Franz Schilter at the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal 2021 in Disentis, Switzerland. Photo: Andreas Busslinger

Franz Schilter: British Winter Open ends with tragedy

An accident at the end of the competition was the second paragliding fatality in the Cauca Valley in a week

27 January, 2025, by Ed Ewing

The British Winter Paragliding Open ended in tragedy on Friday when a pilot suffered a fatal accident.

Franz Schilter, 63, a Swiss national who lived in Peru, died from his injuries after hitting the ground following a collapse. Next of kin have been informed.

In a statement the competition organisers confirmed that no other pilots were involved and offered their thanks to all those who had helped in the emergency: “We thank the pilots who landed at the site of the crash, the competition’s rescue team, and the local emergency services for their efforts to assist Franz.”

Franz Schilter. Photo: Anndreas Busslinger
Franz Schilter at the PWCA Superfinal in Switzerland in August 2021. Photo: Andreas Busslinger

Franz was one of 130 pilots flying in the competition, which was held in Roldanillo, Colombia from 18-25 January. The competition saw good conditions and seven good tasks, ranging in distance from 81-123km.

An experienced cross country and competition pilot he had been flying since the 1990s. Together with his wife, Marie-Hélene, the couple ran a hotel in the Sacred Valley in Peru, where they had been for 25 years.

The pair also founded and ran an education charity in Peru. The Sol y Luna Foundation works to alleviate extreme poverty in Peru’s rural communities. Among other work, in 2024 the charity funded 132 scholarships for children.

Tandem paragliding in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Photo: Hotel Sol y Luna
Tandem paragliding in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Photo: Hotel Sol y Luna

In paragliding, Franz had developed paragliding sites in Peru and around the Sacred Valley, and was well known in the local flying community.

Initial witness reports from Colombia say that Franz suffered a collapse at about 130-150m AGL. The glider then entered autorotation and no reserve was deployed.

Tragically, the accident was the second paragliding fatality in a week in the area.

Paulina Biskup, 38, died in the Cauca Valley on Tuesday 21 January while on a paragliding holiday to Colombia with friends. She was free flying recreationally and not part of any competition. A Polish national, Paulina lived and worked in Dublin, Ireland.

Paulina Biskup. Photo: GoFundMe
Paulina Biskup. Photo: GoFundMe

A member of the IHPA said: “We do not have a definitive report, however it was an accident shortly after take-off.”

Following the accident Paulina’s friends launched a GoFundMe page to raise €8,000 to repatriate Paulina, which was quickly met.

Both accidents happened in Colombia’s Cauca Valley, which is a well known and popular destination for paraglider pilots, especially in January and February when pilots from Europe and the USA visit.

The valley offers near perfect paragliding conditions and infrastructure, and often hosts large paragliding competitions. The high profile, high level Paragliding World Cup Superfinal is in Roldanillo this year from 4-15 February.

The British Winter Open organisers said: “Organisers, pilots and friends are shocked by this accident and send our sincere condolences to Franz’s family and friends.”

Find out more about the Sol y Luna Foundation


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