Firefighters Descend From Helicopter to Save Paraglider

A paraglider from Costa Mesa who crashed into a cliff near Pacoima Dam and became entangled in a tree was rescued Monday by county firefighters who reached him by sliding down ropes from a helicopter.

The 40-year-old man, whose identity was not made public, suffered injuries that included a broken ankle, according to a spokeswoman for Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

The man was spotted on the cliff near the 15300 block of Pacoima Canyon Road about 2:30 p.m. by a crew of inmates doing fire-prevention work in the area, Los Angeles County fire inspector Clark Pearson said. A helicopter crew was sent to help the man, who could not be reached from the ground below or the ridge above him, Pearson said.

Two paramedics rappelled from the helicopter to the man and strapped him into a litter. He was checked for injuries and taken to the hospital.

Paragliding combines elements of hang gliding and sky diving. Paragliding chutes are made of brightly colored nylon or Dacron and look like the parachutes used by sky divers. But paragliders leap from high points of land and steer their chutes like gliders.