US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Thanks for that post. It's an 18 page report and I've only skimmed it, but it looks like it's worth reading.

Thanks.   

Nobody wrote:http://www.nzhgpa.org.nz/docs/o_hareparsonspolicereport.pdf

That's a very good report on the March 2003 failure of a tandem pilot to hook-in his passenger (who fell to her death). The report discusses the factors leading up to the error of "omission" (failure to hook-in the passenger) and it also claims to deal with the decision process after the launch. I believe the first part (discussion of errors of omission) is helpful for understanding why we forget to do simple things (like turn off our headlights after a trip or leave the last original in a copying machine when the job is done). But the second part seems to be tacked on to the report without any real justification (since it's not clear from the report that there were better choices for the pilot than continuing to the planned landing area).

Unfortunately, there aren't any concrete solutions offered to keep this from repeating itself other than the knowledge that we are particularly susceptible to these errors of "omission" and we should try to be vigilant to keep them from happening (using checklists, stepping back from stressful situations, etc).

But it's a good report to read because it reminds us of our human vulnerability and raises (you're going to like this Tad) our fear that a similar thing could happen to each of us. A healthy level of fear is ... healthy.

Thanks for the post Nobody.