Ken Nightingale doesn't remember much about what happened to him on Tuesday, but the scars, punctured lung, cracked ribs and pelvis speak for itself - he's lucky to be alive.

The paraglider crashed into the side of Te Mata Peak shortly after launching from the popular site.

How he got there, and just how far he fell down the 400m cliff face remains a mystery. Although, in the last few days he has tried to piece together what exactly happened. 

"There are quite a few holes and it's a shame because they're all things I would really love to know about what happened and actually what went wrong and I will be very interested to talk to the other paragliders," the 66-year-old told Hawke's Bay App from a ward at the Hawke's Bay Hospital. 

He recalls the conditions as being good for flying, and one paraglider setting off before him.

"I can't recall the second person even setting up but obviously, they did and with everybody else flying I'd obviously thought 'right time to go' so at some stage I've got the wing out of the car because I was underneath it at least some of the time."  

"When I met the ground, apparently I stood up and was collecting a wing. I have no recollection of that at all, but I've been told that is what people saw. And somebody must have come down to me, but I don't recall that." 

Emergency services were called to the accident on the riverside of the peak just after 4.40pm, where a rescue team made up of specialist firefighters, paramedics and crew from the Hawke's Bay Rescue Helicopter then worked to winch him to safety.

"The next thing I remember is waking up in the chopper. I have no recollection of the 'oh s*** moment'," he said. 

He was taken to hospital in a moderate to serious condition but quickly became stable.

Brief images of having tests done fill his mind. 

As a motorcycle safety instructor, Ken has had his fair share of accidents in the past. What makes them different to this one, is his memory. 

Now, he is facing what he hopes will be a speedy recovery. 

"So the expectation is I've had a bit of a concussion. My helmet's got some scraping on it, my face had a bit - not too excessively, not much sign of major impact. So all in all I'd say incredibly lucky. You wouldn't voluntarily go where I went, so really lucky." 

He also has what he describes as a "mildly punctured lung", along with at least two broken ribs, two hairline fractures of the pelvis and a banged-up leg which require him to use crutches. 

Ken Nightingale pictured at Hawke's Bay Hospital, with Te Mata Peak in the distance.

Yesterday was a "huge step forward" in his recovery. 

"If I can do another couple steps like that, it's pretty good. The issue will be trying not to push where you shouldn't push too soon."

He has had to cancel a few weekends worth of safety courses but hopes to back out in no time. 

"I don't anticipate this is going to put me out of action for any period of time. I haven't broken any bones that matter."

He believes eventually stopping tumbling is what saved him. 

"I found somewhere to stop because I would've kept going. I probably fell 100 metres and if I'd done the full 400, the chances of sitting here talking to you is pretty slim. Getting to where I got, it's pretty slim." 

The irony, he says, is if the hill wasn't there, his wing would have re-inflated. He guesses "the occasional puff of breeze from the left" caused his wing to collapse. 

"That would cause the glider to spin unless I was really fast to react, and on takeoff that would be difficult. So I think that's what happened - that spun me into the hill, and from there I've proceeded to bounce my way down to where I stopped."

A self-described "fidgeter", Ken has been flying and riding motorbikes all his life. He took up paragliding prior to moving to the region from Auckland six years ago but has found the flying opportunities more limited here. 

He says Te Mata Peak is a daunting site.

"It is not a good site for low airtime pilots because it is a steep site so footing becomes an issue and that's the thing that always gives me a little bit of issue here.... but the flying conditions once you're off the ground are beautiful and we're very very lucky to have it but it would be nice to have a more level take-off slope."  

Whether he will return to the sport again remains to be seen. He believes there will be "pressure" from his family not to. 

Prior to the accident, he had been looking into buying a new harness and wing. His helmet is now a right-off. 

"At this stage, I'm looking at buying a new kit, and if I'm going to spend money on a new kit, I have to actually have a serious thought about whether I'm going to continue it because I'm not going to spend that money if I'm not going to.

"So that's undecided at this stage. I don't really know where I'm doing. It's going to be a, 'take some time. Think about it'."

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