FATAL ERROR: Hang Gliding Pilot Makes MASSIVE MISTAKE
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- Опубліковано 7 сер 2023
- ❗️Check out this other tourist activity that went wrong in Australia❗️ • They had no idea what ...
This is the hang gliding story of Lenami Godinez-Avila.
Check out the terrifying ride I mentioned in the video, Chris Gursky is lucky to be alive: / @gursk3
Be respectful in the comments otherwise your comments will promptly end thrown off a mountain.
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A similar thing happened to me in Rio about 10 years ago. I started slipping out of my harness with my legs were swinging wildly. The pilot yelled "put your legs together" and I hung onto him for dear life. Eight minutes later after we landed, he apologized for not strapping me in properly.
It cured me from all daredevil sports.
Exactly! Why trust your life on someone else.. as far as I know these could had been intentional.. the guy swallowed the video chip..
@user-du1mz5zx7s yeah. Wtf 🤔 why would someone swallow the video chip. Sounds insane to me
So no voucher for a free ride?
i hope you had lectured people over your experience
I went up with a guy outside of RIO we barely had enuff wind to fly but it went ok. He did the landing with his legs for both of us
This is why pilots use checklists. It’s interesting how these pilots make sure they are attached but not their passengers
He had and did pre flight check per the video
No, both occupants get a hang check, standard proceedure.
To add a little context to this story. Hang gliding is actually very safe. How anyone fails to do a hang check prior to flying is beyond me. It’s something that is drilled into you from day one!
Not just check it, but check it multiple times
Launching without hooking in is all too common. Often what happens is that the pilot needs to fix something after performing a hang check, unhooks somewhere in the process of doing so, then fails to remember that they unhooked and to request a second hang check.
@@BrainWasherAttendent agreed. As A ppg pilot myself, I find it odd when people claim its a 'safe' activity. Still worth it tho...
you hook your harness to the glider before gettin into it.
Well best not to judge unless you've experienced it yourself, there really is no place for it.
I broke my neck Hang Gliding. Bone was pulled out of my spinal cord. I spent a month in traction and then wore a halo which was bolted to my skull for three months. In the end, I got lucky with no paralysis. But this isn't about me. I guess I am saying, yep, it is an un-forgiving sport. This accident in this story is one of the primary causes of death in the sport ... failure to hook in is what it is called. The fact that such an experienced pilot could make such a rookie error. Wow! When I flew, it was ingrained in us to follow a strict set of safety checks so that something like this would not happen. What a tragic story.
@meFatuations, oh man! It’s incredible that you made it through without paralysis or paresis (or traumatic brain injury) but what a miserable recovery period. I merely shattered my humerus 2 weeks ago and I’m losing my mind from boredom even though I have 3/4 working limbs. Glad you made it through!
As a student pilot I'm interested in what happened to you? What caused things to go wrong?
Glad to hear you pulled through. This mistake happens to advance pilots as well as rookies; shit happens and tragic mistakes are made. My local flying site Mingus Mountain in Arizona has not seen a fatality in about a dozen years but the last was the result of failure to clip in by a longtime Mingus flier.
Happy landings!
You told this tragic story with dignity and compassion for the folks involved. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks so much, that is my goal. Next up is a few light-hearted stories, I need a break from tragedy!
He got off a bit light, considering he actually swallowed the video chip, that is pretty incredible obstruction and avoidance of responsibility. Might have been a guy stressed out but he had huge responsibility for safety
I feel for whoever had the job of retrieving said object. 💩🤢
His voluntary admission that he'd swallowed the chip went a long way towards nullifying the penalty for swallowing it.
i mean he could have just lied and said there hand't been a chip in the camera at all
@@bob2233445 not sure that would have been worse or better...
Given his years of experience hang gliding, owning a business teaching and taking people hang gliding, and having been in charge of the hang gliding safety association in Canada, its hard to believe that he would make such an amateur and deadly mistake. Swallowing it shows a presumption of guilt & implies that he knew the video would show his mistake. It would also show the terror of her holding on for life and eventually losing her grip.
4 adults on site, two with a total of 20 years experience and not even one of them notice that the completely dependent and unknowledgeable woman has her line tied only to herself !... My only question is were they drunk or smoking pot ?
Unreal that crucial part was missed. And Jon alone had almost 20 years of experience, his assistant likely many years as well. If only she'd known to insist on the hang test, but you go into these things trusting the professionals. It's so sad. There was no indication that anyone had any substances in them, the RCMP were there right after it happened.
Hang check should be like breathing in and out to experienced pilots. It's a tragic loss for a senseless reason.
Her parents not wanting him taken from his daughter because that's what he did to them shows what kind of truly incredible people they were. Sounds like an amazing family unfortunately ripped apart.
Totally agree. We don't often hear about people being so forgiving after such preventable tragedies.
It's not as if he was going to be locked up forever. He was negligent and tried to cover up evidence. I'm not sure if I would be as benevolent.
@@Gitn2it He panicked, but then told them about the memory card.
@@marktrain9498That's what he thought to do? Swallow the memory card? Not buying the panic angle.
Although they were kind and forgiving people they didn't do anyone else any favors by being so kind. This guy will now think he got off with a slap on the wrist and do something similar again. This incident happened because he was brash, arrogant and irresponsible. And what did he learn in the end? He learned that in USA you can be like this while running a Hamg Gliding business and even if you kill someone you just get 5 months in jail! Yeeppeee! No big deal.. He might not Hang Glide himself or teach others but the incident happened because of his personality...so he will get out of jail and not having really learned a hard lesson will do some other irresponsible thing and hurt or kill people again.
Note to self: swallowing evidence on a memory card will not destroy the evidence.
As a fellow pilot I can appreciate the amount of time you put into your research about ultralight aircraft.
Thanks! I try to dive into these stories to share as much accurate info I can.
Yeah, I was a personal friend of his and flew with him several years in Canada during the comps. He was a wonderful person and loved to fly and help others with the sport. This whole story was so sad to see, totally forgot about it until you made this video. Great work on the video. Yes, if you go, make sure you go with a good tandem pilot and the key is they have a ground crew that double checks everything. Launching unhooked kills pilots every year, over and over, it happens to even the best pilots. I loved Jon, but let's just say I wouldn't go tandem with him after flying with him.@@adventuresgonewrong
5 months in jail after he deliberately swallowed the evidence and forgot to do the crucial most basic step in ensuring the safety of his passenger ? What a joke.
Imagine if instead they were parachuting in tandem and he had simply "forgotten to attach her to himself" before jumping out of the airplane?! Unbelievable.
By the way, certain crimes in are designated as to be prosecuted by the law wether or not the victim wishes to bring out an accusation. This should be one of them and thus the parent's wishes should have nothing to do with the outcome for the perpetrator. He should have paid a far higher price for his unforgivabe mistake.
What about a drunk driver that runs over and kills an innocent person? Should that crime also be punished by only 5 months in jail and 25 hours of community service?
Furthermore, it was a *bussiness* he was running. If he had been just a friend of hers, then I would agree that some leniency and other considerations would apply...but he was doing it for *money*, for crying out loud!
Never let routine diminish your perception of very real danger. In a sport I know, climbing, when you've been climbing for a long time, it is very easy to forego the double checking that the rope is tied correctly to the lead climber and that the belay device is working properly, that the rope is inserted as it should be. You must (both) do this each and every time, even if both climbers are exceptionally experienced, because you never know if the other climber:
-and another person argued earlier that morning
-was anxious about a family law court application involving his daughter
-was operating a new remote video camera system
-was interrupted in the pre-climb procedure
-just received bad news
Even if all of the above happens, if you're interrupted 10 times while you're tying the knot, you still must diligently do double safety check. If the check is interrupted and you're all frazzled in your head, calm down, reset the check, start from the beginning, A, B, C, D. If you can't do it, tell the other person you can't do it. Or maybe you'll find it easier to afterwards explain it to the court why you don't feel responsible for the death of the other climber. You can get away with this if the other climber does the check very thoroughly, but it only takes one instance, where both climbers are negligent, and it's a tragedy.
I'd have died of a heart attack as soon as i realised I wasn't connected.
I'd seen the other video with the guy holding on until he was able to "land safely" (relatively speaking) the whole time I was screaming just land the damn thing. It seemed to drag on for an age.
I yelled the same thing! But then saw in a news interview that the pilot did try to land in that one spot but the glider was almost out of control, he couldn’t land it. Just crazy.
People have survived from higher free falls. Never close your eyes, look away or stop thinking trying to find a way to survive. Had she been able to aim for some trees or a steep slope maybe she could have made it. Not much height though to do maneuvers in the air, she needed to aim and release. A elbow lock could have also saved her, maybe.
Those who think fast and react appropriately have more of a chance at survival. Panic is not a viable option. You deal with the cards you're dealt.
I had a couple of co-workers who were dedicated to hang gliding. The stories they told would make almost anyone want to fly. But they also told of other pilots crashing, and I had seen a number of movies showing that hang gliding has real risks, and sometimes even a simple error will cause a crash. Which did eventually have people wearing parachutes while hang gliding. There are hang gliding areas around where I live. One guy flying here was a paraplegic. He crashed in a hard to get to canyon. But they found him, and another pilot threw down a smoke bomb to mark where he was. The smoke bomb started a brush fire that began burning towards him. But he was able to fight the fire some so it started burning away from him. He then was able to slowly crawl a little further away for safety.
Another pilot dropped him a radio so he could talk to those trying to rescue him. His first request was for no one to throw another smoke bomb!
So hang gliding has its risks. But I feel those who like to take risks would not be hindered by hang gliding.
I think if a person had a big long bright orange streamer to Mark the accident and everybody had the same thing instead of a smoke bomb. Either that or roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil roll it out and drop it. Watch work the land and tell him which direction he was from the foil. Radar would catch that foil most likely if it fell very far. You might get some Doppler radar that caught it from the weather station and they might be able to narrow it down exactly where they saw it fall.
Hangliding is a relitively safe sport , not a lot of risk involved compared to other adventure sports . Like rock climbing, base and wingsuit base jumping, rock climbing, sailing, slack lining, motocross , surfing, etc. . With hang gliding it is almost always who-man error.
It has injerant dangers that can all be avoided by paying attention, and in this case - having some consideration and concern for folks , especially those in his care, this trajic accident would not have happened. Dude was concerned about everything but that young womans life evidently. A hang test before take off is one of the most common , obvious, and basic rules that should have not been ignored by the pilot nor the passenger.
She should have never been in danger at all, NO WAY. I dont see how it is possible for someone so experienced and safety concious, a safety instructor at that , could possibly make such a stupid mistake . It was just pure selfishness and lack of concern for his passengers safety - that caused this accident .
That girl should have never been in any danger - but once endangered, she could have clipped her caribeaner to dudes harness, or anywhere attached to the glider, or he should have easily been able to clip her to something. And then she would have made it down safely, albeit all shook up. But This accident should not have happened. NO WAY MAN!
Hang gliding is fairly safe when folks pay attention to what they are doing, and have consideration for their inexperienced passengers.. I t is rarely unforeseeable equipment failure or nor unforseen occurance that causes a hang gliding crash. Bad weather and accidents can be fairly easily avoidable. Fatal crashes are rare and are almost always caused by stupid , avoidable mistakes made by pilots. There isnt much risk involved to folks who pay attention to what they are doing .
@@aaronwalker8847 I m sure ur not a pilot.
At least it wouldn't matter if he broke both legs in the fall
Oh , you just reminded me about a question I was going to ask on another video I watched earlier today . It was about installing chutes on powered gliders , like parachutes on Serius airplanes , for emergencies , like if the engine quits working ,
Hang gliding is probably the safest form of non commercial flying. Forgetting to hook in, especially for a tandem passenger, is extremely rare. When mistakes are made by pilots or professionals they are most often contributed to interuptions during their assembly and check procedures. If you ever visit a launch site please do not engage in conversation with anybody in the process of assembling and checking a glider, wait until they have finished and relaxed.
Solid advice. 👍🏼
But, as a ppg pilot, that community swears that IT'S the safest form. Its kind of moot tho. Kind of akin to saying that a .22 bullet coming at you, is safer that a .45. Blue skies to ya!
Probably safe as riding a motorcycle.
Normal hang gliding has a range of safety depending on what you are doing. Aerotow tourist tandems are exceptionally safe you would be hard pressed to find a video of that going terribly wrong, foot launch tandems have more variables and is less safe as a consequence, but still quite safe, the fact that a passenger has launched without being hooked in at least twice in the last few years is shameful, these operations need to adopt checklists or something, this kind of thing just can't be allowed to happen.
(The following doesn't apply to tourist operations which generally don't fly in active air)
However anyone that thinks that thermal flying is safe is deluding themselves, regardless of if it's a hg or pg. Heck even sailplanes, while safer, are still less safe than recreational powered flying, which itself is far less safe than commercial flying. HG/PG is not suicidal, it's not to be compared to say proximity wingsuit skydiving or something, but it IS dangerous. I don't think anyone that has flown for awhile doesn't have some memories of close calls or decisions they made which put them in danger, or have friends who made mistakes, got hurt, or even killed. The fact is, we are leaves on the wind, we are quite vulnerable, even given our best efforts.... But it's worth it, that landscape of the sky is a whole range of experience that you just can't get otherwise. There's nothing that comes as close to literally flying like a bird, often even with birds, and interacting with the air in a similar way that they do.
@@Mike-01234 hell absolutely not ...i did both in my late teens and 20's ...Hang Gliding is BY FAR safer than riding a Motorcycle... no such things as black ice, cars doing u turns in front without looking (which wiped me and my Motor Bike out) dogs, cats, gravel the list goes on etc when flying a Glider. . once you launch assuming you and your glider are rated for the site, its 100X safer ...been there done both so am qualified to say this without hesitation....
Sentenced for 5 months? 🙄 I mean yea I get that it was a mistake and he is remorseful, but criminal negligence causing death is not even a couple years?
The judge also took into account how a longer sentence would affect him being deported after it was over. But yeah, it doesn't seem like much for causing someone's death.
How it would affect him should be irrelevant.
The fact that the judge would not even allow him to be a passenger on a hanglider is puzzling. He would only be putting his own life at risk not that of another.
Bit pointless giving longer sentences when people arnt a danger, either in terms of being violent or of being reoffenders. They should maybe establish something different to prison for this kind of thing
I am a Sport pilot with over 700 flying hours, but I remember (when I was a green pilot with few hours under my belt) that an older pilot told me that accidents in the club were more common with green pilots than with experienced pilots (no surprise here) and then as experience grew the accident rate decreased.
However, there was a curious phenomenon when pilots reached 400 hours: another accident spike became noticeable.
He attributed it to excess of confidence. Pilots grew accustomed to flying and became convinced they were better pilots than it was actually the case. They did not check things as carefully and took greater risks.
I paid attention every time as if I was a green nugget, but three of my fellow peers, two of them more experienced, died in dumb accidents.
Something similar appears to have happened with this paragliding instructor.
I am a private pilot with about 350 hrs and have noted my lack of attention to the details of preparing for flight. My last flight was in my ultralight without checking the forecasted winds. As soon as I took off I knew I was in trouble. Strongest winds I ever flew in. Got the plane down safely but it was a real rodio. Just sold the plane and am taking a break.
@@sawdust466I would do the exact same kinda stuff. So I always have professionals fly me around, no matter how small or large the flight.
If he was in fact remorseful, then why did he swallow the memory chip? Because he knew he was guilty, and the video would prove it!
he didn't want to lose it. after losing the passenger he wanted to make sure to hold on to the evidence .
You’re not you when you’re hungry
did you know it's possible to be remorseful whilst also not wanting to be punished... at the same time?
He knew immediately what had happened and tied to cover it up by swallowing the camera memory card .
I would triple the penalty for that act of selfishness. What a scum bag . Remorse ??? tinged with self preservation. What an arsehole .
He likely panicked.
But, however, he's really, really, really sorry that he got caught!!!
@@richardbowers3647 He volunteered the information immediately, and they were able to get the footage, so no harm done in that respect. There's obviously no not getting caught here, the mind does stupid shit when under such stress, so I wouldn't judge him that harshly.
He put it in a safe place.
Yes its possible he had a temporary deceptive intention. However we can't judge people until we have lived in another person's shoes in the extreme heat of the moment. The immense stress could have overpower his reasoning and induced a panic response. Many people have accidentally driven over pedestrians and paniced and driven away, then latter come clean in remorse after the situation fully sinks in. Its a knee jerk self preservation human nature or evolution to survive in bad situations, but then soon after when thinking clearer he came clean and owned up when he didn't have to. If he was as dishonest as assumed, after swallowing the card he could have keep it a life long secret.
He could have lied that he somehow forgot to load an SD card and overlooked it's working.
I doubt it would have made much difference to the outcome anyway, he screwed up and has to live his life with the guilt and lost face and lost respect in the sport.
Punishment is more appropriate for deliberate intent of harm, or willful negligence like drinking before driving causing death.
If he was doing drugs before the flight that made him willfully negligent then yes a harsh punishment would be warranted.
I flew hang gliders for 15 years. My rule for me was always to clip my harness to the glider first, then get into it. That way, you could not forget to clip in. One day, I helped a friend of mine launch from Mt Buffalo (Victoria, Australia), which has a vertical cliff on launch and is about 3200 ft above the valley. My friend was ready to launch, but forgot his gloves. He uncliped, retrieved his gloves, then was about to clip in when he got distracted in a conversation. When he finished chatting, he simply assumed he was clipped in. I had noticed that he was not clipped in, but said nothing (I was obviously not going to let him launch like that). He then walked to the edge of the cliff, on the ramp, ready to fly. He then decided to do a hang check (lie down & check his harness). He did this, and in doing so, lay flat on the ground, realizing he had not clipped in. He rectified this, then flew.
Ironically, he did a similar thing, about 6 month later, but self launched without a hang check, and fell a few feet to the ground. Luckily he was OK!
Always do a hang check & clip the harness into the glider before getting into it.
Happy flying people.
Wow that’s crazy he did it twice! Lucky to have been ok. Thanks for sharing your experience!
@@adventuresgonewrong I know pilots who did that too. It is unfortunately more common than it should.
I do at least two hang checks: one after getting into the harness where my glider is rigged, and another before launching.
I also do a "half check" right after getting in the harness where I try to walk forward "out of the glider".
I look back into the carabiner in all those 3 checks.
Right before launching I still touch my carabiner one last time and check if it's closed and not sideways.
I'm paranoid about it, as every pilot should.
In big part this paranoia is due to reading a lot and watching videos of similar incidents.
I'm over 350 hours and perfectly safe so far.
"I had noticed that he was not clipped in, but said nothing" huh?
Hook in before you get in! In America, it's known as the Australian method of hooking in. A good friend taught me that when I started flying 14 years ago, and I've done it ever since. I hate seeing pilots walking around launch in their harnesses.
I'm a hang glider pilot and I assure you that being able to soar like a bird is the most beautiful experience there is in this life!
It can be unforgiving if you skip some safety check like what happened here, but it can also be incredibly safe, and most pilots fly for decades without accidents.
Skipping a hang check is one of those things. I do at least two before every launch, besides checking all of the equipment after rigging.
That aside, there are more dangerous things, such as riding a motorcycle, or horses, IMO. None of them fly, so I have my favorite already :)
I know pilots who have forgotten to hook in, fortunately all of them got away with it, running down into a bush while the glider crashed in a tree nearby. It is unfortunately more common than it should.
Regarding my hang check process: one after getting into the harness where my glider is rigged, and another before launching.
I also do a "half check" right after getting in the harness where I try to walk forward "out of the glider".
I look back into the carabiner in all those 3 checks.
Right before launching I still touch my carabiner one last time and check if it's closed and not sideways.
I'm paranoid about it, as every pilot should.
In big part this paranoia is due to reading a lot and watching videos of similar incidents.
I'm over 350 hours and perfectly safe so far.
There are also modern harness/gliders where the harness strap is bolted directly to the glider. No carabiner involved, and impossible not to do it properly as you must attach a big bolt through the glider keel support before getting into the harness. I still use a carabiner though, because I have 4 gliders and only one of them has this hang loop system, so I can use the same harness with any of them. But one must always pay lots of attention, as this is the most fundamental and critical safety procedure in hang gliding, besides flying in appropriate weather.
I'm surprised at the light sentence. Condolences to her family and friends.
He got the light sentence because the victims family didn't want him to go to jail so that he could be with his daughter.
Thanks for telling this story Stacy. I Don’t think we will be going hang gliding anytime soon.
Same!
Training, training, training is everything.
What a horrible way to die, slipping and slipping until you just can't hold on anymore, and knowing the once you let go, it's game over for you. RIP Ma'am. 😢
Why didn't he get landed as soon as possible even landing in trees they would both stand a better chance than that poor girl from that height. It seemed to me like a case of _ _ _ K you I am OK and to swallow the memory card from the camera was DISGUSTING
I’ve seen the footage of they guy hanging on. It’s crazy that this happens more than once. I also understand that accidents happen but he should have never tried to covered up his mistake.
Thanks AGW another great narration of this story! Told in detail with compassion for all! So tragically sad I pray she RIP AND bless her grieving husband and family.
What a horrible way to go... I get goosebumps just thinking about it. By the way, he got away quite cheaply, I think.
He really did. Lenami's father was upset at the light sentence and didn't think it would do much to deter others. That said, the pilot's life was pretty much destroyed after this.
As an experienced hanggliding pilot and also tandem pilot, I can't inderstand why most pilots do not have a remove before flight cables which is hooked in with the passenger. This cable is in plain sight and would prevent all of these tragedies. It is not possible to never make such a mistake but if you have this safety rope costs you less than 1$ it can't happen this way.
Locsl HG pilot hete as well. 2 things should always be done. Preflight checklists, as well as all pilots, students and launch crews should always be trained to look at each others hang straps when in the launch cue. How this hang check was missed ... I dont know.
I'm a hang glider pilot. This accident is extremely rare. So sad .
Also incredibly reckless.
Video on you tube same thing happen to a man, but he was able to hang on through the flight,
Isn't it a fundamental action to make sure that the passenger is attached to the harness? That seems really basic.
I was hang glider pilot. This IS NO ACCIDENT but TOTAL NEGLIGENCE and DISREGARD for SAFETY. So AVOIDABLE and NO ERROR
Are you referring to eating the Sim card?
If you're going to make a business out of things like this, you are responsible! Manslaughter and prison time should be mandatory. This A-hole killed her! It was not complicated at all.
Woodside was my home launch when this happened but I wasn't there that day thankfully. Woodside launch is the backdrop she is using for her monologue. Launch can get busy, even frantic, with many pilots Jonesin to launch- at times 30 or more pilots and space gets tight. We line up to launch and if you are not on your game and take too long others will press you to abort and go to the rear of the line. Preflight is an essential aspect of flying, the pilot was clearly distracted and did not harness correctly. The senior instructors that witnessed the incident were fairly tight lipped throughout the aftermath. Nicole, the person giving her perspective is a super pro pilot! Flight is inherently dangerous, even if everything lines up perfectly, there is always the chance of a serious malfunction or airtime event that you cannot really prepare for.
Thanks for sharing those details!
I absolutely love the presentation and production of your vids.
I absolutely love that kind of feedback! Thanks for watching.
@@adventuresgonewrong it’s not glossy (ie Dateline or 60 Minutes) which makes it even more perfect!!
Haha definitely not glossy😅
Same. She does such a great job, writing, research, presentation, narration. All of it.
I flew hang gliders for 23 years, and logged 600 hours air time. I can attest that hang gliders well maintained are safe, however like any adventure sport there are many risks associated with flying. The main risks are complacency, over confidence, poor technique and unsuitable weather conditions. Not doing a “hang check “ before takeoff has cost many lives.
This story is a tragedy for all involved and I extend my condolences.
I feel particularly sorry for the very experienced pilot involved, as having to live with the consequences of making a simple but catastrophic mistake would be much worse than dying in the incident.
I sincerely hope he can forgive himself and find some peace and meaning in life.
Nah. He most definitely rather live. Seems like an extremely selfish individual.
@@thecatatemyhomework people can panic and do things like that. If he did not regret having swallowed the card, he wouldn't have told the police, and it would never have been found.
Hang gliding is Awesome!!! I took a lesson at Warren Dunes state park then bought my first hang glider for $100 dollars in 1978.
Running down small sledding hills getting only one foot off the ground is a great way to learn.
I am afraid of heights like climbing on a ladder but if strapped into a hang glider I have been over 6000 feet above the ground and NO FEAR at all.
Look for a Hang gliding school near you and make an appointment for a lesson
One careless mistake, negligence call it whatever cost the life of a bright ,bubbly personality ❤️
It's something We should be very aware of how quickly an oversight of procedures can end in tragedy.
What's most striking is; Her family didn't want him to be taken from his daughter as theirs was permanently, Shows compassion even in their grief.
Never trust anyone to secure you with any rigging. Rock climbing, zip lining, etcetera.
I never will again!
The only one I ever took up tandem was my 8 year old son. After a couple minutes of fear, he started just loving it and I let him fly the glider all he wanted. We landed after an hour and he said he was going to take up the sport, but never did.
Did you do much else to make the sport available to him? Do you think taking him up at 8 years old affected his decision (or lack thereof) to not take up the sport?
Even with the " hanging test" I wouldn't trust my life in a single carabiner and strap.
One steel carabineer, 2 hang straps...a main and a back-up. Always!
That single carabiner and straps are rated to carry thousands of pounds. I've never heard of them breaking, ever. Only human error is the risk, which can be mitigated.
I find this odd. Being attached to hang-glider is equivalent to actually being in the cockpit of regular plane, rather than hanging on to a wing. You would have thought attaching a passenger is the first thing that happens
failed to hook in his passenger on a tandem flight...she fell to her death after a Valant attempt to hang on. no excuse for this as an 'experienced pilot"
Five months in jail? A broken justice system!
In your mind, would a functional justice system issue the death penalty for this sort of thing because "an eye for an eye..."? What's likely to have a better outcome: fix what went wrong, or do what makes wronged people feel better? Usually you can't have both.
A tragic loss of a young life. I was sympathetic to the pilot until you said he’d swallowed the card from the camera. Consequently, I think he got off rather lightly?
A hang-glider pilot should always carry out a pre-flight ‘Hang Check’. Further; it is so fundamentally important that the ‘Hang Check’ should also be carried out by a second person.
He only got 5 months in jail??? Should be more like 5 years for what he did. Doing a Hang Check is the most basic and absolutely necessary step in Hang Gliding. How he did not do that is beyond me….
ONE MISTAKE CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING!
Can you imagine the horror? For everyone, of course. But obviously especially for her. I imagine the sport ended up with better safety guidelines, at least. Godspeed, Lanami.
They all lost something that was nearest and dearest that day. She lost her life, her partner lost his love, and the pilot lost the ability to do the thing he was so passionate about. What a sad story.
I knew a young guy in his twenties, that died in a hang-gliding accident in the 1990's. He crashed.
No, i will not try it, even though the flying squirrel suits look like a blast.
Can't believe that an experienced hang-gliding instructor would miss so many things during pre-flight
I saw a guy launch unclipped from the 450' at Morningside. He actually beelined to the bullseye, a glide that would have been impossible without the extra drag.
As a hang glider pilot myself I remember when this happed and the shock that obviously no hang check occurred. Every pilot knows that launching not clipped in is pretty much always fatal. I developed a second check whenever conditions allowed (strong enough wind) I would fly the glider to the limit of the hang strap and fell it tug on my harness before launching.
As a fixed wing flight instructor with over 3000 hours, I can't think of a single excuse as to how he made sure he was attached but yet neglected to make sure his passenger was attached.
It's time that the manufacturers need to install a warning alarm if any of the occupants are not attached.
There’s absolutely no excuse for the negligence of this man to that young lady. I will never go hang gliding.
Thanks for this enlightening video.
One thing I would like to say is over the years Self Preservation Instincts have waned, in fact all but disappeared. Back in the 80s when I started flying turboprops we would put on the igniters to attract the attention of the mechanics. As they tick loudly when starting engines, the mechanic would immediately jump away from the prop and look to see who is the mad pilot who wanted to take his head off. In later years the igniters would be ticking like mad and the mechanics are standing between the props like Alice in wonderland.
Some time ago we were about to drive off to the airport, a flight attendant arrived so we stopped for her. I went to help her put her bag in the boot(trunk) but saw the Reversing Lights on, so I went to the drivers door and said "Daddy(his nickname) please put her in Park". At the airport he called me "Skip why you wanted me to put in Park" I said, "Daddy, I am NOT standing behind a car with the Reversing Lights On!" - This is self preservation instincts.
In 1994 exactly the same kind accident happened at Schöckl near Graz (Austria). The pilot fell off and died. The passenger, a nurse who got the flight as a birthday present, managed to land the glider on her own.
I am myself a flight instructor for hanggliding and fly with passengers too.
Before every flight I check the connection twice. Forgetting to hook in is one of the greatest dangers.
hanging for 4 minutes on a hangglider is superhuman considering grip strength. I can barely hang for 2 minutes and I wouldnt say I'm untrained. That guy is superstrong and wanted to live for sure.
The guy who taught me to hangglide in the 70's used to set up other people's gliders. One had a hang strap that was so low he clipped his karabiner onto the stitching at the top. After take off the stitching gave way and only having one karabiner he fell to his death.
This did not need to happen. If they had a checklist and then re-checked by a buddy it would not have happened.
Two minutes, just needed to hang on for another 2 minutes. 😢
Really??? I do pull-up bar everyday and my handgrip is as strong as a monkey wrench, but it takes all my might, and I know it is impossible for a normal person to dead hang from a bar for 2 minutes, even if your life depends on it!
yeah additionally its a very dynamic environment up there so even harder than a static dead hang
i knew it was going to be an unhappy ending when the narriation said "was" so the person is no more😩🙏❤
That swallowing of the chip is what took it from a tragic mistake to “wow, not cool.”
That is so sad what a horrible death that poor woman and her boyfriend seeing it all and not being able to do anything. Definitely wouldnt go hang gliding.
How heartbreaking. Tragic all the way around. I always dreamed of hang gliding and I would probably still go but like you said, I'd make them do the hang test. What a terrible thing.
New subscriber. You are very compassionate in relating this story. I had never heard about this.
In aviation, everyone knows what to do. The problem is that nobody is actually doing it.
Getting distracted and missing a critical part of preflight is one thing, the stupidest mistakes happen to the safest of pilots. I bet this dude has not been doing these checks at least occasionally for decades before it caught up to him. Swallowing evidence of your mistake is something quite different. I'm shocked he only got 5 months.
There should have to be multiple people checking the setup in order to give tandem flights for businesses
Don't let this keep anyone watching from hang gliding. Car Accidents happen all the time, but no one says they'll never drive again. We Hang Glide to truly Live NOT Die .
Ahh..he yelled i love u as she fell..thats so sad..but sweet of him..i couldn't imagine the terror she felt
What a terrible, unfortunate and senseless tragedy. I have little sympathy for the operator. Making a basic error like that is inexcusable when you're hosting customers in a hazardous activity like that and responsible for their safety.
Wow, a person is no longer living because of his negligence and he only gets 5 months, that's a soft sentence. Doing a simple hang test would have completely prevented this but he didn't even do the basics, what a shame.
I love your story telling 💖
On my first hang glider flight, I was waiting at the top of a 300 foot hill for the wind to shift to a point where I could launch. Crouching while clipped to the glider became tiresome and awkward while I waited, so I unclipped. After awhile, the wind shifted so I clipped in and prepared to go. But then the wind shifted out of limits again so I unclipped again and waited. This cycle repeated (more or less) several times until the wind stayed in an acceptable direction for launch. I started forward in my takeoff and then realized I had forgotten to clip in that last time. I stopped short and hauled the nose of the kite down into the ground in front of me. While this was very embarrassing, it was better than the alternative. I reset, clipped in and took off. The thrill of the flight was in the forefront of my mind as I landed, but it left an indelible impression on me that it is so easy to make a simple error that can wind up ruining your whole day.
Great research and storytelling! I’m very sedentary because of arthritis and even something as tame as jogging is out of the question for me. My stomach was doing flip-flops as this story was unfolding.
Thanks so much! This was a sad one eh!?
A sad and tragic tale. As a professional pilot of 35 yrs involving Bush flying and war zones, I can tell you, there is no leeway for short-cuts.. 999 successful flights count for nothing against the one time that it's unsuccessful.
Love your work - well researched and presented
5 months?...I need to find out who his lawyer is. My cousin got 2 years reduced from 10 years for not making sure his sister's friend was buckled up... her friend unfortunately died. He was the driver, she was 10 years old. I wonder if the liability waver played a role in this guys light sentence?
Always, always check your equipment by doing a hang test immediately before taking off.
Every single time you are in a harness, whether climbing, hang gliding, or doing an aerial activity, check it. Let's reduce the accidents.
Someone I know of (a young man, 25yrs old) had a hang gliding accident in the German Alps and is paralyzed for life. He was an experienced hang gliding pilot but got into some kind of wind funnel which sucked him down suddenly. Scary stuff. I will never do it, especially after watching this episode! Thank you! Great reporting.
My parents always told me to not gamble with that you can’t afford to loose.
its like nursing. when i get interrupted a lot, i am more likely to skip steps or not pick up where i left off. i try to go really slow on some tasks. but you must have a process and check list. if you are interrupted. remind them you must do a safety check and start all over. im so sorry to this family.
I train in the gym 5 days a week and lift heavy weights but hanging on my bodyweight, I can barely do a minute and that's in a stress free environment.
This is horrific. Its just horrific. If I had any inclination to go die in the sky, I would drive the people insane with questions and all sorts of tests. What a sad story. Thank you for bringing awareness to this. These poor families
I remember reading about an RAF Loadmaster who worked on a Chinook for two hours as it hovered in different places. Every time he clipped onto a different location, he carried out a full safety check of holis harness. As they were landing he noticed only one of the three buckles was clipped and that wasn't fitted correctly. He was lucky.
Now, how does that happen? That is seemingly one of the most basic things to do. He was hooked up OK! But somehow she was it. Wow.
How horrible for everyone involved...how a person with John's experience could have overlooked a primary safety check. We all have lapses, but what a terrible price to pay for that. I used to work for the North Carolina state parks system in the 1990s and I remember reading about all the hang gliding accidents at Jockey's Ridge State Park, which was just a big sand dune. Many of the reports began:"So-and-So broke his arm while enjoying hang gliding..." I think I will stick to kite flying!
I don't doubt it, and it's scary how many pilots forget to attach their passengers!
I would love to go hang gliding. I love flying no matter the mode.
Accidents happen all the time, as shown in this video they happen repeatedly. It's always tragic.
I worked as a paramedic where we occasionally had to attend suicides by jumping off tall buildings or other structures. There was one suicide where the person decided to jump off a 100 m tall building. The thought that the fall would have been long enough to regret the decision but being aware that it was final never left me.
Hearing that she fell 400 m must have been so terrifying. I hope her nervous system shut off at some point during her fall. rest in peace
If you would love to go hang gliding, do it! It's incredibly exiting. Accidents are pretty rare actually. In the 70's, before modern hang gliders, hundreds died. Nowadays, out of over 20,000 pilits internationally it more like 2 or 3 per year and those are mainly due to not preflighting the glider and harness properly. Once in a while it is severe turbulance which causes accidents but those incidents are even more rare. A modern hang glider can withstad many G's of force. Most people I know don't even fly in those types of conditions anyhow.
I started Hang-gliding around 1980 and at that time page 3 of the monthly BHGA magazine (British Hang-gliding Association) was mostly obituaries. Now it's almost non existent so a fatality like this is a devasting shock, very sad and completely preventable. While Jon is truly remorseful the omission of the hang check is unforgiveable. I feel so sad for her family's loss as this just shouldn't have happened. It has happened a few times and a foolproof system to ensure everyone is tied on to the hang-glider needs to be developed.
Sad story. We all make mistakes and some are fatal. This guy was very remorseful and accepted his punishment.
He's entirely fundamentally responsible. The jail time served no decent purpose however.
The obstruction of justice for swallowing the memory card is why he went to jail rightfully.
Wow. Great story. I have done a lot of crazy things in my day. Hang gliding is not one of them. I went to Venezuela and visited Canima. Paddled down the Orinoco River walked under water falls. Actually saw Angel Falls.
Thanks for a great video!
Very cool experiences!!
Angel falls has been my dream destination since I was about 6 years old. I'm sure it was an amazing experience! I doubt I'll ever get to visit, but my fascination with it never dies. It's wonderful you were able to see such a beautiful place.
That's incredible. To forget to check possibly THE most important thing.
…unbelievable. THEN pleads “NOT guilty”. Riiiiiiight….POOR, POOR girl…
I am from Vancouver and followed this story when it came out - it had a big impact on me and seriously curtailed my desire to experience airborne adventures. Not that I am a big fan of regulation, but I would like to see more safety standards in place - perhaps have a second staff person be mandated to do a safety check.
Aviation has its risks. This exact type of accident has occurred many times over the years. I began my hang gliding career in 1972, and survived the early days of the sport. At the tender age of 70, I still fly as often as possible. I’ve seen a lot over the years, and one thing that every accident I know of, has in common is either carelessness or ignorance. Sorry to say. Every endeavor has its risks and rewards.
Swallowed the memory card? Bubba that's grounds for a real wall to wall consultation.
Lock him up.
Never do an activity that puts your life in the hands of a stranger. Never.
Smartest comment on this entire thread. All you wannabe thrill seekers take note.....!!!
So, no airline flights, bus/taxi rides, etc.?
@@jb-xc4oh This, then, would basically eliminate all military and civilian flight training as your instructor is universally a "stranger".
Going to rule out a lot of surgical procedures.
@@FranktheDachshundI laughed at this harder than I should have 😂
Do Jarrod Kaplan, of Eugene Oregon's story! He and his attorneys are working up to trial for the death of his passenger now
Oh wow, hadn't heard of that one. Added to my list, thanks!
Yes, I would, but make sure to do a hang check! My uncle hang glided for many years and even took my grandma out! She loved it
Wtf??!! I get the short jail term I suppose, but only 25 hours community service?? I got 100 hrs for the theft of a few hundred dollars when I was young and dumb. But I didn't hurt anyone and I certainly didn't get anyone friggin killed anyway. Smh 😲🤷♂
I did a motorized hang glider tandem trip over sf bay, Golden Gate Bridge. It was great! Happy to have lived through it.
That sounds amazing.
Here it is as you promised me, not paragliding but close. It ended up being much more depressing than I thought it would be, what a terrible way to go and her partner witnessing the whole thing. If you find a paragliding story that is uplifting, I’d love to view it! No pun intended.
I'll take a look when I circle back to this kind of adventure. The next two stories are pretty much the opposite of this - very lighthearted and dare I say, almost fun! So stay tuned.
@@adventuresgonewrong Oh, I’m not going anywhere! Your vids are well made and you are constructive regardless of the story. But indeed this one was very sad for this woman and her loved ones. And, now more of us know the sad outcome. I’m glad people in her life cared to follow through with her dreams. Again, well done.