Accident report

[Bill Cummings]

Accident report HG. Pilot 30448 Location 88005.
Being unable to locate the accident report page at USHPA I will post here.
Minor injury to knuckles on right hand not requiring first responder attendance.

Accident pilot after a hour and twelve minute soaring flight had a successful two step landing in the Cox Field landing zone February 23, 2014. Witnessing pilots in attendance: Robin Hastings, Mike Ellsworth and driver Mike Reedy.

Injury was caused by pilot error.
Below is the statement of the accident pilot:

Hi everyone. I’m Bill and I’m a non focused pilot!

Here is some background: H4 with more than 35 years experience.

I believe that if a pilot strains his or her back putting the glider on the rack in the garage that it is sports related. My injury happened after that.
One more tid-bit of background information before we get to my injury.

Many of the pilots now days are not old enough to know what it feels like being whacked across the knuckles with a one foot ruler for (allegedly) stealing an eraser off of a fellow students desk. It smarts like the dickens. (so I’m told.)
My sixth grade teacher, Miss Leaf, probably a charter member in a terrorist organization, had no qualms about, “nipping in the bud,” any blossoming high self esteem as a disciplinary technique. Status Quo was to administer this torture in the front of the class with all seventy eyeballs fixated on the victim.
Understanding that some students could be blinking or flinching Miss Leaf became the original inventor of the term, “Instant Replay.”
Enough background.

Before stepping into the shower I was removing my lucky, blue jeans, Dry Canyon HG long sleeved “T” shirt, socks and last of all my lucky green, Hanes under shorts. I always fly in this lucky apparel since I haven’t been killed in them yet. (The elastic waist band is shot.)

While in the army I injured my lower back and have had to alter my life style due to chronic lower back pain. Due to my back problem I have developed a
technique of getting out of my Hanes under shorts that doesn’t require me to bend over to pick them up. After stepping out of them with my left foot I simply flick them up into the air with my right foot. With my good arm I snatch the shorts out of the air before they hit the floor.

My wife, Terry used to deride me with, “Oh aren’t you just so cool and slick,” when I preformed this act. That was until her back started to hurt and she adopted the technique.

This technique will work with Hanes, Jockey, and Fruit of the Loom as well. It will also work very well with Victoria Secret panties. (so I’m told.)

Both Terry and I have become quite adept at flicking and catching our under ware if you disregard a few interceptions and lateral passes by a medium speed ceiling fan.
I only bring this up since I know that this stuff never happens to anyone else.

Terry and I would make a formidable doubles team. (Probably at a nudist camp.)
A course could be set up where teams would try to flick and pass their way to a hamper while trying to avoid the, “Fan Traps.”

Oh yes! The injury! While stretching for an unusually lofted flick my knuckles came in contact with one of the blades of the bedroom ceiling fan. Just as I remembered, it smarts like the dickens. Now that the luck has run out of these Hanes under shorts I guess it would now be safe to wash them.

[Bob Kuczewski]

All I can say to this is ...



Thanks for sharing Bill!!!

[Rick Masters]

Bill, I have suspected for some time that flying laundry might be dangerous. Thank you for clarifying this. Rick

[Bob Kuczewski]

Bill, I have suspected for some time that flying laundry might be dangerous.

Now that's a clever reply, Rick!!!!     

[Bill Cummings]

Good one Rick!

Thanks Bob.
If you hadn’t refocused my attention on Rick’s reply I would have totally missed that one.

[Bill Cummings]

Here is a bone breaking accident due to a dust devil (thermal) and the PG pilot wasn't even in the harness.
I've seen HG wire assist people flung around by dust devils at Chelan Butte WA (USA)

[Rick Masters]

She was lucky - despite the injury. I have several recent death reports of soaring parachutists falling from as high as 100 feet when they hang on to the brake handles in sudden thermals. Damned if I can find a single report in all history of a fatal result to an unhooked hang glider pilot (by hanging onto the downtubes or getting caught in the wires), though.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Here is a bone breaking accident due to a dust devil (thermal) and the PG pilot wasn't even in the harness.
I've seen HG wire assist people flung around by dust devils at Chelan Butte WA (USA)

She was very lucky. It looks like she landed in a relatively "soft" location ... as opposed to being hurled into a rock or off the edge of a cliff.