A tandem paramotor experienced structural failure when the right-side nylon belt broke during flight, causing the aircraft to spiral dive into the sea approximately 80 meters offshore. The male pilot died and female Chinese passenger was in cardiac arrest.
Hardware failure
High — very likely identified
A tandem paramotor was conducting a flight off the coast of Azama SUNSUN Beach in Okinawa. During flight, the nylon belt on the pilot's right side broke, causing a structural failure. Eyewitnesses reported hearing a bang followed by the paramotor entering a spiral dive into the ocean approximately 80 meters offshore. At the time of rescue, the passenger was found floating with a life jacket, but the pilot did not wear a life jacket and the power unit remained attached to him. The belt failure was documented in video or photo records captured by the passenger's camera.
The primary cause was structural failure of the nylon belt connecting the pilot to the aircraft on the right side. This catastrophic failure during flight led to loss of control and the subsequent spiral dive into the water.
Not deployed
water
Pilot: confirmed dead shortly after hospital transport. Passenger (Chinese female in 20s): cardiopulmonary arrest, survival status unknown.
September 3, 2025
13:30:00
Japan
Azama SUNSUN Beach, Nanjo city, Okinawa
Trike
46-year-old male employee of paraglider operating company from Nanjo city
A tandem paramotor crashed c. 80 meters off shore of Azama SUNSUN Beach, Nanjo city, Okinawa. Eyewitness reports that the paramotor dove into the sea in spiral after a bang. The male pilot perished and the female Chinese passenger is in cardiac arrest. At the time of rescue, the passenger was found floated with a life jacket wearing, however, the pilot did not wear a life jacket and the power unit could not detached from him. The pilot was connected to the aircraft by nylon belts on both sides of his waist, but the belt on his right hand broke while inflight, according to the video or photo records by passengers camera.