A tragic paragliding accident occurred in Himachal Pradesh’s Dhauladhar mountains where 27-year-old Canadian pilot Megan Elizabeth lost her life after taking off from the Bir-Billing site near Dharamshala. Her glider reportedly crashed due to sudden weather change or mechanical failure. Despite deploying her reserve parachute, she sustained fatal head injuries.
Two other foreign paragliders — Jakob Krammer (Austria) and Nikita Vasiltsov (Russia) — were rescued safely in separate incidents in Kangra and Kullu districts.
Elizabeth, a frequent visitor to Bir-Billing for the past four years, was cremated in Bir according to Hindu rituals, as per her last wish.
Authorities have advised all pilots to monitor weather updates and ensure equipment safety during the ongoing flying season at Bir-Billing, a global hotspot for adventure paragliding.
A 27-year-old Canadian paraglider pilot, identified as Megan Elizabeth, has been found dead in the high-altitude slopes of the Dhauladhar Range in Himachal Pradesh after going missing when her glider crash-landed.
🪂 What happened
- Megan took off from the renowned paragliding site at Bir‑Billing near Dharamshala on Saturday morning.
- She was expected to land at Chogan, but she lost her route and crash-landed near the area of Talan Jot at an approximate altitude of 3,900–4,000 metres.
- Her body was discovered on Monday by a rescue team after enduring freezing conditions overnight.
🔍 Rescue operation details
- A massive rescue effort was initiated by local authorities and the Billing Paragliding Association (BPA), involving ground and aerial searches.
- One rescue member, Rahul Singh, reached the crash site by being air-dropped and stayed overnight in freezing temperatures with her body until help could arrive.
- The body was later air-lifted out, a post‐mortem carried out, and arrangements made to hand her remains to the Canadian embassy.
⚠️ Context & risks
- The Bir-Billing area draws hundreds of paraglider pilots from India and abroad for cross‐country flights during the October–November window because of favourable thermal conditions.
- However, the terrain and weather in the Dhauladhar mountains pose serious hazards: there have been 26 reported paragliding crashes in the Kangra & Mandi districts over the past five years, resulting in 12 deaths, many involving foreign pilots.
- Officials note that Megan was reportedly unfamiliar with the region’s topography, and sudden weather changes and rugged terrain frequently contribute to such accidents.
