http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2266
Nuno Fontes - Hang Gliding Towing Accident.
André Rebelo - 2006/05/12 17:32:46 UTC
Hi to all,
Nuno Fontes is a Portuguese Scientist working in USA. This last weekend He had a terrible accident in Hang Gliding (USA), Towing(?), Is girlfriend don't know much about the accident.
Does anyone know the exact conditions of the accident? The Portuguese Hangliding community and friends iare eager to know further from Nuno.
Thanks in advance for any info.
Christian Williams - 2006/05/12 20:16:27 UTC
You might ask Patrick Denevan, who signed him off as a Hang 4 last year. He may have heard something.
Chris Valley - 2006/05/13 03:22:08 UTC
San Mateo
Out of respect for Nuno, please read the personal message I sent you. I've included a local contact who was at the site when the incident happened this past Saturday. Nuno survived and has the support of the Bay Area flying community... He'll be happy to hear from you.
And exactly what does that support get him, Chris?
Davis Straub - 2006/05/15 01:48:58 UTC
I'm interested in how such an accident could occur.
- What ACCIDENT?
- Why? So you can thwart any effort anyone makes to keep a similar from replaying two months from now?
How experienced was the scooter tow operator?
Experienced enough to have made a good decision for Nuno in the interest of his safety.
Were they using a pulley? How big was the engine size for the scooter?
Towing Aloft - 1998/01
A weak link is the focal point of a safe towing system.
Speed controlled towing is when the speed of the device doing the towing is maintained at a reasonably constant value. Controls, such as throttle, are used to keep the speed of the tow vehicle or tow winch operating at a constant speed. Towline tension can vary dramatically in response to thermals, sink, pilot corrections, etc. Aerotowing is clearly in this category as the tug needs to maintain a minimum speed to prevent stalling. Many of the early towing efforts of the '70s where the vehicle drove at a fixed speed would also fall into this category. Weak links very clearly will provide protection from excessive angles of attack, high bank turns and the like for this form of towing.
Aren't you gonna ask why he was using a stronglink which failed to provide protection from excessive angles of attack, high bank turns and the like for this form of towing?
Why didn't the operator back off on the throttle at the first sign of a lock out?
He actually made a MUCH better decision for Nuno in the interest of his safety. He instantly, totally, and irrevocably eliminated the tension altogether. Couple problems though...
- Not every problem on tow is a lockout.
- Not every problem on tow - INCLUDING LOCKOUTS - can be mitigated by a reduction in tension. (Talk to Bill Bennett and Mike Del Signore about that one.)
How often have they done this? How often have they towed at this site? Were they towing into the wind? What kind of bridle? How experienced was the pilot at scooter towing?
Sometimes a pilot gets himself, is put, or finds himself in a situation in which his experience and skill won't be much of a factor. Sometimes it's all up to the guy with his hand on the throttle.
James Harris - 2006/05/16 03:30:52 UTC
Nuno is a great guy! ...always very positive and friendly.
SF Bay Area pilots are all wishing him a full and speedy recovery!!
Don't hold your breath.
Steve R - 2006/05/19 13:51:41 UTC
I was not at the scene, but very briefly from talking to Nuno at the hospital:
He had too high angle of attack soon after launch, started a lock out at around 70 feet and tried to fix the situation rather than release.
Lesson: Don't hesitate to release when down low.
Yeah, right. No matter which end of the rope you're on.
Davis Straub - 2006/05/20 03:17:35 UTC
Why didn't the scooter tow operator drop the pressure?
He DID drop the PRESSURE, Davis. He REALLY dropped the PRESSURE.
And are you thinking about WHY Nuno wasn't releasing? Or is it just beyond your range of comprehension to envision somebody being able to actuate a hang gliding release when he really needs to?
http://ozreport.com/pub/fingerlakesaccident.shtml
Fingerlakes accident
http://ozreport.com/pub/images/fingerlakesaccident2.jpg
http://ozreport.com/pub/images/fingerlakesaccident3.jpg
http://ozreport.com/10.124
Weaklink Break
Steve R - 2006/05/20 05:41:23 UTC
Like I said, I wasn't there, so I don't have the details. Just wanted to give a brief overview.
You do ask a lot of important questions that should be addressed so we can all learn from this unfortunate event.
Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974
"A bad flyer won't hurt a pin man but a bad pin man can kill a flyer." - Bill Bennett
"The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release." - Richard Johnson
That do it for ya, Steve?
I hope someone will put a full report together.
Oh yeah, if someone does that I'm absolutely CERTAIN that we'll all learn from this unfortunate event. Just like we've learned from the all the other unfortunate events just like it.
Nuno Fontes - 2006/05/26 16:12:26 UTC
Dear friends,
I'll be brief because the minutes pain allows me to relax and have enough patience for a one-handed e-mail, are scarce.
I want to thank you all for the immense support you've been giving me.
The accident:
I had flown an hour before (2006/05/06), having no problems then.
The first of three mistakes was not having perceived a wind change in direction, because we were towing on the lee side of some thousand foot mountains. On the accident flight there was a very pronounced direction and speed gradient, hard to observe due to the absence of clouds.
The second mistake was taking off with a stalled glider and not correcting it in the first few seconds. I got to about a hundred feet and the glider was completely veered to the left due to the strong crosswinds from the right.
The third mistake was not releasing immediately. What made me hesitate and not disconnect was having the right wing way up and being stalled, very low. I had the feeling I was going to be catapulted backwards if I released and a clear notion I was going to hit dirt in a tailwind.
Another problem was that we didn't leave any room behind and next to the takeoff point. We were surrounded by rocky hills, and fences and where I was heading and way down below was an unlandable pit.
Of all options, the best seemed to be resisting the lockout and slowly bringing the glider down, even if it was crooked, but another problem arose when the observer had the line cut at about fifty feet.
I had no chance. The glider that was still hanging on like a kite dead leafed to the ground. The left leading edge hit first and was destroyed along with the nose plates.
My body's impact point was the left shoulder and the left side of my head and neck.
I remained unconscious for about twenty minutes with a face bloody from what poured from my nose. The chopper arrived about an hour after the crash. I was already semiconscious but in a lot of pain and having trouble breathing. I was hauled to Stanford - about half an hour flight time.
The toll:
fracture and crushing of the upper humerus;
several broken ribs, one having pierced and collapsed a lung;
broken C1 vertebra right by the artery.
They considered surgery, but the no-surgery risk was lower than otherwise - they feared a chip would rupture the artery.
They put in a chest-tube to drain out the lung. I had it for six days. The bleeding stopped but air was still trapped. 48 hours later most of it got out and they decided to remove it. I'm not going to describe that because it's way too graphic. Then they realized I still had some air in and they kept me on oxygen for a long time, right up to the day before I left the hospital.
I only had surgery ten days after I got in. It took six hours and they installed a plate with about twelve screws. The humerus articulation was shattered to little pieces due to the force of impact and having a custom titanium one made in a rush was no option so they tidied it up and linked it to the shoulder as best they could. Besides, it had another fracture below.
Because of this I'll have a limited range of motion of the left arm and hang gliding will be out for a few years (until the implant of a synthetic bone) because at best I'll be able to move my arm as far up as parallel to the ground.
I had a good post-op recovery but am in a lot of pain and fighting it with powerful narcotics, which are a big trip and clog my bowel.
I'm very happy to be home. The hospital routine was awful. My good arm (the right one) has over twenty stings for IV's, serums, medication, two blood transfusions, many analysis, and so on.
All in all, it was fifteen days in a hospital that are going to be tough to forget.
I'm a lot better at home, but pain goes on.
I'll be in physical therapy for several months but if my neck welds well enough and the x-rays are looking good I might be able to get back to work in some six to eight weeks.
I'll take a break in flying for a good many years. Sailplanes may be an option in a few years. Hang gliding will be a dream for some day, maybe many years away.
Despite these limitations, I'm so happy to be alive, walking on my feet, and having good recovery prospects that I look forward with an immense joy. Of course I'll miss flying, a lot, but these accidents give you a lot of perspective on life and what is really worthwhile.
I've got a lot of work to do. I'll take up a postgraduate MBA that will take all my weekends up for three years. I'll scrounge up a few bucks so I can go back to Portugal in a few years and, who knows, buy one of those 1:50 ultralight gliders.
The 'brief' e-mail is already long.
You be well and have great flights, but be extremely careful, because what I went and am going through is not pleasant.
Miss you all a lot, and maybe in September I'll go to Portugal. I'd love to watch you guys fly at Salgado or Arrabida!!!
Yours, always a friend,
Nuno
Jim Rooney - 2006/05/28 01:07:07 UTC
Let your friend know that our thoughts and prayers are with him.
http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links
Jim Rooney - 2007/08/01
Whatever's going on back there, I can fix it by giving you the rope.
It's more of this crappy argument that being on tow is somehow safer than being off tow.
And note the dates. Under fifteen months between some anonymous asshole making a good decision in the interest of Nuno's safety and God's Special Little Messenger reaffirming his intention to make a good decision in the interest of any pilot's safety whenever he feels like it.
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?
Jim Rooney - 2011/08/31 09:25:57 UTC
"I had to land"... boo hoo.
Oh, I thought of an other one... I smashed into the earth after my weaklink let go cuz I fly as badly as I tow, and I'm only still here cuz my weaklink didn't let me pile in harder.
Yeah, Jim. This guy deserved everything he got 'cause he flies as crappy as he tows - especially with no airspeed.
And who the hell is this Patrick Denevan guy and what's he doing signing a Four for someone who flies as crappy as he tows?
Jim Rooney - 2011/08/31 09:25:57 UTC
Oh how many times I have to hear this stuff.
I've had these exact same arguments for years and years and years.
Nothing about them changes except the new faces spouting them.
It's the same as arguing with the rookie suffering from intermediate syndrome.
They've already made up their mind and only hear that which supports their opinion.
Only later, when we're visiting them in the hospital can they begin to hear what we've told them all along.
Did:
- you:
-- visit this guy in the hospital?
-- tell him:
--- "Boo hoo. You had to land."?
--- that he smashed into the earth after his driver let go cuz he flies as badly as he tows, and he's only still here cuz his driver didn't let him pile in harder?
- he begin to hear what you've been telling him all along?
Or had he already made up his mind and was only listening to that and looking at the X-rays which supported his opinions?
Did you:
- tell him what an asshole he was for using a stronglink which held beyond the point at which he got into too much trouble and forced his driver to make a good decision in the interest of his safety?
- ever get any feedback on how much good "OUR" thoughts and prayers did him?
Is he still in "OUR" thoughts and are "OUR" prayers still with him? Anybody checked to see how he's been doing lately?
Your anecdotal opinion is supposed to sway me?
Fuck no.
So did any of you pressure dropping, well wishing, praying, hang gliding community assholes have any comments on the conduct of the winch driver? Just kidding.
