2015/03/27 Jean Lake crash

[<BS>]

Speculation. This photo gives me the impression the glider hit left side first with the impact breaking the left leading edge, separating the right leading edge from the crossbar and nose connections but leaving it straight and shearing the right wing sail at the tip. I'd guess the truck turned right.

07-03019
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8737/16790136379_c1c17b2f86_o.png


10513

[Tad Eareckson]

Speculation.

No speculation. It just makes things more painful and difficult for the victims' families and friends and the u$hPa cover-up team. Suspended for three months.

This photo gives me the impression the glider hit left side first with the impact breaking the left leading edge, separating the right leading edge from the crossbar and nose connections but leaving it straight and shearing the right wing sail at the tip. I'd guess the truck turned right.

Sounds good. Thank you. I was having a hard time getting my head wrapped around that wreck.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Sam Kellner - 2015/04/01 02:20:00 UTC

Terrible news

I can see just how deeply affected you've been by this one - just one smiley in the entire post.

Mitch Shipley is doing the investigation.

And then he'll hand things off to the cover-up team.

We met briefly just last year at Big Spring comp.

I'll bet you two hit it off REALLY well.

Without speculating about this horrible incident...

God forbid!!!

...hopefully we can all agree that platform towing clinics should not only be pilot training, crew member training is of equal importance.

Ya...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7462005802_bbc0ac66ac_o.jpg


...think? And ya think we'll get a first rate "accident" report out of this one?

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1081
Platform towing /risk mitigation / accident

Sam Kellner - 2012/07/03 02:25:58 UTC

No, you don't get an accident report.

Fuck you, Sam.

Rick Masters - 2015/04/01 02:58:56 UTC

The heart of the problem is a belief that towing is acceptable.

Course it is Rick. YOU just said so.

I have no problem at all.

No, you're absolutely perfect in every way.

I never needed it.

And when was the last time you flew a hang glider, motherfucker?

The sport has a huge problem.

Including, but certainly not limited to, fuckin' assholes such as yourself.

It thinks it needs towing.

Lemme tell ya sumpin', douchebag... I, TAD EARECKSON, INDIVIDUAL HANG GLIDER PILOT, *LOVE* TOWING as a means to get to workable altitude. I *DESPISE* all the bullshit associated with mountain launches. NOBODY taught me to think that way. That was my dream ever since I got into the sport and I got into the sport when they were still towing hang gliders frame only.

Why?

Tell us, oh Holy Sole Source of Sport Aviation Truth.

Experts going for distance out of Big Springs. Okay.

I have ZERO interest in going for distance - and even less in Big Spring.

But being too lazy to find a sandy hillside to teach hang gliding is not a good excuse for killing people.

Right. Those are the only two options. Find a sandy hillside or kill someone.

Towing adds compounding elements of risk that, in my opinion, are generally unacceptable for weight-shift aircraft.

Not interested in your goddam OPINION. You're an arrogant jerk with your head three feet up your ass.

Yes, it is possible for some experts to do it right but I'm not talking about that.

How 'bout THIS:

25-23223
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3713/9655904048_89cce6423a_o.png


"expert"?

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/13864051003_a820bcf2b8_o.png


Was HE "expert" enough to do it right? Doesn't have shit to do with being an "expert". Any halfway competent and properly equipped Hang Two is expert enough to do this right.

I'm talking about what we've got - people doing it wrong.

Which, of course, NEVER happens in slope launched hang gliding.

It's been this way since the beginning of the sport.

- Well thank you so very much for all the effort you've put into to help get towing done right.
- This sport evolved from a one hundred percent towing origin.
- Bullshit. Towing was done one hundred percent from the frame until the early Eighties.

The fatality lists are filled with towing accidents.

They are so far this year. Course it only took one flight to do that.

Jean Lake is surrounded by hills and mountains.

Can't imagine why they don't fly off of those more.

Here's a photo of a paraglider who launched off one at Jean Lake.

Bullshit. Zoom in and LOOK at what's actually going on.

Looks like a great place to train a student.

What does this topic have to do with training students? We're talking about a tandem thrill ride industry fatal.

Any risk is about as low as it can get.

Unless you're counting heat stroke.

I haven't figured out this "tandem training" BS.

Yeah, I've noticed you're not real quick on the uptake.

I don't know a single person out of hundreds from my era who learned to fly by towing.

Betchya don't know a single person out of hundreds from your era who flew toplesses, called in retrievals using cell phones and GPS, recorded their flights using high resolution GoPro cameras, posted their flights on YouTube either.

Sure, if you don't have any hills, go ahead and rationalize it.

And if you're flying sailplanes you won't have any choice but to rationalize towing - regardless of what's surrounding the flats.

I'll nod my head but "You need a road trip,"...

Fuck road trips. I didn't get into this sport to do road trips. I got into it 'cause I wanted to fly and I wanna fly from as close to my driveway as I can possibly get.

...I'll be thinking.

Starting when? None of us is getting any younger.

Source: http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/photo/1b228eb3c4ea4ecdbdaa54f57ba2df8b.htm

He's STANDING ON THE ROAD. He's driven to the downwind edge of the basin for a clean wind exposure to practice KITING.

I ask myself, does U$hPa encourage towing when it is not necessary?

u$hPa encourages high revenue generating tandem thrill ride operations and doesn't give a flying fuck how operations are run.
When towing is not NECESSARY? When did hang gliding start becoming NECESSARY.

It's often part and parcel with tandem "instruction" - perhaps in the majority of cases?

In my neck of the woods there are plenty of advanced pilots who can choose to drive an hour and a half west to the mountains or an hour and a half east to the aerotow park. My educated guess is that they take the latter option the majority of the time. They're not doing that 'cause their arms are being twisted by any evil controlling forces. They're doing that 'cause it's about twenty times easier, cheaper, faster, safer to get airtime.

And this whole deal about not discussing accidents anymore...

We're discussing them here. That's pretty much the primary function here. And over here we don't have any Rooney caliber shits ordering us not to or Jack and Davis caliber shits locking down threads, deleting posts, or banning people who know what the fuck they're looking at and talking about.

Time for a new organization.

Preferably one that doesn't include you or assholes like you.

One with just recreational pilots on the Board of Directors instead of it being dominated with "instructors" out to make a middle-class living or better.

I'm pretty sure we don't have anybody of that description on our list. I'm also pretty confident that nobody of that description would be particularly welcome here.

Maybe just a bunch of people exercising their first amendment rights in pursuit of survival.

Yeah, motherfucker?

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1701
Complaints about Tad

Rick Masters - 2015/01/16 18:59:15 UTC

He has concerns about people trying to muck up the forum, but he has also dealt effectively with Tad.

Tell me a bit about First Amendment rights.

When you get too big, you become a target for lawyers.
Better to structure it as a group of loosely affiliated cells.
That the "instructor" had no business license is mentioned.
This means he took payment. For a joy ride. And killed an innocent child.

Person of a varying age. They're not called children on The Bob Show.

It doesn't get worse than this.

Watch what Bob will be able to accomplish.

This is what I have been warning over and over will destroy the U$hPa and maybe the sport, as well.

Take 'em both down. Then use that history as a model for how NOT to run aviation.

U$hPa is a "support the money" corporation.
What most of you need is a club that supports hang gliding.
We may find that towing and tandem for pay has no insurance coverage, anyway - but negligence has unlimited liability....
Best not to be associated with any of that.

Tell ya sumpin', Rick... If you're hearing about towing generating three times as many crashes as slope it's 'cause towing is generating thirty times as many launches as slope.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Merlin - 2015/04/01 14:01:07 UTC

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25321
Stop the Stupids at the USHPA BOD meeting

Mark G. Forbes - 2011/09/30 23:21:56 UTC

Here's how it really works...

What a lovely image of the U$hPa consigliere redacting accident reports.

Like the one on Terry Mason.

...Dickens couldn't write stuff that nasty.

How 'bout Sam...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1081
Platform towing /risk mitigation / accident

Sam Kellner - 2012/07/03 02:25:58 UTC

No, you don't get an accident report.

...Kellner. Tell me what the difference is. What we end up with is EXACTLY the same.

And of course delusional to think that in this day and age information can be manipulated and controlled so readily. Lawyers protecting pilots from lawyers. It's clear who the winners are in this arrangement.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25321
Stop the Stupids at the USHPA BOD meeting

Mark G. Forbes - 2011/09/29 02:26:23 UTC

We can establish rules which we think will improve pilot safety, but our attorney is right. USHPA is not in the business of keeping pilots "safe" and it can't be. Stepping into that morass is a recipe for extinction of our association. I wish it were not so, but it is. We don't sell equipment, we don't offer instruction, and we don't assure pilots that they'll be safe. Even so, we get sued periodically by people who say we "shoulda, coulda, woulda" done something that would have averted their accident.

It's not just concern for meet directors and policy makers...it's about our continued existence as an association. It's about minimizing the chance of our getting sued out of existence. We're one lawsuit away from that, all the time, and we think hard about it.

- A u$hPa operation kills a person of an extremely varying age for a blindingly obvious bit o' criminal negligence that everyone and his dog has known about...

Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974

"Never take your hands off the bar." - Tom Peghiny

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. Think about it.

...since the beginning of time.

- Tim Herr gets paid to run the cover-up and tells the u$hPa shits not to fix the problem 'cause doing so would be an admission that they knew they should've done so before and didn't.

- Another u$hPa operation kills another person of another varying age for the exact same reason.

- Tim Herr gets paid to run the cover-up and tells the u$hPa shits not to fix the problem 'cause doing so would be an admission that they knew they should've done so before and didn't...

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Scott C. Wise - 2015/04/01 16:08:27 UTC

What I'm wondering about the below info is, . . . it doesn't mention anything about truck towing. The web page text is from an outfit in Las Vegas, NV but I can't find any mention (in the media) of the company doing the truck towing.

Rick, is it known that the below company (via that web site link) was the outfit doing the truck tow tandems?

The thing that gets me in this case is the absence of an observer on the back of the truck. While it is possible to do without an observer - I wouldn't call it a good idea at all. I've done a couple hundred truck tows using the Air Time of Lubbock (or ATOL) system and we ALWAYS had a observer in the back of the truck.

How many times did he prove to be a critical factor - for the good - in an emergency situation?

And he was outfitted with a hook knife to cut the line if anything went wrong (such as an inability of the pilot to release).

- Why not just outfit the pilot with a hook knife to cut the line if anything went wrong (such as an inability of the pilot to release)? Cut out the middleman.

- So how many times did the observer you ALWAYS had in the back of the truck actually USE the hook knife to cut the line if anything went wrong (such as an inability of the pilot to release)?

- Did you also have an observer outfitted with something to fix the situation if a sidewire failed?

- Is there some good reason a glider might be sent up with a release that has a possibility of failing?

Could be that the FAA needs to step in and make SERIOUS guidelines regarding the procedures involved with ANY Part 103 Tandem Exemption flight.

Shouldn't the FAA have stepped in and done something following the 2005/09/03 tandem fatal aerotow crash at Hang Glide Chicago when 'bout every u$hPa SOP and FAA aerotowing regulation you could name was having the crap violated out of it?

Requirements such as mandatory HD recording of each flight. Mandatory in truck observers/spotters during truck towing situations. Radio communications between pilot and tow craft (truck or aero).

A release capable of actually being used in an emergency situation. Just kidding.

Of course no new regulations could be imposed and the Tandem Exemption could be pulled. Or nothing done on anybody's part and people keep dieing.

I could live with either one of those.

An emphasis needs to be made STRONGLY that tandem screw ups should NEVER happen.

Two fatal solos... No problem.

"Never" should be the mind set at least!

You seem to have managed the mindset that placebo releases are perfectly acceptable well enough.

Rick Masters - 2015/04/01 16:56:05 UTC

http://www.weaty.com/HangGliding/Hanggliding/las-vegas/first-hang-glide.html
What to Expect During Your First Tandem Hang Gliding Experience

Your hang gliding adventure is over!

see
http://krqe.com/2015/03/28/11-year-old-new-mexico-boy-dies-in-hang-gliding-accident/
11-year-old New Mexico boy dies in hang gliding accident | KRQE News 13

Scott C. Wise - 2015/04/01 17:26:55 UTC

Rick,

About those pictures you posted, . . .

The ATOL truck tow system we used back in the later 80s and early 90s looked PROFESSIONAL.

- Well yeah. Jerry Forburger is a real class act.

- So how did the release you used back in the later Eighties and early Nineties LOOK? Professional or the usual cheap crap that everyone and his dog knows will be totally useless in anything remotely resembling an emergency?

And 98% of its use was for single place (uShPa rated) HG pilots who were basically friends of the owner. No Huge reason to look professional - except maybe the "safety factor".

The Challenger LOOKED professional when it was sitting on the pad being counted down for its last launch. As I recall that proved to be fairly meaningless with regard to the "safety factor".

But the rig these guys in Nevada were using looks like a cobbled together piece of junk!

Did the rig you used back in the later Eighties and early Nineties include a simulator configuration? I'm guessing not seeing as how you were using it just for rated pilots who were basically friends of the owner.

Imagine going rafting down some river on half sunk rafts with torn life jackets and rusty paddles!

- So what do you see in those pictures analogous to half sunk rafts with torn life jackets?
- RUSTY PADDLES?

What kind of an operation was this!

What kind of cheap bullshit line of attack is this, Scott? We have ZERO indication or reason to believe that there was the slightest problem with the tow rig.

What we DO know from ALL reports, beyond any shadow of a doubt, consistent with what we'd expect and know from experience was that the glider went all the way down still connected to the towline and there hasn't been any hint of a report or suggestion that there was a malfunction of the placebo release. And none of you goddam douchebags is doing a molecule's worth of addressing that issue. So get fucked.

A tourist based business - out of Las Vegas no less - had no higher standards than that? Holy _ _ _ _

See above.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Warren Narron - 2015/04/01 17:53:13 UTC

Slow down a bit, Scott. A friend and I had an ATOL back in the 80's and they don't pay out any different and maybe not as well as a large spool homemade rig because of spool diameter physics. The ATOL has a wider drum of smaller diameter and uses a level wind to lay the rope in a pattern on the drum. A larger spool has leverage advantage to make the spool spin more consistently on payout.

A larger spool without a level wind could be more prone to stop paying out if the previous rewind was loose or sloppy but that doesn't seem to be what happened here. The rope supposedly went slack instead of locking up which is what a rope snag would produce. The launch platform on an old pickup bed doesn't make any difference.

I can't see how the rope went slack without the truck stopping first.
The question is why Kelly didn't or couldn't release before out-flying the slack?

Possibly needed two hands to fly the glider. But that's just uninformed speculation.

Where is the video card on this one? We'll probably never see it.

So many videos I'd kill to get my hands on - same ones the hang gliding industry would kill to keep me from getting my hands on.

Merlin - 2015/04/01 18:08:06 UTC

Via Tad's "archive"...

So much more accessible than Davis's.

http://www.kitestrings.org/post7111.html#p7111

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25321
Stop the Stupids at the USHPA BOD meeting

Mark G. Forbes - 2011/09/29 02:26:23 UTC

We can establish rules which we think will improve pilot safety, but our attorney is right. USHPA is not in the business of keeping pilots "safe" and it can't be. Stepping into that morass is a recipe for extinction of our association.

Well, sadly, sometimes these pilots have passengers.

No - STUDENTS. We don't have an exemption to fly PASSENGERS - just STUDENTS to be able to more safely TRAIN them. Which is really confusing given that u$hPa is not in the business of keeping pilots "safe" and it can't be.

If you are indifferent to the pilot's safety it may have further consequences.

Inconveniences.

Yes, somewhere along the way promoting safety was changed into maintaining plausible deniability. So from this perspective, Bob's adventure at Torrey is an existential threat to the organization.

Bob Kuczewski - 2015/04/01 18:12:09 UTC

I have very little experience with towing...

I have very little experience with making moon landings - but I'm as capable of understanding what went wrong with Apollo 13 as anybody else - even without using Navier-Stokes equations.

...but I think we still don't know enough to understand what happened here.

- Bullshit.

- Like you give a flying fuck. We watched a somewhat milder (just one dope on rope, just devastating brain trauma, no people of varying ages, glider came through in really good shape) version of pretty much the exact same thing happen on 2012/10/03:

Bob Buxton accident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2oeb0nNIKs
Scott Buxton - 2013/02/10
dead
[ur]http://www.kitestrings.org/post5902.html#p5902[/url]
022-04610
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/13746340634_a74b33d285_o.png


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7602/16657647309_7130c62ca9_o.png
078-05119

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1157
Accident information please.

Warren Narron - 2013/02/12 03:09:12 UTC

If he had a release that would have worked without taking his hands off the control bar, he could have saved himself.

Warren Narron - 2013/02/13 02:19:21 UTC

I'm sticking with my other comments about the obvious piece of crap release Bob was using.
If he could have released without taking his hands off the basetube, this disaster could have been averted.

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/02/13 05:15:02 UTC

I agree with you Warren. This is one of the areas where Tad is on the right track.

Fuck you. Everything you've ever done in this sport relevant to this crash has been to facilitate its happening. You bear every bit as much responsibility for crashes like Terry Mason, Bob Buxton, Zack Marzec, and this Kelly Harrison / Arys Moorhead twofer as Tim Herr, Rich Hass, Mark G. Forbes, Davis Dead-On Straub, Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney. And we can see EXACTLY just how much GENUINE concern for the safety of people of varying ages you have with this one. You didn't even acknowledge it happened until five days after impact and thirteen posts into a thread on your own dictatorship's forum.

Bill Cummings - 2013/02/12 02:24:20 UTC

Thanks Scott and Bob B. This may well save pilots from the same accident.

Yeah Bill... Right.

I got news for ya. This glider didn't slam in on tow because the release had been dragged through slush which froze iron solid at altitude and NO ONE has been moronic enough to suggest pitching out abruptly to snap the Infallible Weak Link as a possible response to this situation.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Bob Kuczewski - 2015/04/01 18:12:09 UTC

I have very little experience with towing, but I think we still don't know enough to understand what happened here.

Hey Bob...

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=17404
Aerotow barrel release - straight or curved pin?

Bob Kuczewski - 2010/05/31 06:06:35 UTC

I'm sorry, I really didn't want to derail this topic since I've never towed, and I don't know much about towing at all

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/11 16:13:44 UTC

Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 12:40 AM
To: Pagen, Dennis; Tate, Lisa
Cc: USHPA Regional Directors
Subject: Re: aerotow SOP complaint

Hello Dennis (cc Gregg and other Regional Directors),
...
Third, I'm not an expert in towing, but I consulted someone who knows the topic pretty well.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/12 06:56:36 UTC

Also, I have almost no background in towing, so I've asked a close friend to review his concerns for my own enlightenment. If anyone else on the Board with towing expertise would like to offer comments on Mr. Eareckson's points for similar enlightenment that would be appreciated by us gravity launch pilots.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/14 20:53:01 UTC

With regard to the towing content, I don't have the expertise to make any real comment since I've never towed myself. As Directors, none of us had all the skills needed for all decisions, and that's why I tried to solicit comments from everyone in my region (and everywhere else). So I'm still not qualified to go much farther in the towing content.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=607
Understanding Tow Releases

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/18 04:20:15 UTC

Hi Tad, Now that I'm living in flat land, I'd like to start understanding more about various towing and release systems (not that I'm committed to ever using them). Would you mind helping me understand them a little better?

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/18 05:25:36 UTC

Sorry about being so slow. I suppose it doesn't help that I've never even seen towing ... let alone experienced it.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/21 04:11:47 UTC

I think you know a lot more about towing than I do!!

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/22 14:16:28 UTC

I still don't know enough to pick. I don't really know you at all. I don't know towing very well - since I've never done it.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/24 16:08:00 UTC

But I'm not expert enough in the specifics of towing or training or tandems to be any help there. That's why I'm trying to bring together the experts to handle those disciplines.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/24 05:40:27 UTC

I may take a tandem towing flight there soon just to get my first taste of hang glider towing. I've towed in sailplanes before, and maybe it won't be as bad as I'm dreading. That may give me some level of practical experience to use in discussing Tad's proposals.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/26 03:36:27 UTC

If you read the Wallaby topic you'll see that I did fine and now I'm dabbling my toes in the world of towing. I've still got a lot to learn, and I appreciate the insights and questions that you've given me. Of course, I always try to do my own independent research, and that's what I'll be doing here. I hope to be doing lots of flying, but if there's some down time then I'd like to do some of the tests that you've suggested ... just for my own curiosity and interest (I'm an engineer by profession and inclination).

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/28 03:31:26 UTC

By the way, let me make it clear that I'm not ready to say that anyone's system is better than anyone else's system. Despite Tad's confidence (thanks Tad), I know that I don't know enough to say anything about towing safety.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/28 04:55:24 UTC

I'm soooo inexperienced with towing that I can't even visualize a spinnaker release at all. So I'm really a clean slate. I need to start getting more familiar with towing before I can really contribute anything worth reading.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/28 21:00:19 UTC

I am doing my objective best to understand your concerns and to understand towing in general. I appreciate your help, but I'm not going to make any decisions without doing my own research. Besides, I'm not making any decisions that affect anyone but me anyway.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=607
Understanding Tow Releases

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/31 04:11:34 UTC

I flew my first hang gliding aerotow this week (tandem at Wallaby). It was great, so now I'm stoked about learning more about towing. I picked up "Towing Aloft" by Dennis Pagen and Bill Bryden during my visit to Wallaby today. I've only spent a few hours with it, but at least I'm learning some of the terminology. I'll probably be posting questions to this topic as time goes on, and I look forward to any help you all can offer to a former foot-launch flyer.

http://www.kitestrings.org/post211.html#p211
Releases

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/31 13:45:50 UTC

I think Tad has really spent a lot of time looking into towing issues and I believe he knows an awful lot.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/31 23:55:46 UTC

I'll be bringing Pagen/Bryden "Towing Aloft" and I hope I'll know a lot more about the topic when I get back.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/04/19 08:12:27 UTC

I believe Sam is using commonly accepted towing methods which are used at many other sites as well. I don't mind if you are trying to improve the state of towing for everyone, but I don't see why you need to pick on Sam specifically.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=101
SWTHG club winch

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/05/14 04:31:39 UTC

As someone without much experience in towing, I'm surprised that your previous brake system wasn't up to the task.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=646
Failure to Hook In

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/06/09 02:39:51 UTC

Except for one tandem towing flight, all of my flying has been foot-launched.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=756
Discussion with Tad about Towing / Foot Launch

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/08/09 19:03:07 UTC

Any kind of towing puts some degree of control over my life into someone else's hands. And given my experience with people, I generally find that somewhat unsettling.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=903
The hole in Tx's arm where all the $$ goes

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/12/22 02:13:47 UTC

I especially hate to see the loss of any foot-launch sites since I've still got a queasy feeling about towing.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=929
Training Manual Comments / Contribution

Bob Kuczewski - 2012/01/13 05:30:06 UTC

With your experience, I'd really like to see you contributing to the Water Towing section of the manual.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1007
Honda Elite 250

Bob Kuczewski - 2012/04/23 17:47:10 UTC

I have very little towing experience...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1211
payout

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/02/11 16:47:22 UTC

My only towing has been a tandem aero tow, so I'm posting without much experience at all.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1259
Voting Test #1 - Hang Glider Images

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/05/07 00:52:47 UTC

That's particularly interesting, because you might imagine that I (not knowing much about towing or history) could give my "towing proxy" to Bill, and my "history proxy" to Joe...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1
Hello US Hawks!!

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/06/20 17:19:13 UTC

FYI, Bill is one of the early water tow pilots, and I'd trust his judgement in anything related to towing.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=1494
Tow winch - New, Used, Buy, Build, Type?

Bob Kuczewski - 2014/02/03 04:09 UTC

I'm sorry I don't have a lot of towing experience...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1563
Platform Launching (PL) Draft suggestions needed

Bob Kuczewski - 2014/06/08 04:14:46 UTC

My entire hang gliding towing experience consists of one tandem aero-tow at Wallaby Ranch ... where I was the passenger (thanks for the flight Malcolm). So my comments come more from an attempt to understand towing than any pretence of authority on the subject.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1638
Basement Bob

Bob Kuczewski - 2014/11/22 16:50:05 UTC

Let me add that I have very little experience with towing...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1685
Tow Patterns

Bob Kuczewski - 2015/01/08 08:40:53 UTC

You guys each know waaaaaaaayyyyyy more about towing than I do...

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1794
Davis, minor infraction of ozreport tos noted

Bob Kuczewski - 2015/03/29 00:30:04 UTC

I think the cameras are a great addition, but I would personally still want an extra observer anyway. But then I'm still fairly chicken about towing in general, so that might be overkill.

Use the word "towing" in a sentence without saying something about your lack of experience, competence, understanding, comfort regarding it.

This is TOTALLY analogous to the "I'm not a scientist." bullshit we hear from all the douchebag Republican politicians struggling to not acknowledge and do a goddam thing about global warming while the planet starts roasting. When I did my - "bobk" "towing" - searches I was expecting to find four or five of these but this is absolutely mind-blowing.

Interesting how these patterns emerge when the searches strip away the camouflage. Everybody remember the "Homosexual Relationship With A 12 Year Old Boy" spam?

"I have very little experience with towing" so I'm open to considering everyone's opinions on the issues. And won't ever hafta take a principled stand on two plus two equals four and thus alienate 95 percent of my support base.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=802
AL's Second flight at Packsaddle how it went

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/10/23 16:29:29 UTC

As for Nobody's request for me to read a document, I haven't found the time yet. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to read everything that everyone asks me to read.

...but I've got infinite time to write tens of thousands "I have very little experience with towing" posts and spin them in such a manner that whomever I'm scamming at any given moment leaves with the impression that I'm taking a stand on his side.

I hope that when somebody finally shoots you it'll be in the chest or back so we can find out what kind of wiring you have in your head that locks you into strategies like these.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Bob Kuczewski - 2015/04/01 18:12:09 UTC

I have very little experience with towing, but I think we still don't know enough to understand what happened here.

What concerns me...

...in addition, of course, to any situation in which T** at K*** S****** has the potential to communicate with people of varying ages...

...(as others have pointed out) is that given USHPA's willingness to suppress information, we might never really know what happened here.

Yeah...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

William Olive - 2013/02/27 20:55:06 UTC

Like the rest of us, you have no idea what really happened on that tow.
We probably never will know.

Jim Rooney - 2013/02/28 01:17:55 UTC

Well said Billo
I'm a bit sick of all the armchair experts telling me how my friend died.

Ah but hg'ers get so uppity when you tell them not to speculate.

Right. We ALREADY know EVERYTHING we really need to about this one - despite the best efforts of the local and national cover-up machinery.

- Routine tourist thrill ride, totally benign meteorological conditions.

- Driver screws the pooch and puts the glider into a lockout.

- Industry Standard Release within easy reach proves - once again - just as useful as the Industry Standard:
-- Focal Point Of The Safe Towing System
-- Hook Knife Sheathed Within Easy Reach and its Safety Lanyard

The sport of hang gliding needs an independent review mechanism...

Right here - motherfucker. You can't get much more independent than a blacklisted former member with a lot of scores to settle and frothing with hatred.

...and Scott's point makes it clear that USHPA doesn't have the impartiality to provide it.

Duh.

Scott C. Wise - 2015/04/01 18:22:49 UTC

Free,

I understand that the mechanism may have worked fine. Like my example of the rafting adventure, yea the rafts float, the life preservers will preserve your life, and the rusty paddles will paddle the rafts, . . .

BUT could one or all of those "slightly off" features of the equipment contribute to an accident?

You don't get impacts like THIS:

KSNV-CNN-1-1916
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5788/23461251751_e98b9c7500_o.png


because a handful of things are "slightly off". If you wanna make a case otherwise then cite some precedents.

Compare that to a well researched, developed and maintained professional product.

Show me a photo of a well researched, developed, and maintained professional release for ANY flavor of towing produced and available in the US.

[Note : I have since seen some pictures that appear to be closer up shots of the "tow trailer" rig.

Stills harvested and posted by T** at K*** S****** perchance? You're welcome. Good thing you're not a person of a varying age under eighteen because Bob doesn't recommend K*** S****** for people of varying ages under eighteen. He's very passionate about the safety of people of varying ages when the varying age is under eighteen - and over eleven.

In those pictures the details of the set-up seem more professional. The from-a-distance shots, not so much.]

Well, really though, Scott... It's the low resolution distance stuff that you wanna us to make your judgments of stuff.

On a new point - The tandem pilot was 55 years old.

An age varying from the age of his "STUDENT" by a factor of five. K*** S****** would probably been a safe place for HIM to visit.

I had my first heart attack (very mild luckily!) when I was 54.

Well crap! He was a year overdue.

I hope they do an autopsy on the pilot to be sure things didn't "go wrong" because he was having a serious heart related event.

DAMN! That's probably why he didn't make the easy reach to his Industry Standard release just as the towline snapped tight and sideways! I think you nailed this one Scott! I'm just not seeing any other explanations that could make sense.

That would involve the kind of situation where there's not much that could have been done.

Well obviously. The tandem skydiving instructors don't teach their students how to make the easy reaches to their Industry Standard releases until Lesson Fifteen. That's a maneuver that requires pretty high levels of skill, judgment, confidence, courage.

Except perhaps the ability (through education) of the tandem pilot to recognize early symptoms.

Of a heart attack or lockout? You must mean heart attack 'cause there's really nothing you can do about a lockout with an Industry Standard release once you've...

Bill Bryden - 2000/02

The rapidity of the lockout was absolutely stunning to those observing the event. The glider went from being banked approximately 25 degrees and angled roughly 45 degrees to the towline, to being rolled over and pointed down in less than two to three seconds after the rollover.

Dennis Pagen informed me several years ago about an aerotow lockout that he experienced. One moment he was correcting a bit of alignment with the tug and the next moment he was nearly upside down. He was stunned at the rapidity. I have heard similar stories from two other aerotow pilots.

...recognized its early symptoms - unless, of course, you're an observer with a hook knife on the back of the truck.

With video on board the wing (has this actually been confirmed?)...

It was a commercial tandem thrill ride. What do ya think? Where do bears shit?

...there are lots of things that can be better understood.

And it sure is a good thing that you're over there on The Bob Show leading people through the discussion and helping Bob keep it a safe place for people of varying ages to visit.

Gawd! Will you look at that zebra carcass! Hardly enough left for the vultures. I wonder what happened. Probably a polar bear that escaped from the zoo in Nairobi.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Rick Masters - 2015/04/01 18:45:14 UTC

I remember getting pretty excited about ATOL when it first came out, mostly because of the clean air it presented the wing and the constant tension pay-out (for safety)...

Well yeah, as long as that tension's constant...

022-04610
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/13746340634_a74b33d285_o.png


...you can rest assured that everything's safe for the glider. It's not like you can have a safe tow with tension varying in response to what's actually going on back there.

...but also because we were plagued by snaggy little bushes in our area and ATOL could do away with the tow line coming in contact with the ground if you did it right.

What does a dumb fuck like you know or care about doing anything right?

As for looking pretty, well-maintained equipment is the priority, looking good comes in second.

Competent crew is a distant third.

Still, at the time I did not yet appreciate the complexity that towing with weight shift presented.

Definitely more than towing without weight shift.

27-41810
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5579/14820212815_4a9087727f_o.png


Keep It Simple...

32-42004
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3842/14633550919_57af1df255_o.png


...Stupid.

Nor did I realize how much luck was in play for a lot of hang glider pilots experimenting with towing...

Tell me about some of the "EXPERIMENTS" these "PILOTS" were performing. What were some of the unexpected and unpredictable results? What changes were made in towing equipment and procedures after the experimental data was analyzed?

Also cite me a tow that was pulled off or crashed because of LUCK where issues of COMPETENCE had no bearing.

...since I was too...

...much of a useless douchebag...

...cautious to try it myself.

When I was coming up I JUMPED on every opportunity to broaden my range of experience.

I was out at El Mirage on a disappointing, low wind day with my sailcar. Bill Bennett's group was giving tows when Trip Mellinger showed up.

That's a promising foot launch pilot name.

They offered him a tow in their new wing. I don't remember what it was but it was years after Trip had made a name for himself flying north from Cerro Gordo with Gene Blythe on Pheonix...

Phoenix.

...6Bs and he mentioned he hadn't flown in a year. Well, this was an obvious recipe for disaster: New wing, unfamiliar harness...

...low wind...

...and maybe little or no towing experience.

Not to mention Bill Bennett.

He ran and got off okay...

Good thing he didn't have the complexity of a launch cart to deal with.

...then flew up to maybe 300 feet but he didn't release.

Probably had a heart attack.

The truck saw that he was flying okay and slowed down, and the tow line hung down from Trip's glider in a big arc. Then he did the most unbelievable thing. With the truck still heading west, he executed a 180 and flew away from it, still attached to the tow line. I was expecting the line to snap taut and tumble the glider, but at the last moment, he turned back and came down and landed by the truck, none-too-happy, if I remember correctly.

I know I'd certainly be pissed if I were just minding my own business and something like that happened to me.

Maybe he knew what he was doing and maybe he didn't.

Well fuck. Years before he'd made a name for himself flying north from Cerro Gordo with Gene Blythe on Pheonix 6Bs, mentioned he hadn't flown in a year, and maybe had little or no towing experience. He OBVIOUSLY knew what he was doing! Ya think somebody who didn't know what he was doing would do something like that?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bRrpHNa68iY/UQ6Pv9gRZyI/AAAAAAAAjTg/Hc22bx5122Q/s2048/20943781_BG1.jpg

That was when I determined to never tow.

I know exactly what you mean, brother. After watching THIS:

46-45901
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2937/14081080220_373f64f01d_o.png


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2927/14265574802_83acde7de2_o.png
52-51719

...happen at AJX I determined to never land at a Happy Acres putting green. If I can't find a narrow dry riverbed with large rocks strewn all over the place I don't come down.

There was just too much stuff going on and I had mountains in my backyard, so what was the point?

Fuckin' asshole.

[Tad Eareckson]

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Brian Scharp - 2015/04/01 19:14:03 UTC

Scott C. Wise - 2015/04/01 18:22:49 UTC

With video on board the wing (has this actually been confirmed?) there are lots of things that can be better understood.

If a video exists I'm sure we'll all get a chance to review it after the investigation is through. Just kidding.

Rick Masters - 2015/04/01 20:01:08 UTC

Generally, investigations of fatal hang glider accidents are pretty straight forward.

It's always the cover-up that's convoluted, tedious, time consuming.

The "unknowns" can often be determined by the outcome. Structural failure indicates aerobatics or towing.

Get fucked, Rick. There hasn't been a glider slightly bent by tow forces since the days of bamboo.

Nose-down crashes indicate stall...

Bullshit. Stalls are totally benign.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1563
Platform Launching (PL) Draft suggestions needed

Bob Kuczewski - 2014/06/06 17:21:51 UTC

I also like that this discussion emphasizes that breaking a weak link is something that can be practiced - just like we practice stalls - so we understand how to handle them and to not be afraid of them. I had a terrifying stall experience with my instructor when I was learning to fly airplanes back in the 70s. For a long time I feared getting close to stall. As long as I feared stalls, I was not spending much time getting comfortable with them, and that didn't make me a better pilot. So there's a lot to be said for safely learning to handle the inevitable rather than trying to come up with some way to avoid the inevitable.
Nice job Bill !!!!

And you don't get to let this motherfucker get away with statements like that and maintain any pretense of integrity whatsoever.

...or lock-out.

And the only way you can have a lockout in a tow operation is if you're stupid and arrogant enough to be using a Tad-O-Link.

No glider nearby indicates failure to hook in.

Bullshit. It's PROOF of a recently terminated career of never doing hook-in checks.

No glider, no harness: failure to step into leg straps.

Highly likely a recently terminated career of never doing hook-in checks.

Two gliders: midair.

At least one of which was violating right of way protocols.

Broken tubing indicates the angle of impact.

Fatality at aerotow park: Invisible Dust Devil.

Etc. It's not real complicated. After a few years of flying, any of us become qualified to evaluate and discuss an accident. Jose from U$hPa may be some designated "expert,"...

I'm gonna be dealing with that motherfucker.

...but that doesn't mean he can see things any more clearly than we do. I mean, we're only dealing with a short list of parts. It's not a Boeing 747.

It's seldom rocket science to tell what went wrong with the 747.

But people in paragliding have this innate reaction to all fatal accidents: "Let's wait and see." "Wait until the investigation report." "Let's not speculate."

Why is this? I'll tell you why. Paragliders collapse in turbulence and kill their pilots. They all know this. This is the elephant in the room. Over 1,300 global fatalities, most since 2002. There is no fix.

Safer weak links.

Do you think it took anywhere near 13 years for hang gliding to fix divergence?

How long did it take hang gliding to start fixing the standard aerotow weak link and what did it take to make it start fixing it?

What more evidence do you need that paragliding has a problem that can't be solved?

At the PG death scene, you find only a dead body and a soaring parachute in perfect condition. How often do you hear, "He was flying a paraglider and his luck ran out in the PDMC."?

'Bout as often as you hear about the:

- release within easy reach after a lockout fatality - along with any mention of the standard aerotow weak link not working when it was supposed to

- u$hPa hook-in check regulation after an unhooked launch fatality

No, it's always the "freak gust of wind" boogeyman.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Paul Tjaden - 2013/02/07

Beyond these facts anything else would be pure speculation. I have personally had numerous weak link breaks on tow, both low and high, after hitting turbulence and have never felt in danger of a tumble. I have witnessed countless others have weak link breaks with no serious problems. We train aero tow pilots how to handle this situation and I am certain that Zach had also encountered this situation many times before and knew how to react properly. Apparently, Zach simply hit strong low level turbulence, probably a dust devil that could not be seen due to the lack of dust in Florida, the nose went too high and he tumbled at a very low altitude.

It wasn't the pilot's fault. The boogeyman got 'em. "Hey kid, wanna used paraglider, cheap?"

So now you guys have a BOD packed with paraglider pilots and joyride profiteers masquerading as "instructors." Then you have a fatal tandem joyride hang glider crash on tow with witnesses. Everything's real obvious. And what does the Board say?

What do you expect them to say? "Let's wait and see." "Wait until the investigation report." "Let's not speculate."

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Jim Rooney - 2013/02/28 01:17:55 UTC

Well said Billo
I'm a bit sick of all the armchair experts telling me how my friend died.

Ah but hg'ers get so uppity when you tell them not to speculate.

To a fuckin' T.

Don't you get it? This should send chills down your spine. That's all they can do. And they're screwing over your sport. It used to be about flying. Now it's about income. No more honesty. No more safety consciousness.

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/03/09 02:33:49 UTC

This is going to sound cold, but I believe people have a right to make their own choices. I don't want a "nanny state" where anyone is telling me what I can and can't do ... for my own good. The sport of hang gliding would surely not exist if that thinking were carried to its logical extreme. There's something bred into all living things that urges them toward taking some degree of risk in their lives. Those who want to forbid that risk are essentially snuffing out the human spirit itself. I can't support that. I do support information. I support good information. I support exposing bad information. But I don't support dictating what anyone can or can't do. The fundamental principle of economics (and evolution) is two words: "people choose".

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1802
Jean Lake

Bob Kuczewski - 2015/04/01 18:12:09 UTC

I have very little experience with towing...

Hide. Obfuscate. Delay. Wait. Build a bulwark against the world with lawyers. Don't threaten the money.

We've got to stop this. It's way beyond out of control. You are going to lose your sport if you keep this up.

Mine was gone in 1981 when the sport started gobbling up Donnell's Infallible Weak Link / Reliable Release insanity.

Parachuting and hang gliding don't mix. Run, don't walk, away.

Brian Scharp - 2015/04/01 21:34:13 UTC

If paraglider pilots are responsible for that behavior they've succeeded in brainwashing HG pilots.

ACTUAL *PILOTS* can't be brainwashed.

Hang glider pilots are doing this on a hang glider forum all by themselves. Just go to the org. and see how some are outraged at even suggesting HGs crash let alone having any discussion about why.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=14312
Tow Park accidents

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

When it's fatal there is always the call for "Let's not speculate" and "Wait until the investigation report."

Scott C. Wise - 2015/04/02 00:31:39 UTC

Speculation is a terrific tool. Given a particular situation - where not all facts are known - different scenarios can be played out.

They can be played out WHEN the facts are known beyond any doubt and dispute. Nobody ever got scratched playing "what if".

They may or may not include the "real" situation, but they make us THINK just the same. And that thought is about "What could have been done differently in this situation, or in that situation?".

Release that didn't stink on ice? Just kidding.

It all makes us THINK about safety related topics/scenarios.

Those of "US" *CAPABLE* of thinking anyway - SCOTT.

If the u$hPa is encouraging pilots to NOT consider all sorts of safety related issues (connected with SPECULATION!) then they are encouraging IGNORANCE.

Big fuckin' surprise.

This slippery slope...

It's not a slippery slope - it's a cliff.

...leads to the USHPA promoting UNSAFE flight behavior. Oh wait! Attacking Bob K instead of going after Air California Adventure Inc? Hmmmmmm, . . .

The future is already here! . . . .

The future was here for T** at K*** S****** in 2008 - but none of you motherfuckers gave a rat's ass - Bob Show Fake Board of Directors member.

Warren Narron - 2015/04/02 01:18:50 UTC

This again makes an irrelevant issue of Harrison not having a BLM permit.
More significant is that USHPA did not return the reporter's call.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/hang-gliding-instructor-had-no-permit-fatal-crash-blm-says
Hang gliding instructor had no permit in fatal crash, BLM says | Las Vegas Review-Journal

2015/03/31 23:22 UTC - posted
2015/04/01 00:31 UTC - updated

Ricardo Torres

A hang gliding instructor killed along with an 11-year-old boy in a crash near Jean on Friday did not have a permit to operate on the federal land where the aircraft went down, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

John Kelly Harrison, 55, of Kameula, Hawaii, and owner of Las Vegas Hang Gliding, died in a dry lake bed about 30 miles south of Las Vegas. Arys Moorhead, 11, of Farmington, N.M., died while being driven for help.

Special recreation permits are required for commercial use on federal land, according to the BLM.

"This company did not have one," BLM spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon said Tuesday.

Applicants for permits must supply operation plans and maps, Cannon said. If the land falls in more than one federal jurisdiction, applicants must apply to multiple agencies.

Depending on the activity, applicants are required to meet with a BLM outdoor planner, Cannon said. Some permits also require licensing or insurance.

Las Vegas Hang Gliding was not licensed in Las Vegas or Clark County, records show.

Harrison’s company was registered as a Nevada limited liability company LLC in January, according to secretary of state's office.

A New Mexico family had booked a hang gliding lesson with Harrison on Friday. Arys was the most excited in the group, police said, so he went first.

The boy and Harrison were riding side by side in the glider, which was being pulled by a trailer behind a pickup, when the truck made an abrupt turn. The glider crashed, killing Harrison. The boy's family drove him toward Las Vegas for medical attention and stopped along Interstate 15 to seek help from a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper, but it was too late.

Arys died near Sloan Drive, about 10 miles from where the glider went down.

Metro's fatal traffic unit investigated since the deaths involved a motor vehicle, police said. The Federal Aviation Administration initially assisted but its role was limited since the aircraft was not motorized or registered with the agency.

The police investigation was still active Tuesday, Metro spokeswoman officer Laura Meltzer said. The pickup driver has not been charged.

Police said Friday the driver of the truck thought the tether had been released, as is usually done by the person in the glider.

Harrison was the sole proprietor of Las Vegas Hang Gliding, Metro and the BLM said.

Hang gliding is self-regulated by the U.S. Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association, according to the organization's website. The site did not include listings for Harrison and Las Vegas Hang Gliding.

It did at the time of the crash. (Should've saved the page.) Nevada is now totally devoid of hang gliding instructors. Four tandem paraglider instructors though!

A voice message to the U.S. Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association was not returned Tuesday afternoon.

Some of us who have nothing left to lose could respond on u$hPa's behalf. And I'm totally fucking serious about that.

Harrison said on his company website that he offered hang gliding lessons and that he had earned a master hang gliding rating. He said he had 35 years of experience in the sport.

None of which did him or his skydiving student a milligram's worth of good when the shit hit the fan and his release was within easy reach.

Contact Ricardo Torres at e rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381.

I think that's a first rate idea. And we should probably do it fairly soon.

Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites

Brian Scharp - 2015/04/02 01:21:53 UTC

Free is faster.

Warren Narron - 2015/04/02 01:56:02 UTC

Scott C. Wise - 2015/04/02 00:31:39 UTC

Speculation is a terrific tool.

The video would be a much better tool. I'm speculating there is one.

That's disgusting and you need to stop.

Tim Herr will probably be releasing it any day now.

And there was a lot of frost on the grass in hell this morning.

More speculation: The rope slack -lack of tension-

Lack of PRESSURE.

...likely had to be from not enough brake pressure dialed up on the spool.The only other way I can think of was that the truck stopped first and I doubt that.

The glider blasted off the cart and started mushing from lack of rope tension.
The driver tried to fix it by...

Giving it the rope. Fixes anything and everything that's going on back there.

...speeding up and cranking the brake pressure up on the drum/spool.
The slack caught up to a glider that was likely nose high and crooked.
A very quick lockout low to the ground ensued.

Then what?