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It has already been widely reported that Julia Kucherenko came off the cart a
little too early today and knocked herself out. The full press emergency
services arrived and helicoptered her to the hospital in Albany, Georgia. She
apparently didn't break anything (major). The ambulances arrived first (along
with the police) to bundle her up, then she was transferred to the copter.

We are launching off the grass next to the runway. I was the third pilot off
today and the grass field was much smoother than what we had yesterday in
Moultrie. If you are a light pilot you need to push on the cart when it starts.
If your nose angle in high (as mine is and as Julia's was) this makes it
difficult for you to come off the cart early.

I have been pulled off the cart once before when there was a bad cart design.
These are Bobby Bailey designed and built carts and I've never had a problem
with the wheels castering. The launch crew had surveyed the possible launch
areas and found this area to be the smoothest. Again, the five pilots who
launched before Julia had no problems on the carts.

The air was incredibly smooth and powerful. Russell said that his vario on the
tug was showing 1,200 fpm as soon as he left the ground and it never quit. I
found good lift on tow and after pinning off at 1,900' climbed effortlessly to
6,000' and cloud base. The winds were light out of the west at four to six mph.

From cloud base we could see that there was a problem down below in the launch
lane with Julia and her glider. Launch had stopped and there were many pilots
around her glider. Jamie Shelden came on my frequency and told me to land and to
get Curt Warren who was flying without a radio to land also. It was quite
difficult to get down from 6,000' in a timely manner, but we were all down
before the copter arrived from the hospital.

Given the late start to begin with and now the disorganization of the pilots as
the launch line was a mess, the task was canceled. We would have been starting
the task after four o'clock.

Pilots went free flying after the task was canceled. I heard that there was
another incident with a cart and a light pilot, but I'm not certain of that.
That incident was minor and there were non injuries or any damage to the glider.

Julia has been discharged from the hospital and I think she is staying tonight
in the Tajmahualer with us.