Hi Gordon, Your are right of course it was the engine mount. I would be facinated to see the modification they did to your motor. I have looked but cant find the photos I took on the day but is you search the site for "H & E 120 Safety alert" you will see that the pictures are no longer available online. At the time Pierre gave us the following;

"Our understanding from all the reports that we have received is that our frames do not bend on their own. They usually show structural problems after a rough landing or if they have been handle improperly.

We understand that some of our customers want their frames to be very strong to withstand most small impacts.

Our general philosophy is that a frame is like a crash helmet. Its main purpose is to protect the pilot by acting like a fuse during a crash by absorbing the largest percentage of the vibrations of the impact."

I personally was very disapointed with the tone and content of this statement since it appeared to me that their intention was to avoid responsibility/blame rather than comment on and suggest sollutions (Were they going to alter their manufacturing process to strengthen the weld?).

Of course a paramotor cage will get a few tumbles but this one was only a few years old and had little rough treatment. But the most important consideration in a situation like this, for me, was that this was an almost silent failure. If Gerry Parles had not become suspicious of a small lateral movement, which I had not detected by the end of my pre-flight inspection I would have launched and under full power the motor would have dismounted the frame with me and a low level, full speed and out of options.

Kind regards

Mike Hastings