Hollywood cinematographer’s crash puts spotlight on Himachal’s rise and challenges as paragliding destination

George Richmond, the celebrated Hollywood cinematographer who was seriously injured during a paragliding expedition in the Deo Tibba region of Kullu district on June 8, counts among his friends former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh. The family pooled in all the resources, including reaching out to the IAF, to ensure Richmond reached PGIMER, Chandigarh, for timely medical help.

The 54-year-old, who has worked on blockbusters such as Quantum of Solace (a James Bond film), and Deadpool & Wolverine, has undergone a surgery for his spinal fracture and is said to be recovering fast. However, the incident put the spotlight on an adventure sport that has gained popularity very fast in Himachal Pradesh, with the support infrastructure struggling to keep up.

The state started emerging as a top paragliding destination globally in the past decade, the reasons being its air conditions which help the gliders upwards into the sky, and wide and open areas facing mountains providing clear spaces to fly. During the same period, there have been countless accidents, with 19 fatalities since 2016. Of these, nine were solo-paragliders, who are experienced flyers who have undergone an advanced paragliding course, and eight of them were foreign nationals.

Paragliders over the sky at Bir Billing in Himachal Pradesh. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

Last year, October alone saw three accidents involving foreign nationals. While three were rescued after crash-landing following a flight from Bir-Billing, a 27-year-old Canadian solo paraglider took off from Bir-Billing and went missing with her body recovered two days later. Within 48 hours of this, a 47-year-old Austrian paraglider encountered difficulties after taking off from Bir-Billing and had to be rescued.

The same month, the authorities decided to divide the Bir-Billing flying region into Green, Orange and Red Zones as per the risk factor. The proposal was finalised at a meeting attended by foreign paragliders.

Himachal has at least a dozen popular paragliding sites across the districts of Kangra, Kullu, Shimla, Chamba and Lahaul & Spiti. Bir-Billing, located in the Dhualdhar mountain ranges of Kangra, at a height of around 2,400 metres, is Asia’s highest paragliding site and ranked among the world’s best.

The business

The credit of introducing paragliding to Bir-Billing goes widely to Neil Kinnear of England and Keith Necols of the US, who visited the site over 40 years ago. In 1984, the Hang-Gliding World Cup was held in Bir-Billing, with 43 pilots from 13 countries participating.

Story continues below this ad

All aspects of paragliding now – from the registration of adventure firms offering paragliding, examining the authenticity of independent paragliders, condition of their gliders and safety equipment etc – are covered by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development & Registration Act, 2002.

According to the State Tourism department, there are around 45 registered paragliding operators. Of them, 21 are registered in Kangra district, which includes, besides Bir-Billing, Indrunag and Bil-Patia as paragliding sites. Kullu-Manali has registered sites at Solang, Maadi, Burua and Dabbi; Shimla district has Junga and Nangal Dev; while there are some additional registered paragliding sites at Chitkul in Kinnaur district and Pandla in Bilaspur district.

As per data available with the Special Area Development Authority (SADA), Bir-Billing – now converted into a nagar panchayat – the current paragliding season that began three months ago has seen around 2,500 foreign visitors, including for solo, long-distance and tandem flights.

Newly elected Rajya Sabha MP and the president of the Bir-Billing Paragliding Association, Anurag Sharma, says that apart from topographical reasons, the affordability of travel in India compared to foreign countries is one of the main reasons for the growing popularity of Himachal for paragliding.

Story continues below this ad

Roshan Lal Thakur, who is based in Manali and has flown from paragliding sites in Himachal and abroad, says Bir-Billing and Soland Valley in Kullu are among world-class destinations. “But there are only limited developed paragliding sites in Himachal Pradesh compared to the number of people coming for the sport. At times, accidents occur because of inexperienced amateur pilots, untrained flyers and inadequate infrastructure, particularly the shortage of proper take-off platforms,” Thakur says.

While paragliding is an adventure sport with some risk attached, strict adherence to safety protocols significantly reduces the chances of accidents, he adds.

Sankalp Sharma, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Baijnath and former SADA chairman, recalls a recent incident involving an Indian-origin professional paraglider who went missing after taking off nearly half an hour before sunset without informing local authorities. “Similar cases have been reported earlier as well and in many instances domestic pilots have been found violating established safety procedures,” Sharma says.

Paragliders over the sky at Bir Billing in Himachal Pradesh. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

There about two dozen marshals deputed at various paragliding sites across Himachal to supervise operations and keep a tab on unauthorised flyers. Ranvijay Vardhan, a marshal at Bir-Billing, says: “A paraglider must always carry three pieces of equipment – a parachute, a GPS tracker and a satellite walkie-talkie set. Whenever a paraglider crashes or lands in emergency conditions, they send an SOS and the operator on the ground receives an alert. The local authorities then coordinate the response.”

Story continues below this ad

An office-bearer of the Bir-Billing Paragliding Association says: “Wherever private choppers are employed in rescue operations, expenses are largely borne by insurance agencies, with charges fixed, including for rescue teams that go in to get the injured paraglider and carry them to safety.”

Says Anurag Sharma: “The Department of Tourism and Aviation regularly directs paragliders not to fly deep into the mountains, and to fly in groups instead of in isolation. However, the fundamental point is that paragliding is an adventure sport, and the paragliders are seeking thrill, including putting their lives at risk.”

Sharma also underlines that the number of casualties in paragliding accidents in India is far lesser than those reported in foreign countries.

Tightening the rules

Officials say action is being taken against operators found compromising safety standards, with around nine adventure tourism operators offering tandem paragliding flights penalised, and fined approximately Rs 50,000, in recent months.

Story continues below this ad

Deputy Director, Tourism, Vinay Kumar Dhiman told The Indian Express: “Repeated inspection drives have led to the cancellation of licences of around six adventure firms over the last two months for violations including flying during rainfall, operating after sunset and using inadequate or substandard equipment.”

The state government is also strengthening pilot training. In September last year, it was made mandatory for all registered tandem pilots to complete a Simulation During Flights-Paragliding Safety Course by August 31, 2026.

The authorities are also strictly implementing rules regarding flying conditions. As per international norms, paragliding is prohibited during the rainy season (from the first week of July to September 15 in Himachal’s case), and operators must also factor in daily weather patterns.

Vardhan says: “Recently, we fined some paraglider pilots and adventure firms for flying after sunset and during light rain in the pre-monsoon season.”