You are NEVER hooked in.

[Tad Eareckson]

FINALLY the Grebloville discussion on Mike's brush with death in the desert two Saturdays ago resumes...

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?t=6167
Unhooked Launch

David Van Noppen - 2020/10/13 20:57:10 UTC

Glad your OK

And a good wake-up call. Something more we all can learn from.

[Tad Eareckson]

And a bit before:

2020/10/27 20:55:00 UTC

I notice that the Grebloville three (if you count generously) post topic:
http://www.shga.com/forum/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?t=6167
Unhooked Launch

has totally vanished. An incident that could've easily killed the guy if he'd gone with his instinct to stay with the glider - like many of his predecessors have.

Keep up the great work, Grebloville guys. Nothing works to address critical hang gliding issues like erasing all evidence of their existences. And if that isn't a viable option tell people they weren't there and thus could have no idea about what really happened. (Rest In Peace, Mark Knight.)

[Tad Eareckson]

Many thanks to Jonathan for alerting me to u$hPa's new and improved load o' crap on the unhooked launch issue in the current edition of their monthly rag. Also apologies for the delay in acknowledgement, thanks, action but a couple days prior I'd started on the Andrea Ghidini video...

http://www.kitestrings.org/post12135.html#pi2135

...work up to my neck.

Accident Review Committee [ Analysis > JERRY KELLER ] - 2020/11

Are You Hooked and Strapped In? One of the first and last things you need to check before launch is: Are you hooked in with your leg straps connected? We all know it's critical, yet we still see accidents where pilots forget this vital step. Launching unhooked is one of the most serious mistakes we, as pilots, can make, and the consequences can be fatal. If you're not properly hooked in, controlling a hang glider or paraglider is nearly impossible.

Being "hooked in" means several things. For hang gliders, it means your harness is properly attached to the glider and you are attached correctly to your harness, i.e., leg straps, chest straps, and zippers. For paragliders, it means you are properly attached to your harness, including leg straps, waist strap, and sternum/ breast strap, and connected securely to your risers.

We all need to make this our number one safety check before launch. Unfortunately, our current technology does not have an "idiot-proof" way to ensure these items are attached before flight. We must rely on our personal preflight methodology to make sure it happens. To be clear, modern paraglider harnesses have what is commonly called a safe T system, which provides one strap between the pilot's legs as soon as the waist strap is connected. Still, this does not prevent pilots from launching without anything connected. Sometimes a flight deck can hide the fact that nothing is connected.

Keeping your harness connected to your paraglider while packing up facilitates efficiency on launch and safety in the preflight. As for preflight, make checking leg loops, waist strap, sternum strap, and chin strap when putting on your harness and helmet the first four items in your preflight checklist.

Some common reasons for hook-in failure are being rushed to launch, being the last person to launch, getting distracted during your preflight, and (for hang gliders) unhooking from the glider after a hang check and staying in your harness. Other reasons for a mishap are not having a consistent preflight methodology and failing to do a final hang check (hang gliders) or preflight check (paragliders) just before launch. Finally, there is no substitute for a buddy check. Always keep an eye out for your friends and let them know when you see they've missed something!

My hang gliding hook-in accident was in 1974 at a site in Southern California called the Domes (not currently flown). There were a lot of pilots around waiting for a good cycle to launch; since I was waiting a long time, I decided to unhook but stay in my harness so I could move around and check conditions. Once it got good, everyone was in a mad dash. In the rush, I forgot to hook in and launched. I immediately realized I was not connected to the glider and decided to let go and fell around 15 feet. Fortunately, the launch was a steep slope with gravel, so the impact was not terrible but resulted in a trip to the hospital to address a deep cut in my knee and scrapes on my face. I was lucky; if it was a cliff or rocky launch, I might not be here today. From that incident, I learned a few lessons that I follow to this day: Always do a hang check before launch, never allow yourself to be rushed, and never unhook from the glider and walk around in your harness.

Some helpful suggestions to avoid hook-in accidents:
- Make multiple hook-in checks part of a standard preflight.
- Have a consistent methodology for preflight and hook-in checks; follow it religiously.
- Avoid distractions when doing your preflight. If someone wants to talk to you, politely tell them to wait until after you've finished your preflight.
- Don't rush or shorten your preflight because the conditions are getting good; you'll get your chance.
- For hang gliders, connect your harness to your wing as part of your wing assembly process, get into your harness while it's attached to your wing, and never disconnect it.
- Never put on your harness without being attached to the wing.
- For paragliders, either have the harness completely buckled or take it off—nothing in between (all the way on or all the way off).
- Complete one final hook-in check just before launch: hooked to the glider, hang straps straight, and hooked to the harness. Also have someone help and witness.
- Just before launch, pull up on the hang strap (hang gliders) to feel the connection at the wing and in the leg straps. For paragliders, feel the leg straps coming tight as you run and if they aren't connected, put your hands up so the glider can fly away without you. There is a long history of this working to prevent pilots from flying away without leg straps attached.
- Watch out for other pilots and check each other often.
- Permanently install high-visibility "Hook In" placards at launch.
- Attach a "Hook In" memory aid to your glider or somewhere it is visible as you get ready to launch.

Many thanks to Chris Santacroce, Greg Kelley, and Dennis Pagen for their contributions to this article.

Problem solved - assholes. Keep up the great work.

P.S. Note that at least two of the four named contributors have launched with their carabiners dangling and had their gliders leave without them. And both of those assholes - the other being Dennis at Morningside 1993/09/28 - sustained minor injuries.

Not that having committed this fatal-for-the-purpose-of-the-exercise screwup should be a lifelong disqualifier or stigma... But signing on to crap like this in the wake of:

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=31781
Another hang check lesson

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7916/31540774647_f71ed7cd5e_o.png
http://www.energykitesystems.net/Lift/hgh/TadEareckson/FTHI.pdf

Yeah.

And don't hold your breath waiting for anyone to express his deepest gratitude for the bulletproof insight he's gained from this article. Likewise...

https://ushpa.aero/member_file.asp?id=587
USHPA - Members Only File Download

You are encouraged to re-read the excellent article by Mike Meier, "Why Can't We Get a Handle On This Safety Thing?" (http://www.willswing.com/why-cant-we-get-a-handle-on-this-safety-thing/). Although published in 1998, the risk mitigation analyses and approaches in the article are timeless and still applicable.

Universal agreement that this is a fantastic must-read essay. Somebody providing a scrap of evidence that it's ever made the slightest positive difference in anyone's flying career...

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=63906
Hang Gliding and COVID-19

Davis Straub - 2020/11/23 02:00:17 UTC

We should all make decisions that are informed by the actual science.

Like:

http://airtribune.com/2019-big-spring-nationals/info/details__info
2019 Big Spring Nationals (pre-Pan-Americans)
http://airtribune.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/contest/files/2019/07/GTxd6mT4AIn8.pdf
Local Rules

15 - Launch

Weaklinks of 140 and 200 pounds will be available and provided by the organizers. Weaklinks provided by the organizers must be used by the competitors.

Pure...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/26 06:04:23 UTC

We discuss this stuff a lot more as well. We vet more ideas. This isn't just "neat stuff" to us... it's very real and we deal with it every day.

It's not "us" that has the track record... it's our process.
We're people just like anyone else. And that's the point. THIS is how we do it... normal, fallible humans... and it bloody well works.

So I don't give much credence to something that someone doesn't agree with about what we do for some theoretical reason.

...science.

Davis Straub - 2020/11/25 02:22:59 UTC

http://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/the-three-biases-screwing-up-americas-coronavirus/617192/

Your Individually Rational Choice Is Collectively Disastrous

Stopping the virus from spreading requires us to override our basic intuitions.

But some activities, including dangerous ones, provide negative feedback only rarely. When I am in a rush, I often cross the street at a red light. I understand intellectually that this is stupid, but I've never once seen evidence of my stupidity. In fact, every time I cross on red, the world sends me a signal that it's safe: After all, I've never (yet) been hit by a car! So I keep crossing on red.

Exposure to COVID-19 works the same way. Every time you engage in a risky activity--like meeting up with your friends indoors--the world is likely to send you a signal that you made the right choice. I saw my pal and didn't get sick. Clearly, I shouldn't have worried so much about socializing! But that is just as wrong as thinking that jaywalking is safe because you haven't yet been hit by a car.

And please don't trouble yourself to put anything in quotes. We'll eventually figure out that it should be:

http://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/the-three-biases-screwing-up-americas-coronavirus/617192/
COVID-19: Individually Rational, Collectively Disastrous - The Atlantic
Your Individually Rational Choice Is Collectively Disastrous
Stopping the virus from spreading requires us to override our basic intuitions.

Yascha Mounk - 2020/11/24

Stopping the virus...

...because you haven't yet been hit by a car.

and that it isn't you to whom we're listening.

Stopping the virus from spreading requires us to override our basic intuitions.

Bullshit. It requires common sense precautions and behaviors.

But some activities, including dangerous ones, provide negative feedback only rarely.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31052
Poll on weaklinks

Davis Straub - 2013/03/10 14:09:22 UTC

I've had no problem releasing my barrel release hundreds of times.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3391
More on Zapata and weak link

Paul Tjaden - 2008/07/22 04:32:22 UTC

I got clobbered and rolled hard right in a split second. I have never had a lockout situation happen so quickly and dramatically and had no chance to release as I have always thought I could do.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3107
I have a tandem rating!!!

Lauren Tjaden - 2008/03/23 22:20:15 UTC

When Jim got me locked out to the right, I couldn't keep the pitch of the glider with one hand for more than a second (the pressure was a zillion pounds, more or less), but the F'ing release slid around when I tried to hit it. The barrel release wouldn't work because we had too much pressure on it.

When I am in a rush, I often cross the street at a red light. I understand intellectually that this is stupid, but I've never once seen evidence of my stupidity. In fact, every time I cross on red, the world sends me a signal that it's safe: After all, I've never (yet) been hit by a car!

And Paul and Lauren are always nice and high when this shit happens. So nobody ever considers this as negative feedback to the slightest degree.

So I keep crossing on red.

1. And they keep extending their track record lengths.

2. Total rubbish. Nobody ever got mildly bruised because of a light color. One gets trashed by being hit by a car. One may be perfectly OK dashing across the street against the light without checking for traffic in any direction or instantly totaled standing on the sidewalk five seconds after the light has said he's good to go.

The traffic lights and speed limit signs signal the driver with information about how he's required to operate legally. They do absolutely NOTHING to guarantee compliance by anyone. And anyone who steps out into the roadway without checking the situation at the moment is total Darwin material.

Exposure to COVID-19 works the same way. Every time you engage in a risky activity--like meeting up with your friends indoors--the world is likely to send you a signal that you made the right choice.

Not to Yours Truly, thank you very much.

I saw my pal and didn't get sick. Clearly, I shouldn't have worried so much about socializing!

You mean like:

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

Jack Axaopoulos - 2009/11/12 14:49:58 UTC

One of the stated goals of this site is to promote HG. MOST views on this site are NOT from members but from visitors, they have no ignore button.

Having Tad run around every day giving the impression that there is a massive weekly slaughter of pilots at tow parks due to their horribly dangerous devices surely doesnt promote HG. Especially when the safety records are quite excellent.

Like Jim said, theyve gone a decade with no fatalities at their tow park. Pretty damn good I say.

Yet listening to Tad, you would think guys were dying all over the place
He's been nothing but misleading and negative and ignored multiple warnings from me. So He's GONE

But that is just as wrong as thinking that jaywalking is safe because you haven't yet been hit by a car.

Bullshit. There might be a case to be made that the jaywalker is LESS likely to be hit because he knows he needs to better tuned into what's happening inside of the critical radius.

Nobody who actually thinks actually thinks like this. And your article is gonna have total zilch influence on the assholes who don't think and are the major threats to everyone else. I hit the grocery store earlier today. Everyone was wearing a mask and was required to be. And I'd say that everyone was aware of the threat and behaving accordingly.

And I'd say that every foot launcher is aware of the threat of launching unhooked 'cause virtually all of them adhere to the ridiculous religious rituals they were trained to perform in order to eliminate the threat. And all of those are analogous to looking at the light, determining it's green and/or WALK, striding out onto the roadway accordingly.

You say NOTHING about checking traffic immediately prior to stepping out into the roadway - legally or il. I'd wager that 100.00 percent of both jaywalkers and the heads of the herds of the legal crosswalkers do. You say NOTHING about the check that actually matters just like all instructors say NOTHING about hook-in verification at the only time it matters. (You sure know how to pick your authors and authorities, donchya Davis.)

[NMERider]

Darwinner in the making? I haven't bothered to read the gallery of enlightenment yet.

http://www.facebook.com/carlos.srour.92/posts/912620279566620

[Tad Eareckson]

Nah, I think that was the UNmaking of a Darwinner. I don't think he'll...

Rob Kells - 2005/12

Each of us agrees that it is not a particular method, but rather the fear of launching unhooked that makes us diligent to be sure we are hooked in every time before starting the launch run.

...ever make that mistake again - just like Steve Parson, Jon Orders, Interlaken...

033-05102
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...Guy...

Rooney would do it 'cause he's never been wrong about anything and has an extremely keen intellect.

That was absolutely horrifying. At lotsa sites that would've been totally fatal.

I think this is the only video we have in the category with the camera on the glider. Pretty good quality too. I wonder what the tail camera got. Sure wish the video were downloadable - I need to do stills.

Hope the glider didn't get hurt too much. Hate seeing destruction. Looks like it might have come through pretty well.

Major thanks for that one.

I haven't yet read the postmortem either but I'll bet it'll sound exactly like all the crap we always see after one of these - preflight, Aussie Method, hang check, five C's, carabiner locked...

[Tad Eareckson]

Screen shots off the video. A fair bit more tedious than with something I can load into Final Cut but I think I was able to get the optimal frames I wanted.
---
2021/01/01 17:00:00 UTC

Not anymore. This was originally a YouTube video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXH_bfT2rUI
03. Hangglider Accident - Hangglider karabiner is not attached

Hwang Jae-yong DELTA AEROSPORTS - 2019/03/21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXH_bfT2rUI


October 10 , 2010 Pyeong Chang in the Republic of Korea
Pilot is no injury.

...posted (nobly enough) by the primary perpetrator over 21 months ago of an "accident" experienced over a decade ago. How it managed to stay off the mainstream radar for as long as it did is totally beyond me.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64159
Camera On, Pilot Not
Davis Straub - 2020/12/29, 01:56:21 UTC

http://www.facebook.com/carlos.srour.92/posts/912620279566620
Carlos Srour 2020/12/27 20:33

Jae Yong Hwang

I am the main character in this video
This place is called Pyeongchang in Korea
I rolled about 30~40 meters away, but there was no injuries.
Because of the wind, I was in a hurry this day.
The result is as you can see.

Launch is:
37°22'52.45" N 128°25'15.95" E

The original screen shot crap I struggled to get off of Facebook was 1838x1034 - blown up a bit over 44 percent over the orginal 1280x720. Pulled the original into Final Cut, matched and replaced all the original frames. (Major pain in the ass.)
---
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We can count seven individuals watching that launch and it's a fair bet that all of them are setting up and prepping for launch. And I hold every non wuffo motherfucker on that launch just as accountable as the would-be pilot - obviously not hooked in and even more obviously omits hook-in check. What the hell is more important to be watching than the connection to the glider - or obvious lack thereof.
---
2020/12/29 21:30:00 UTC

I've been wading through the source page. This is NOT Carlos - it's an unidentified and Carlos was just a recipient who posted it on behalf of another unidentified.
---
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And/But you've gotta give the perp credit for posting this.

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Good. You have it solidly planted on your shoulders. Make sure you keep holding it down there - as safely as possible below that turbulent jet stream just over your wing. 'Specially seeing as how you don't have any wire crew.

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Should start feeling that tension any moment now. But for now just keep that nose down and put everything you've got into that run.

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Oops.

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Glider people seem to have zero fear of mangling or killing themselves on unhooked launches. Maybe if we told them that they needed to hook-in checks to keep their gliders from ending up in a situation like:

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Nice shadow of the unoccupied glider cruising to the right to meet with the real deal.

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Clear blue sky, paraglider soaring almost certainly in ridge lift. And you can hear substantial wind in the mic back before initiation. There was a fair breeze coming straight in at launch, all he needed to do was let it float. Damage to port tip.

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---
2020/12/29 20:00:00 UTC - Revised.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64159
Camera On, Pilot Not

Harry Martin - 2020/12/29 23:32:46 UTC

I lift my glider so that I can feel the straps get tight.
If you can't feel the straps go tight, how else do you know you are hooked in?
Pilot just lets the glider rest on his shoulders. Bad form.

I lift my glider so that I can feel the straps get tight.

Great. And Yours Truly...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2019
Hook-In Alarm

...doesn't get a credit? (Probably just as well. If I had your post would probably have been deleted before I'd gotten to see it.)

If you can't feel the straps go tight, how else do you know you are hooked in?

Well...

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Hard to beat that technique for letting you know that you're NOT hooked in. (Six of one...)

Pilot...

What pilot? Did we see anyone other than the paraglider guy actually get airborne in that clip?

...just lets the glider rest on his shoulders.

Kept it out of Emperor Bob's Turbulent Jet Stream pretty effectively, didn't he?

Bad form.

Again... No worse form than the half dozen motherfuckers standing around watching the bad form like it was totally normal - all of whom were in much better position...

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...to spot this common and frequently lethal deficiency in the flight readiness department than the would-be pilot was. And there isn't a hang gliding culture anywhere on the planet in which this is SOP - and there never will be.

And we are now pretty precisely four months shy of four decades after the publication of the article announcing and explaining the SOP that mandated a hook in check at launch position immediately prior to launch. Name one u$hPa instructor who's ever deigned to implement it.

P.S. Do please remember to say hey...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=924
Tragedy at Team Challenge

Davis Straub - 2005/10/01 23:12:07 UTC

Well, very simply we could make a new rule for competition. If you are seen in your harness but not hooked into your glider you are automatically disqualified.

...to Davis for me.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64159
Camera On, Pilot Not

Andrew Vanis - 2020/12/30 02:35:20 UTC

anyone else notice the model of the glider

Yep...

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I made a point of catching it in a still. Poor choice for a model name - for that very reason. It's what Rooney...

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...really enjoyed presenting himself as. Can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed watching that blow up in his face.

I shouldn't be smug, all of us are available to make a mistake

Bullshit. His mistake wasn't failing to hook in before moving to launch. ANYBODY can be mistaken about his connection status. Motherfucker's near lethal mistake was to adapt a procedure of NEVER doing hook-in checks - and joining a culture of other douchebags totally incapable of getting the concept through their terminally thick skulls.

Note total absence of discussion on this one on the worlds largest hang gliding community and The Bob Show. And remember when these used to bring the rabid Aussie Methodists out in droves?

P.S. Been over a year since anything was posted in The Jack Show incident reports subforum. The sport must've become safe beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64159
Camera On, Pilot Not

Davis Straub - 2020/12/31 01:38:42 UTC

Lie down in the cart. If you hit the ground you are not hooked in.

Extremely useful, Davis. As always.

Joel - 2020/12/31 19:09:09 UTC

It disturbs me that no one stopped this guy from launching. There were other hangies around, probably watching the launch. I think I would have noticed and said something if I had been there.

It disturbs me that no one stopped this guy from launching.

How much does it disturb you that the hook-in check is a totally alien concept to this culture?

There were other hangies around, probably watching the launch.

Did you actually watch the video?

04-2125
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Everyone and his freakin' dog was totally glued to the launch - as is virtually always the case in situations like this.

I think I would have noticed and said something if I had been there.

Versus noticing and NOT saying something if you'd been there. Granted - there's no shortage of individuals in this sport... It's too bad that it was Zack Marzec who had to be the one to finally nail the coffin lid down on the Infallible Standard Aerotow Weak Link but that was the only way that threat and Hewett were ever gonna be mostly eliminated from AT culture. Rooney or Jack solo at Henson in dangling carabiner mode... Keep your mouth shut and do both the sport and gene pool a massive favor.

I KNOW I'd have "NOTICED". There's nothing else that matters relative to this issue. Would anyone not NOTICE if the guy stopped at the light two cars ahead started through the intersection before the light had switched back to green? Whether or not there was a problematic traffic situation?

But why worry about whether or not the guy's hooked in when nobody's doing or looking for hook-in checks? I've never witnessed an unhooked launch. But I've personally known shitloads of individuals who've committed them - with results ranging from embarrassment through to instant death.

If you're looking for unhooked launches you're gonna need to do your flying career times six to have a good chance of stopping one. None of the assholes at that launch ever do hook-in checks, they're all at substantial risk for committing an FTHI over the sequence of a thousand foot launches, and they're not gonna be of any more use in stopping someone else from going off without his glider than they were in this instance.

But you're not even LOOKING FOR unhooked launches, or dangling carabiners, 'cause you've just told us that you THINK you would've noticed - and possibly even have said something about it.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=26557
Failure to hook in 6/29/12

Adam Parer - 2012/07/15 05:01:12 UTC

We are militant with this sort of thing down here. Anyone seen walking around in their harness unhooked are immediately pulled up, by everyone. Not sure of the reaction if the justification was to keep the harness clean or scratched free, or that it was uncomfortable to bend over because there was extra weight to carry, or they have a sore back. It would probably be advice along the lines of 'harden the f^&k up'.

Much more fun to target and bully individuals who aren't adhering to majority religious cult beliefs and practices than to spot and deal with actual problems - ain't it Adam? And I'da told you motherfuckers to either put in your HGFA SOPs or mind your own goddam business. Hell... Both.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18695
How could this accident happen?

William Olive - 2010/01/28 04:50:53

Phil Beck did this twice (or was that three times?) in a day at Hexham (Victoria) one time while foot launch aerotow testing gliders. Of course, with a swag of gliders to test fly, Phil would unclip from the glider he'd just landed, then clip into the next one to be tested.

Except, at least twice, he didn't clip in.

You don't actually catch them when they're walking around in the harnesses, under gliders unhooked, launching unhooked - REPEATEDLY. You're probably more likely to catch an unlocked carabiner connected to the strap than one dangling behind the harness at the edge of the cliff.

P.S. Any thoughts on Craig Pirazzi?
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Major overhaul of my 2020/12/29 18:57:40 UTC stills collection post.