News Release
Man Dies in Paragliding Accident - 08/16/19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: August 15th, 2019

Released by: Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp

Bend, OR – Man Dies in Paragliding Accident

On August 15th, 2019, at approximately 6:49PM, Deschutes County 911 received a call reporting a paragliding accident on the northwest side of Pine Mountain in the Millican area of Deschutes County. The 911 caller reported that a paraglider fell approximately 200 after separating from a paraglider wing in mid-air.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Deputies, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement, Bend Fire Department Paramedics, AirLink Air Ambulance and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers were all dispatched to the scene.

When emergency personnel arrived, they found citizen by-standers and fellow paragliders attempting to resuscitate the injured paraglider on the mountain slope about 250 meters from the peak.

The injured paraglider was later identified as 50 year old, Matthew Hans-Joachim Richter, of Bend, Oregon. Mr. Richter was pronounced deceased on scene by emergency medical personnel.

Mr. Richter was described as an experienced paraglider with many years of flying experience. The paraglider wing or canopy, flown by Mr. Richter, was a lightweight motor-less, free-flying, foot launched aircraft with no rigid frame or structure.

According to witness accounts, Mr. Ritcher was only airborne for 10-15 seconds before separating from the wing and falling to the ground. The cause of the accident is still under investigation with the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB.

CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:   Sgt. William Bailey, Public Information Officer, 541-388-6655 or SheriffPIO@deschutes.org  

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with four K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today lead by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves the nearly 190,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 230 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 187 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.

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