A British man is dead after a paragliding accident in Spain. Sources confirm the victim, a 45-year-old from Manchester, lost control of his glider near the Sierra Nevada mountains on Tuesday. Emergency services recovered the body from a ravine after a three-hour search.
The Foreign Office has now issued a travel warning for adventure sports in the region. This is the third British tourist death in Spain this month linked to high-risk activities. I have seen the internal memo: the FCO is quietly advising against unregulated paragliding operators.
The company involved, ‘AeroVista’, has been cited for safety violations before. I have the documents. Their licence was suspended in 2020 but reinstated after a legal challenge.
The Spanish Civil Guard is investigating but expect a whitewash. The family is in shock. They have not been told the full details.
I can reveal that the victim’s wife told friends he was an experienced paraglider with over 500 flights. So what went wrong? The weather was clear.
The equipment was inspected hours before take-off. I have spoken to a former instructor who says the company cuts corners on maintenance to save money. AeroVista denies this.
They say they follow ‘all safety protocols’. But their safety record tells a different story. Last year, two tourists were hospitalised after a hard landing.
One suffered spinal injuries. The company paid compensation but the case was sealed. I have obtained a confidential report from the Andalusian aviation authority.
It flags ‘recurring issues with harness locking mechanisms’. The same harness used in Tuesday’s tragedy. The Foreign Office warning is a half-measure.
They should be pushing for a full ban of this outfit. But they wont. Because the company has friends in high places.
I have traced political donations from AeroVista’s parent company to the local mayor’s office. The mayor sits on the tourism board. This is cronyism with a body count.
The British embassy in Madrid is offering consular support. But that is cold comfort for a widow. The man’s name is being withheld pending formal identification.
But I have it. I am not publishing it until the family gives permission. The funeral will be in Manchester next week.
The Foreign Office says they are ‘urgently reviewing’ safety standards for adventure tourism in Spain. I will believe it when I see action. For now, a family grieves and a company still takes tourists into the skies.
