http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45132
HG fatality at High Rock MD
Mark G. Forbes - 2015/11/11 01:25:07 UTC
Please be careful out there; we've had another HG pilot fatality, at High Rock, Maryland last Sunday. Mitch Shipley reported:
Sunday November 8, 2015
Karen Carra (54) USHPA #61868, an Intermediate (H3), Novice (P2) pilot and USHPA member since 1995. Preliminary reports via phone indicated she was launching her Sport II 135 at High Rock MD site around 1500 with a wire crew. Her nose popped up on launch followed by loss of control of the glider until impact below launch. About an hour to extract by rappel. She was conscious during extraction but died sometime later. Her husband Mathew Graham was believed to be there, probably in the air when she launched.
This site is not one where you could save a stalled launch. See video tour here:
http://vimeo.com/129357732
Please be careful out there; we've had another HG pilot fatality, at High Rock, Maryland last Sunday.
- WHOA! ANOTHER HG pilot fatality! Are you sure you're not thinking about a previous one? I'm having trouble keeping track of things myself.
- OK Mark, I'll be careful. Now that I've heard about another HG pilot fatality. If it had just been another PG pilot fatality I wouldn't have really had all that much motivation. If only somebody had been able to get to Karen in time to ask her to please be careful out there and advise her of the potential for disaster.
- It's Tuesday night now, Mark. How come we're just hearing about this now? Take that long to get everybody on the same/right page?
- "LAST" Sunday? Why not just say "Sunday"? Is it because "LAST" Sunday makes it sound like the more distant past and we've had a delay in the reporting because of all the exhaustive work CHGA and u$hPa have been doing to get to the truth of what went wrong?
Mitch Shipley reported:
- Wow! And here I was thinking that Mitch was just a top notch tow crash investigator.
- Guess it would be too much trouble for Mitch Shipley to post this here himself. If the sonuvabitch WERE to post here himself he could be asked questions. Ditto for the anonymous sonsabitches who were on crew and present nearby. So what we're getting are eyewitness reports garbled over the telephone and filtered through Mitch Shipley and his totally useless summary of his fuzzy recollection of the "preliminary reports" then run through Mark G. Forbes firewall.
Sunday November 8, 2015
Karen Carra (54) USHPA #61868, an Intermediate (H3), Novice (P2) pilot and USHPA member since 1995.
Are ya sure? I just searched the crap outta the u$hPa Member Directory and couldn't find hide nor hair.
Preliminary reports via phone indicated she was launching her Sport II 135...
- Preliminary reportS from WHOM? Any of these motherfuckers got names?
- So what did the SUBSEQUENT reports via phone INDICATE?
- How 'bout the WRITTEN reports so's we don't hafta listen to more crap filtered by u$hPa's top damage control fuckin' douchebag?
- So I guess a Sport II 135 isn't the best kind of glider to be launching at the High Rock MD site around 1500 with a wire crew.
- Is the Sport II 135 an aircraft that appears to be for recreational purposes?
- What kind of weak link was she using? Same one I do? How long of a track record does it have?
...at High Rock MD site around 1500 with a wire crew.
- She was using a wire crew 'cause it was around 1500? Don't ya use a wire crew 'cause there's too much wind to handle the glider safely on your own? Regardless of what time it's around?
- So who was on the crew? How many? Where were they positioned? What were their qualifications? You just killed an eleven year old kid you wouldn't have if you hadn't used a driver who was met in the parking lot and you just passed SOPs mandating pilot ratings for drivers after decades of insisting that the driver could have no bearing on the safety of the flight. Isn't it possible that a wire crew could have some bearing on the safety of an Assisted Windy Cliff Launch?
- What was the wind doing? Direction? Strength? Gustiness? Thermals?
Her nose popped up on launch...
Why? She's a seventeen plus year Three with AWCL, Turbulence, and XC signoffs. And her nose just POPPED? Was the glider positioned and trimmed properly out in the turbulent jet stream? This is a fuckin' brain dead easy ramp when you've got people with clues working together.
...followed by loss of control of the glider...
- As opposed to a loss of control of the kayak.
- Oh. When her nose popped that wasn't a loss of control of the glider. That was something she either did deliberately or wanted to happen. It wasn't until AFTER the glider was doing what she wanted it to that there was a loss of control of the glider.
...until impact below launch.
- How 'bout AFTER impact below launch? Was she able to regain the control she had when her nose popped?
- Oh. Her nose popped up on launch and that was enough to put in a 180 and fatally slam her back into the cliff below launch. Here's what the newspaper said:
The woman's hang glider clipped the top of trees after her launch, causing it to crash, the supervisor said.
How come there's no mention of clipping treetops in your bullshit report, Mitch? How do you get the glider turned back into the cliff there WITHOUT clipping trees?
About an hour to extract by rappel. She was conscious during extraction but died sometime later.
- Whoa! That sounds RISKY. I find myself strongly attracted to this activity! What's the going rate for a tandem thrill ride nowadays? Does it cost extra if the nose pops and there's a loss of control of the glider until impact below launch and an ensuing extraction? Is there a deluxe package that includes loss of consciousness and death? Can you guarantee I'll get that experience even with a full face helmet? What kinda helmet was she wearing, by the way?
- Oh good. Let's fill up your chintzy little "preliminary" report with useless bullshit about what happened AFTER the crash - AFTER Karen's fate was sealed.
- How 'bout the cause of death? Did she suffer fatal injuries?
Her husband Mathew Graham was believed to be there, probably in the air when she launched.
When will we know fer sure? Are we sure he's landed and been notified? Anybody know what frequency he's on?
This site is not one where you could save a stalled launch.
Damn straight! It's not an aerotowing site where stalled launches are GOOD things, or, at the absolute worst, inconveniences. You could have a loss of control of the glider until impact below launch following your stall.
Cool video tour. So I guess there were no videos or photos available from the actual incident.
Here's my call... If this had been a solo effort - like Craig Pirazzi's, also a fatal turn back into a cliff face in windy conditions - we'd have IMMEDIATELY heard first hand chatter and outpouring of grief. But there was crew sharing responsibility for this terminal fuckup. The glider started from too far back and/or with its nose not low enough. The crew could've prevented this one so nobody's saying anything about or to anybody about anything.
And anybody who has the least amount of doubt about this call should ask himself why we're hearing NOTHING about the crew, conditions, glider position and trim, Karen's actions and responses. Nah, it's a risky sport and sometimes shit just happens through the fault of no one. Jesse had plenty of speed and corrected just fine when he got popped by that thermal. But unfortunately the strip is too narrow and the trees have gotten too high.
Funny the way when you get out into REAL aviation there always seems to be pilot/human error involved.
P.S. Check out the revision to uplandann's previously referenced post from the end of the CHGA thread:
http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6845
Options for Sun08Nov : High Rock?
uplandann - 2015/11/10 15:48:19 UTC
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and the two new ones:
uplandann - 2015/11/11 00:47:57 UTC
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Jim Rooney - 2015/11/11 04:35:35 UTC
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Major damage control operation in progress. "Karen? Karen who? Anybody ever heard of a "Karen"? Sorry, you must have the wrong number." Toldyaso.
