http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=28305
Bob Buxton Truck Tow Accident Video
Scott Buxton (I Soar AZ) - 2013/02/10 10:17:16 UTC
Phoenix - K9BUX
Hello,
I am posting this for my Dad, Bob Buxton. My Dad wants to make the video of his truck towing accident on (10-3-12)...
Crap. I've had the date 2012/10/04 based on:
http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1157
Accident information please.
Bill Cummings - 2012/10/04 22:21:40 UTC
I got a call a few minutes ago and was told a pilot by the name of Bob Buxton had an accident while PL towing near Phoenix AZ .
Guess the news wasn't quite as fresh as I was assuming. Now the time stamps from the AZHPA forum posts are making a lot more sense. Had to go back and do a few zillion edits.
...public so that others may learn from his mistake.
- OK, people of varying ages... When you're doing a platform tow launch you want the bridle OVER the basetube. Everybody clear on that?
- Mistake? Singular? He's airborne for ten seconds, slams in and mushes is brain still on tow, and he only made ONE mistake?
The cause of the accident...
The cause of the what?
...was tow line was hook up over the control bar. Pilot error.
Certainly nothing to do with the rig owner, driver, spotter. Nobody else involved in that operation had ANY responsibility whatsoever to check that the glider was in reasonably good shape before the gas was hit?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2oeb0nNIKs
Bob Buxton accident
Spotter - 0:27
He said he's ready. Let's go. Thirty-five.
Just "Pilot error." Doesn't that tend to limit the educational value of this video just a bit? No wait...
Glenn Zapien
Always a student.
I forgot. In hang gliding we're all always students. None of us are ever INSTRUCTORS - 'cept, of course, for Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney and Ryan Instant-Hands-Free-Release Voight.
Bob has been Hang gliding 38 years incident free.
Oh. So in 38 years he's never skipped a hook-in check before running off a ramp or blown a stunt landing and bowed a downtube? Really remarkable record.
Mostly mountain flying. He has truck towed a handful of times. He knew the tow line was post to go under the base bar.
And I see that he taught you the value of making sure to always get everything right.
Just made a mistake hooking it up.
No mistake whatsoever regarding what he was hooking it up to - a typical truck tow release.
Bob wants everyone to know he takes full responsibility for the incident and there is no one to blame but himself.
- Fuck that. The entire culture is to blame for bullshit like this.
- So twelve days ago we had:
http://azhpa.org/forums/topic/bob-buxton-updated-1-28-13/
Bob Buxton (Updated 1-28-13)
Scott Buxton - 2013/01/29 00:59
Update mom wrote
I have been praying that the Drs at HealthSouth would have the wisdom to have Bob sent back to St Josephs due to his significant decline in function and was on my way over there to discuss this with his Dr. And got a call from HealthSouth that they were sending Bob to St Josephs ER just as I prayed for that as I entered the freeway which is the way I would go to st Josephs. We have an awsome God who answers prayers. Will keep you posted on status.
Bob's cerebral hematoma showed larger on CT. They decided to intubate him in ER. They are working on him now. Please pray.
Bob is still in ER, they are drilling a hole in his skull to drain off the blood right here. I just prayed with the protestant chaplain and feel peace that he will be OK.
But now we know that Bob wants everyone to know he takes full responsibility for the incident and there is no one to blame but himself. I gotta start trying some of these prayers. (A bit odd that we still haven't heard anything about his miraculous full recovery and return to the sport.)
What we can learn from this accident is have a checklist, go through the checklist and make sure everything is good to go before take off and flying.
Yeah? Took him three seconds to blow his Industry Standard release at max altitude on the evening of 2012/05/08. And we all know that we can use our razor-sharp cutting tool to slash through our lines in an instant. So isn't that something we should all learn? In a critical situation like that don't worry about having to replace all your lines. Just go for the fastest and most effective way possible to abort the tow.
Not just truck towing. Have a checklist and go through it every time you fly.
- Ya hear that, Greg? Clip your nine page checklist to your nose and then you can safely skip the hook-in check every time.
- Bullshit:
-- Checklists aren't:
--- being used any more - or less - now than they were on and before 2012/10/03
--- really great solutions to the actual problems we have in hang gliding - like the ones we had in this one
- The better solution is to know what the fuck you're doing and what serious threats need looking for above chickenshit issues / distractions like buckled helmets and locked carabiners.
Bob is still recovering at health south Rehab Facility in Glendale, AZ.
I doubt it. I think he was recovering until:
Scott Buxton - 2013/01/16 22:35
Dad, had a fall out of bed at 4 am, Hitting head on floor. Had severe headache. He has been transferred by ambulance from West valley hospital to St josephs hospital. CT scan show bleeding in brain, they increased the shunt pressure and hope that takes care of it. They will do a repeat CT scan at 4 pm. If all goes well should be here a couple days. Please keep praying for him.
After that no more positive or even really hopeful posts. No more posts period. Scott appears one more time on The Jack Show outside of this thread - 2013/04/19 14:22:51 UTC. God pretty obviously stopped coming through for this family and the hang gliding community. Must've been otherwise operating in mysterious ways.
Bob suffered a severe head injury (bleeding on the brain) He still has a long road ahead of him in recovering. Bob wants to say thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.
Fuck the prayers and we needed the thoughts DECADES BEFORE the incident. And after a handful of subsequent idiot towing fatalities we're still not getting much.
So now that he's all better and flying again he's decided for some unannounced reason that he DOESN'T want to make the video of his truck towing accident on (10-3-12) public so that others may learn from his mistake? Tell me how this lockdown isn't pretty definitive proof that there ARE people to blame other than himself. Give me some other explanation that makes any sense.
2013/02/10 21:18:35 UTC - 3 thumbs up - FMAN
2013/02/11 03:06:01 UTC - 3 thumbs up - Sam Kellner
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...
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7462005802_bbc0ac66ac_o.jpg
...you don't get an accident report.