The Pedra Bonita and São Conrado areas in Rio de Janeiro’s South Zone recorded a series of accidents involving hang-gliders and paragliders in 2026. According to the reported chronology, five people died in incidents that prompted rescue operations, including in locations that were difficult for emergency teams to reach.
The most recent accident occurred on November 2, when passenger Adrian Guillermo Arismendi, a 26-year-old Argentine, and flight instructor Luiz Eduardo Rodrigues dos Santos died after a hang-glider crash. The pair had taken off from the Pedra Bonita launch ramp and encountered problems during the landing.
Witnesses said the aircraft made an unusually sharp turn near the end of the descent and struck the wall between the promenade and the beach. The site has a drop of at least 2.5 meters. Firefighters were called at 11:23 a.m., and both men were taken by helicopter to Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital in serious condition and suffering cardiac arrest. They did not survive. Hang-gliding launches were suspended, and the case was registered at the 15th Police District in Gávea.
On October 24, another hang-glider fell on a hill below the Pedra Bonita launch ramp. The accident occurred during takeoff, according to the Fire Department, and the aircraft landed in vegetation that was difficult to access. A man was injured but was not seriously hurt.
Earlier in the year, two people died after a hang-glider fell into the sea off São Conrado Beach on February 21. The victims were pilot and instructor Rodolfo Pascoal Ladeira and passenger Jenny Cólon Rodríguez. Ladeira reached the sand already dead, while Rodríguez was rescued in critical condition and taken to Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital, where she later died. Helicopters, jet skis, ambulances and a tour boat participated in the rescue operation.
Following that accident, the São Conrado Free Flight Club expressed condolences and announced a three-day suspension of activities. The circumstances were to be investigated.
On August 28, Army colonel Álvaro Roberto Cruz Ferreira Lima died after falling from a paraglider into the sea at São Conrado. He was rescued in serious condition and taken to Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital, but did not survive.
The São Conrado Free Flight Club said a kite string covered with glass powder or a so-called Chilean line may have hit the paraglider and caused the fall. The organization said camera footage showed kites along the paragliders’ route and that it was working to remove the lines from the area. The case was referred to the Civil Police for investigation.
Sources: G1.