Date          : 9/24/05
Time          : 8:00am
Site          : Grassy inland open area - top of grass covered land fill
Male/Female   : Male
Pilot Weight  : 110lbs
Elevation     : Sea Level
Submitter Name: Witness & Pilot
Incident Type: 
Powerplant/Equipment malfunction
Primary/Secondary Cause or contributing factors: 
Mechanical Failure-Powerplant/propeller (helmet strap in cooling fan)
Contributing Distractions: 
None
Pilot/Passenger Injury Severity: 
None
Damage to pilot's equipment: 
Minor (< 20% of new price) (trivial damage)
Collateral Damage: 
None
Wind speed & Gusts: 
Light
Thermal Conditions: 
None
Visibility: 
10sm
Surface: 
Grass
Terrain: 
Hilly
Phase of Flight: 
Cruise
Purpose of Flight: 
Recreation
Safety Gear (List all numbers that apply): 
Helmet - other (Paratour's radio helment)
Communication (If instructional flight): 
Two-way radio w/ helmet mike & PTT
Wing: 
Muse 25
Motor: 
Top-80 iFlyer-mini
Pilot Rating: 
Novice
Injuries (list all that apply): 
None
Hospitalization: 
None
Pilot Experience: 
10 - 50 hours solo
Narrative:
    Pilot failed to fasten his Paratours helmet chin-strap before flight. In level cruise flight, the strap was sucked into the Top80 cooling fan. The pilot noticed a mild jerk and a noise, killed the motor immediately, and executed a power-out landing without incident. Pilot assumed that the strap had come loose on its own and blown through the prop. 
   On inspection, however, it was clear that the strap was wrapped in the Top80 starter assembly. Additionally, the starter rope had entangled (or melted into) in
the strap, ripped from it's pulley and was gone. This incident illustrates the critical need to secure any straps, jacket hoods, long
hair etc. before flying any PPG with a rear cooling fan.