http://www.xcmag.com/blogs/mark-hayman/2009/02/2314/

I just can’t accept that 24 reserves, 3 hospitalizations and one fatality are in any way acceptable for what should be the premiere event on the Paragliding Calendar.

Only yesterday my team-mate Kirsty had to land to tend to a badly smashed up pilot who’d crashed not whilst racing but when his glider collapsed and irrecoverably cravatted at low altitude whilst he was coming in to land. The sky was so full of rescue helicopters buzzing back and forth clearing up behind us that the task had to be cancelled. Let’s not forget that each reserve deployment is a potential major accident or fatality and that if the person lands safely they are ‘there but for the grace of God’. That, of course, is if the thing even deploys. Many don’t and end up wrapped up in the lines with the paraglider or just fail to fill with air. Great stories to tell in the bar till it all goes wrong.

I have to say one thing, though. I saw the fatal accident from 50 metres away and I can tell all of you that had Stefan been flying a certified wing or one with reasonable aspect ratio he would be here now. He could have steered away from the mountain from where he could have thrown a reserve or landed and that’s if the glider would even have got into this mess in the first place if it had been less pushed to the edge of the reasonable design envelope. I have it on good authority that a decent crash helmet would have had a major effect on the outcome as well.

http://ozreport.com/13.003#0

http://ozreport.com/13.003#6

http://ozreport.com/13.005#0

http://ozreport.com/13.006#3

http://ozreport.com/13.011#1

At the NSW State Titles there were a number of incidents on launch, one almost to the bomb out field, a number of landing, and one in the air.

The story with Maxim tucking and tumbling at the NSW State Titles is very similar to my story of tucking and tumbling at the Bogong Cup a few years ago. In my case I was flying a tailless ATOS at 36 mph when I suddenly went straight down. Maxim was in zero sink searching (therefore flying somewhat slowly) for the thermal core, when instantly (and this seems to be always how it happens) he tucked.

The glider went into a tumble, with many rotations and Maxim was not able to throw his chute until the wings folded and the glider broke up and stopped tumbling (this is a feature of hang gliders?). The same thing happened to me, but my ATOS broke into many pieces after about three rotations. Witnesses say that it took fifty seconds for Maxim to be able to throw his chute.

Apparently the story is now that he was able to unclip his carabineer from he glider at 800' AGL to get away from the glider and have a slower decent after that. His parachute was attached to his shoulders, not to the carabineer.

The incidents at launch on Mt. Borah continue to indicate that we should expect a fairly high rate of on launch accidents if we hold competitions there. I would suggest that aerotow launching is safer than hang glider (but not paraglider) launching from Mt. Borah. It would take work and money to upgrade the launches at Godfrey's place to make them reasonably safe for hang gliding. I suggest starting with the lower east launch. Godfrey was up there mentioning something about this.

This does not mean that the hang glider pilots were not also responsible for their poor launches. It's just that the odds of a safe launch go up if the launch sites are improved. Throw money at the problem, I say.

I liked the southeast launch under certain conditions. The west was fine if there were thermals coming in. Not possible (or reasonable at least) in light or no wind conditions. South launch is only good in upwind conditions (not cross). It is almost steep enough as it is and long enough also.

The northeast launch is a real bear in light winds or no winds.