BY MICHAEL DEVLIN

A LOCAL man was lucky to escape with his life after the power-paraglider he was flying became entangled with electricity lines.

Kevin Timoney from Drumlegagh outside Omagh was flying his paraglider over the north of Beragh on February 26 when the accident happened. Failing to notice the power lines, Mr Timoney's parachute wing caught on the cables before he crashed onto a concrete farm yard.

"He was very lucky he wasn't fried," Kevin's father Danny remarked this week. "He suffered severe injuries to his back and his right foot was badly wrecked and his left ankle was broken. He is going to make a full recovery but he's in pretty bad shape at the moment."

According to Danny Timoney his son had made a decent from his flight when he noticed two people he recognised on the ground. He was in the process of gliding down to see them when the incident occurred.

He explained, "He didn't see the power lines until the last second, his mind probably only wandered for that second and then he hit the lines.

"The parachute on the paraglider caught on the lines and pulled them together, blowing the fuse and it was that happening that saved his life."

Kevin underwent a 10-hour operation last week in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and is now making his slow recovery.

"He had to have pins inserted into his right foot but he's coming around now," Danny added, who believes his son will be wheel chair bound for several months at least.

"I think that'll be him and the flying finished. He has a wife and two of a family so I couldn't see him keeping going after this.

"This was his first accident. He was always very careful about it and he's been flying now for about two years."

Power-paragliding is still very much a minority sport in the North however, this cheap form of flight is attracting more and more people all the time.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) this week issued a strong warning to anyone taking to the skies to plan their flight carefully and to stay away from overhead powerlines.

Julie Cole, NIE Safety Officer, says the pilot could have been killed. She said, "Luckily in this incident no-one was injured but this could easily have resulted in a fatality. We would warn all parachutists, small aircraft and gliders to take the location of powerlines into account when planning their flying and landing routes."

Approximately 12 homes in the area north of Beragh were affected by the damage to the electricity network, losing electricity supplies for an hour and a half.

Miss Cole concluded, "Where possible, gliding and light aircraft clubs should display maps showing the location of lines. Gliders should navigate from a map, if practicable, on which all overhead lines have been marked as electricity lines are not always easily seen from the air. For more information go to the Leisure section at www.niesafety.co.uk."