[Rick Masters]

Gunter Launch, Owens Valley
http://youtu.be/rF0N0SUu3bE

So Safe A Baby Can Do It!
http://cometclones.com/mythology2011.htm#CHILDREN
Real pilots, look closely at the baby's shoulder straps in the last part of the video.
My blood is boiling...

[Rick Masters]

A Swiss paraglider pilot, flying tandem with a cameraman, has outraged the German tourist industry by causing the most expensive rescue operation in the history of free-flight and potentially causing millions of dollars of damage to one of Germany's most prized gondola lifts. Ignoring the regulation prohibiting flying near the gondola cable to the world famous castle of Crown Prince Ludwig II, Castle Neuschwanstein, the pilot approached a gondola filled with 20 tourists, including five children, and was driven into it at 80 meters altitude by what he claimed was "a freak gust of wind." The paraglider's sail became entangled in the cable rollers, causing them to seize and slide on the cable for a short distance. The cameraman was injured. The cable lift operators, fearing that the seized wheels might have damaged the cable, endangering over one hundred people along the length of the lift, immediately shut it down. As thousands watched from the valley, two hundred and fifty rescue workers and two helicopters arrived to attempt the dangerous rescues but were delayed until dawn by strong winds and rain. One hundred and thirty two tourists were brought down from the summit, some by helicopter. The twenty tourists in the damaged gondola and thirty in a nearby gondola were trapped for eighteen hours. Franz Bucher, the operations manager, accused the "very experienced" paraglider pilot of "gross negligence." He said the gondola lift, one of Germany's top tourist attractions, would have to be shut down for several days because experts would have to remove the "ball of fabric" from the trolley and carefully inspect the cable for damage. If damage is found, he added, it would take months to replace the entire multi-million dollar cable. Because this incident proves beyond doubt that paraglider pilots cannot police themselves, there is a substantial possibility that paragliding will be banned at this famous free-flight venue just as it recently was at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on the French Riviera. Hang gliding activities are always at risk of being lumped in with the irresponsible behavior of paraglider pilots and the myriad uncontrollability issues stemming from their frameless wings.
Sources http://www.cometclones.com/mythology2011.htm#Aug%2012