Kite Strings

Yeah, I just noticed something weird going on. At around:
2012/11/26 00:44:51 UTC
on a screen or two at the top I got:

Strict Standards: Non-static method utf_normalizer::nfc() should not be called statically in /home/prophpbb/public_html/includes/utf/utf_tools.php on line 1781
[phpBB Debug] PHP Notice: in file /includes/functions.php on line 4380: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /includes/utf/utf_tools.php:1781)

and three more repetitions of the second line with 4387, 4388, and 4389 where the 4380 was.

I was already logged in so I didn't have that problem and it didn't seem to cause any problems for me.
Seems to have cleared itself up.

http://www.flytandem.com/accident/index.htm
Crestline Marshall Accident Database

Rob McKenzie

What is the Definition of an Incident?
According to the dictionary...

An occurrence or event that interrupts normal procedure or precipitates a crisis.

The following are the types of incidents that are worthy of being included in the accident page.

1. Any cause of an injury that is flying related. Injury is where a prudent person would (should) seek professional medical attention. It will also include injuries that cause some extended period of time (like a few days or more) which cause the pilot to not be able to come out flying, but are of a known nature that don't need professional attention, example, pulled muscles or mild sprains.

2. Landing without basic control of speed or direction. This could mean reserve deployment or a spin or spiral into the ground. What is not meant to be included are minor deviations from intented flight like a PG pendulating on his butt or a hang glider dropping the nose in a whack.

3. Anything that would be considered very lucky that injuries were not caused. Included are the following air only (not contact with ground) incidents... mid air collisions, tumbles in hang gliders, unintentional and severe loss of altitude from a collapse or spiral in PG. This area may be quite subjective so a consensus from the CSS forum may be solicited to determine worthiness of inclusion.

4. Anything causing a crisis. Example, being blown into the mountains and/or landing in an extremely unusual location causing the rest of the pilots to begin a search and rescue to determine the pilot's well being. Also somewhat subjective so a consensus of the CSS members is usually sought.

5. Any flight mishap that contains a valuable lesson for others. This will usually require a consensus of the CSS members to be included.

The following are the types of incidents that are worthy of being included in the accident page.

There aren't enough accidents in this sport to be worth talking about - so let's talk about incidents.

So you're limiting the inclusions to:
- flying related injuries
- uncontrolled landings
- situations which produced no injuries as a consequence of luck
- flying precipitated crises
- unprecedented mishaps

But the definition of an incident you cited included:

An occurrence or event that interrupts normal procedure...

And in REAL aviation a NORMAL landing PROCEDURE would involve the aircraft being continuously controlling by the pilot until it ran out of steam, plopped down, and rolled to a stop.

It would NOT involve the pilot whipstalling the glider as it was running out of steam in an attempt to bring it to an instant dead stop - and such an action would, in and of itself, constitute a very serious incident.

And such an action followed by a noseplant?

But you define a glider being whipstalled a it's running out of steam as a NORMAL PROCEDURE and a subsequent noseplant a routine event completely unworthy of inclusion in incident statistics as long as the pilot is able to pick himself up, dust himself off, maybe replace a downtube or two, and go back up for another shot.

So because whipstalls at landings, noseplants, and trashed downtubes aren't incidents...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=22176
Paragliding Collapses

Jim Rooney - 2011/06/12 13:57:58 UTC

Most common HG injury... spiral fracture of the humerus.

...broken arms and dislocated shoulders are just the inevitable and common costs of doing business.

And because the NORMAL PROCEDURE for launching...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7Ok-I8rfYY


- doing a hang check just behind the ramp, picking up, moving up onto the ramp and to launch position, trimming, waiting for the right puff, skipping the hook-in check, and running off - is not the STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE - verifying the connection just prior to launch - skipped hook-in checks are not considered incidents because they only rarely precipitate unhooked launches.

In REAL aviation, Rob, they spend a lot more time looking at and dealing with the incidents that DON'T involve people crashing and burning and consequently a lot less time looking at and dealing with the incidents that DO.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27393
Pro towing: 1 barrel release + weak link or 2 barrel release

michael170 - 2012/11/28 20:54:02 UTC

Juan Saa - 2012/10/18 14:45:18 UTC

I continue to disagree on the two weak link idea but I can see I don't have the complete information to argue with those who like that setup. I for one consider it unsafe. I will check again with those who corrected me and to clarify the reasons why, in the meantime, I'm going out and fly!

What did you find out from those who "corrected" you?

I've sure been on the edge of my seat since the middle of last month.

Really strange that Dr. Trisa Tilletti didn't address that point six months ago in his outstanding and otherwise comprehensive article on weak links.

Oh well, it's a pretty complex issue and it's not like you can cover EVERYTHING pertaining to it...

Tost Flugzeuggerätebau

Weak links protect your aircraft against overloading.

...in just fourteen pages.

Hey Juan...

When you do get the complete information from those instructors at Quest and Florida Ridge who corrected you to argue with those who like the weak links on BOTH ends of the bridle setup and clarify the reasons why DO be sure to get their names and give them to us.

(Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.)

I FINALLY nailed "peanuts".

We know:
- He goes back to the Seventies.
- His name is Dennis (thanks bigtime for that one (and nothing else), Pat Halfhill).
- He lives in the Tidewater area on the south side of the James River.
- He's part of the Currituck crew.

Hang Gliding - 2012/01

Paul Dees

One other highlight was getting to know the excellent crew KHK has at Currituck, including Dennis Wood, a fellow pilot I met 30 years ago when I was teaching at KHK. Thanks also go to Jonny Thompson and Mitch Shipley for the tows.

Walter (Dennis) Wood - Suffolk, Virginia - USHPA #: 19404 - H4 - 2007/08/25 - Jon Thompson - AT FL ST FSL TUR

Bull's-eye.

I've been dying to get that slimy sonuvabitch for over three and a half years.
Now I'm gonna go back and edit a few zillion posts to get all of his contributions to discussions properly attributed.

I see someone has moved the "safety and Incidents in flight" topic to a position second from the top on Sylmar Hang Gliding Association's index page.

A gesture contrived isn't a noble gesture.

Yeah, I had noticed the same thing.

And one also notices that "Incident Reports" is Number Seven on the Jack Show list, following:
- Hang gliding general
- Hang gliding videos
- Q&A, Learning to hang glide
- Flying Stories + Flight Reports
- HangGliding.Org Events
- Growing the Sport of HG
and tends to stay pretty inert most of the time.

These things need to be on the front burner ALL THE TIME - certainly ahead of "Q&A, Learning to hang glide". There's no better way to learn to hang glide than to read a few fatality reports.

And there's no worse way to teach hang gliding then to portray of all of the industry's victims...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hhpa/message/11700
Question

Zack C - 2010/11/18 05:59:03 UTC

But I'm one of Matt's 'defective products'. The first thing I learned to do in the field at Lookout was a hang check. I was told a story by my instructor about the then-recent death of a pilot who launched without being through his leg loops. The instructor called this pilot an 'idiot'. This is how I was taught to think from Day 1.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14230
pro tow set-up

Ryan Voight - 2009/11/03 20:51:52 UTC

My whole point is that people tend to "hang on" too long trying to save things, rather than recognize a bad situation and release (one way or another), go back, and reset.

...as a bunch of clueless accidents waiting to happen who should've stayed within the limits of their abilities and contented themselves with games of checkers.

Thanks to Warren for finding and posting...
http://www.kitestrings.org/post3449.html#p3449
...this one:

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27736
Increase in our USHpA dues

Mark G. Forbes - 2012/12/20 06:21:33 UTC

Post 159

We're re-working the accident reporting system, but again it's a matter of getting the reports submitted and having a volunteer willing to do the detail work necessary to get them posted. There are also numerous legal issues associated with accident reports, which we're still wrestling with. It's a trade-off between informing our members so they can avoid those kinds of accidents in the future, and exposing ourselves to even more lawsuits by giving plaintiff's attorneys more ammunition to shoot at us.

Imagine a report that concludes, "If we'd had a procedure "x" in place, then it would have probably prevented this accident. And we're going to put that procedure in place at the next BOD meeting." Good info, and what we want to be able to convey. But what comes out at trial is, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, my client suffered injury because USHPA knew or should have known that a safety procedure was not in place, and was therefore negligent and at fault." We're constantly walking this line between full disclosure and handing out nooses at the hangmen's convention.

As obvious as it is that this crap has been going on for decades and getting worse with each passing year it's somewhat astounding that a USHGA official would put it in print.

There are also numerous legal issues associated with accident reports, which we're still wrestling with.

Sure you are, Mark.

It's a trade-off between informing our members so they can avoid those kinds of accidents in the future...

For the members who still have futures anyway.

...and exposing ourselves to even more lawsuits by giving plaintiff's attorneys more ammunition to shoot at us.

Whoa! Dude! Having to choose between:

- preventing the next five guys from running off cliffs without their gliders and thus exposing the organization to increased risk of lawsuits stemming from the last five guys who ran off the cliffs without their gliders because you taught them shit procedures; and

- allowing the next five guys whom you taught shit procedures to run off cliffs without their gliders and thus decreasing the risk of lawsuits stemming from the last five guys you killed by teaching them shit procedures.

There just doesn't seem to be a right answer to this one.

Imagine a report that concludes, "If we'd had a procedure "x"...

Where: x = hook-in check

...in place, then it would have probably prevented this accident.

We don't hafta imagine anything. All we need to do is go back and read Doug Hildreth's reports from 1981 to 1994.

Doug Hildreth - 1981/04

Just before the first step of your launch run, lift the glider and make certain that the straps become tight when you do so.

Doug Hildreth - 1991/06

Pilot with some tow experience was towing on a new glider which was a little small for him. Good launch, but at about fifty feet the glider nosed up, stalled, and the pilot released by letting go of the basetube with right hand. Glider did a wingover to the left and crashed into a field next to the tow road. Amazingly, there were minimal injuries.

Comment: This scenario has been reported numerous times. Obviously, the primary problem is the lack of pilot skill and experience in avoiding low-level, post-launch, nose-high stalls. The emphasis by countless reporters that the pilot lets go of the glider with his right hand to activate the release seems to indicate that we need a better hands-on way to release.

I know, I know, "If they would just do it right. Our current system is really okay." I'm just telling you what's going on in the real world. They are not doing it right and it's up to us to fix the problem.

Back then you sleazy USHGA shits hadn't devolved to the point at which you wouldn't even permit mention of the problems, let alone the solutions. All you did was make sure that nothing he advised based upon his analysis of the incidents and overall data ever got implemented.

And we're going to put that procedure in place at the next BOD meeting."

- Yeah Mark. Don't even CONSIDER putting a solid procedure in place NOW and save a few career ending injuries and a life or two. It can wait another four months.

- No, Mark, there's no way in hell that I can now even imagine you sleazy USHGA shits ever doing anything remotely like that. But I have no difficulty whatsoever imagining you sleazy USHGA shits uniting to make sure that solid procedures and equipment never see more than the slightest glimmer of the light of day.

Good info, and what we want to be able to convey.

Who's "we", Mark? Some of us can still see reflections when we look into mirrors.

But what comes out at trial is, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, my client suffered injury because USHPA knew or should have known that a safety procedure was not in place, and was therefore negligent and at fault."

I hope I live long enough to make sure that happens at a trial and make the consequences so devastating that your piece of shit organization ceases to exist.

We're constantly walking this line between full disclosure and handing out nooses at the hangmen's convention.

Translation:

- We're constantly making sure that solid procedures NEVER get implemented because that would be an admission that we weren't doing everything perfectly thirty years ago and we're more interested in keeping alive our hopelessly corrupt organization than keeping alive the pilots who pay seventy-five bucks a year to fund its continued existence.

- And we're constantly hunting down and killing competence wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head because there is NOTHING that creates a greater threat to our continued existence as an organization.

May all you motherfuckers rot in hell for all eternity.

Zack C - 2012/06/02 02:20:45 UTC

I just cannot fathom how our sport can be so screwed up.

That help any?

Hey Mark,

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27736
Increase in our USHpA dues

Mark G. Forbes - 2012/12/20 06:21:33 UTC

We're re-working the accident reporting system, but again it's a matter of getting the reports submitted and having a volunteer willing to do the detail work necessary to get them posted. There are also numerous legal issues associated with accident reports, which we're still wrestling with. It's a trade-off between informing our members so they can avoid those kinds of accidents in the future, and exposing ourselves to even more lawsuits by giving plaintiff's attorneys more ammunition to shoot at us.

Imagine a report that concludes, "If we'd had a procedure "x" in place, then it would have probably prevented this accident. And we're going to put that procedure in place at the next BOD meeting." Good info, and what we want to be able to convey. But what comes out at trial is, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, my client suffered injury because USHPA knew or should have known that a safety procedure was not in place, and was therefore negligent and at fault." We're constantly walking this line between full disclosure and handing out nooses at the hangmen's convention.

All this wrestling with legal issues, trading off, line walking y'all are doing...

When was the last time USHGA:
- informed its pilots of a hazard at a cost of exposing itself to more lawsuits?
- put a procedure in place to prevent the next fatality at a risk of opening itself up to a finding of negligence?
- opted for full disclosure and thereby handed out a noose?

In other words, when have you sleazy motherfuckers ever done ANYTHING that wasn't cowardly, morally bankrupt, and totally despicable?

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=27736
Increase in our USHpA dues

Dan Johnson - 2012/12/20 06:25:31 UTC

Seriously, thanks for the support!

Steve Baran - 2012/12/20 17:27:14 UTC

Thanks Mark! I believe the best reason to be a full member of USHPA is for the benefit of the greater hang/para flying community. For the first time in quite a while many of the pilots in our area are full members. It helps protect us all legally and helps us acquire new flying sites. I'm usually the new site landowner contact person. When I do so I can stress that we're all members of a national organization and through it we can obtain liability insurance that protects the owners, including all legal expenses should any arise. As we bring on more and more new sites I'm hoping we also become a great place for a visiting USHPA member to fly.

Jim Gaar - 2012/12/20 17:30:25 UTC

Thanks Bro!

Keep up the great work, Mark. The membership loves you for the way you keep racking up the body count in direct proportion to the degree to which it hates me for my effors to reduce it.