Paragliding or ParamotoringCascade Paragliding Club ›
PG Accident 6/3 [2018]
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/cpcl/7vWK5dH-TuATravis potter
Jun 7
Good morning,
... I've been known to fly without a radio alot, and I've been intentionally trying to fly with one always. On this day I had one and nobody else had one, small detail, but being able to tell this pilot he was obviously too deep in the brakes during his flight could have potentially averted this disaster. I gave away a spare radio once so a pilot would have one, and I think I'm gonna get it back so I can always have two. I can't say for sure, but I am pretty sure I would have offered the pilot my spare since I knew he was a new free flyer....
This weekend there was a significant injury accident at Fort Ebey. I share my account so that lessons can be learned.
Conditions were a great day at Ebey. Pretty direct wind in and on the lighter side of doable. If you were able to establish yourself above the upper ridge you were home free. Nobody had to use bar to penetrate, and after 45 mins conditions seemed to be lulling a little bit.
There were two gliders in the air down the ridge, one landed in the middle of Ebey, so I set up my approach on the north side of the ridge and landed. I looked up to see a glider in a massive wingover, wing 90 degrees out in front and heard the impact from my position 200 yards away.
I instructed 911 to be called, never assume somebody is calling 911, always assign somebody to.
I got to the pilot who was unconscious and appeared to be having some labored breathing although his airway was clear. Because his airway was good we left him in his helmet and stabilized him in place. Pete was already working on getting his harness loosened and while we didn't want to move him, I wanted to get him disconnected from the wing in case a gust came through.
After a quick assessment I spoke with dispatch and communicated 3 things.
1. He was unconscious
2. Having trouble breathing
3. HE FELL FROM GREATER THEN 30 FEET
This is a key takeaway for all pilots. A fall greater then 20 feet meets whats called "Trauma Criteria" and it means you need to go to Harborview in Seattle, or OHSU in Portland, the Level 1 trauma centers. It also usually gets the ball rolling quickly on a helicopter, which played a key role in saving the life of this pilot. Any of us can tell dispatch something like that.
Airlift Northwest in the Seattle Area carries blood on their helicopters. I'm not sure if Lifeflight does in Oregon, but they are pretty legit so probably.
A park aide went out to make sure the ambulance and fire folks knew where we were, always a good idea. A Sheriff Deputy was the first on scene and I asked that he update the crew with a request to land the Helicopter on Launch at Ebey, which became the plan.
I assigned Ryan to get all the wings on launch under over and with weight on them in anticipation of a quick arrival, the nearest base is in Arlington, short flight direct and NAS Whidbey is very good about clearing airspace rapidly for medical flights. I can't be sure, but I would guess the NAS controllers vectored the constant seaplane traffic away as well.
Cause:
The pilot was flying a Motor wing, in a motor harness. He received Motor instruction, and was a former hang glider pilot for many years, but had not received a P2 rating.
The pilot was deep in the brakes the entire flight, and had two right arms, constantly staying in the ridge in the best lift both directions. He was so deep in the brakes I intentionally flew farther out so my rotor would be minimal and to get close enough to yell at him effectively would have expose myself to more risk then I was willing to take on.
He was on the south end of the ridge appearing to be setting up to land when he turned left into the Hill at too high an altitude to land by far. As he initiated that left turn he spun the glider between 90 to 180 degrees left with brake input on the spun left side to pull the wing into a massive wingover. There was a enough counter brake on that he was falling through the recover arch and not in a spiral when he hit in a seated position onto the flat ground. HIs motor harness had minimal protection but even the most bomb acro harness probably wouldn't have been of much help.
I'm not sure how many flights he had at Ebey, but I believe it was the only site he had been flying. His skills were beginner for sure, and in the complex balance of saying something verses not,
I think in retrospect a tougher stance that Ebey is an USPHA Site and requires membership could have had a potential impact in preventing this accident. Takeaways:
For me personally, I will be more proactive in asking folks that are not rated or blatantly making bad decisions not to fly at USHPA launches. It is fortunate that the State Parks did not ask to see his rating, or if he was a rated pilot in the accident review process. I'd rather piss somebody off then put another person in a helicopter or hear the thud of a body impacting ground. I will start carrying a spare radio again, and insist people fly with theirs.
Outcome: The efforts at Harborview to save the pilot from extremely grave injuries are nothing short of miraculous. He received over 100 units of blood, many times the human blood volume.
I propose that all the PNW clubs should find a blood drive to participate in to replace the divot.
Thank you,
----------------
So...
Paragliders can be difficult to fly.
They can crash. In fact, they crash all the time - just not at Ebay State Park, so they tell me.
Therefore hang glider pilots flying from state land under state recreational liability law who refuse to tithe the USHPA guild must be stopped.
That doesn't make sense.
Home
by Rick Masters » Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:44 pm 
