http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Kite-surfer-hospitalize...

sometimes you have this, seems to happen in FLA more than other spots

31mph... is that all? What else went wrong to put him into a building?

Glad the building is ok :duh:

There was no damage to the building fortunately.

Sounds as though it was not only gusty, but turbulent too. Everyones kites falling out of the sky every 2 minutes. He did not hit the building his kite did. He got pulled into a short wall in front of the building.

The kite hit the building, the kiter didn't. The kiter hit a 2 foot high wall nearby.

An eye-witness account is here:
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2374577&p=73788...

From kiteforum user SO_FL_Kiter

Quote:

The kiter was launching a 13 Waroo (I've never flown them, and know nothing about this model, but some of the guys who have flown them in the past were telling me that this particular model year was know for being unstable during gusts). Most others were on 11 or 12. I work with the kiter, and another friend of ours was meeting us out at the lake that day. I was coming in to land my kite as this all happened. The other friend launched the kite and despite being lined up properly for a launch, some turbulence immediately took the kite towards a tree. Experience is surely a factor in what followed, but there was an overcorrection when steering the kite away from the tree that initiated a down loop of the kite to the right away from the trees and buildings. The kiter began getting pulled violently, and the other friend ran to try to get a hand on his harness and help him regain control. He was only able to get the pilot turned around a bit before he was dragged violently into a 2' tall knee wall, striking with his right hip/back. The kite crashed onto the top of the building described in the article, but the kiter did not strike the building at all. There was probably 20 feet or so between the knee wall and the rear wall of the building. There have been a number of break-in's at the building in question, and the police were responding to an alarm that was set off when the kite struck the building. They were the ones quoted in the story as saying the kiter struck the building, however, only the kite struck the building and set off the alarm. We followed the kiter to the hospital a short while later, and were relieved to learn that there are no broken bones. Some serious bruising and swelling, but nothing requiring surgery. This is the scariest thing I have ever seen kiting, and I am thankful that the individual who launched the kite was able to get the pilot turned around before he struck the wall. When he first got pulled, he was going head first. This was my first time ever kiting in *Nameless Lake*, and I don't think I had a real appreciation for how quickly things can go wrong in that environment.

more from same user:

Quote:

Rick, kite was launched with LE facing the water. Almost immediately after release, the wind lulled and shifted a a few more degrees out of the south, and the kite drifted towards the trees that sit between the buildings and the lake. It was a combination of sheeting and steering error and his fear of the what would happen if the kite was to strike the tree. Best bet would have been to just steer it back to the ground where someone had just launched it rather than try to get it up above the tree. He got the kite above the tree and then overcorrected to bring it back towards the water. I know from talking to him at the hospital that he didn't want to trash his kite and he was really focused on keeping the kite away from the tree. These are decisions that we sometimes have only moments to consider before things get very quickly out of control. I, for one, have a new appreciation for what I think is worth putting at risk to try and save a kite.

Again I have to ask - why didn't he use the QR? :dunno: trying to save a kite and risking injury seems to be a fairly common derp

now we have the straight story, thanks for the link bbandit

No prob

I think one of the issues here is people don't use quick releases often enough. Yeah sometimes it sucks resetting them but it is an important thing to practice. I think a good practice is to pull it at least once every session, usually at the end.

I sure didn't pull it the first time I should have and ended up being ok but it could have been bad. Since then my threshold for going to the quick release is much smaller. Sometimes if my kite luffs bad enough and falls too deep in the window I will pull it because I have been spanked hard. Actually had to do that on land on Saturday. It becomes loud and clear that it is time to put that kite away when it happens.

definitely some mental thresholds have to be set in practice to be really effective. i use it rarely. i just fly it into the ground/water if things look bad. then manage the result easier with more time

if you drop your guard, you gonna get snatched and reaction time in a big gust snatch is beyond ninja skills....most of time you don't even realize its happenED.

the more you practice with the QR like in in a luff the better you'll be for sure.

luffs and big gust are just back breakers esp. standing around on land.

what the person reading this doesnt realize is it takes a second to think about pulling the quick release...

count it out: one... one-thousand...

if you havent been in the situation, let me tell you from experience that that one second is a long time, esp if being dragged sideways or backwards or whatever at 31mph under an out of control kite...

its not just as easy as pulling the quick release... when things go wrong, they go wrong.... be as safe as possible and teach yourself good instincts, and use them... but dont get down on a guy that didnt hit the QR as quickly as you think he should have... its just not that easy to do... i got my scars, thats for sure...

hes lucky to have been turned around... glad hes okay, and everything else....

Yeah but but but... if you've got time to be run up to and grabbed, and steer a kite in the other direction to try not to hit a tree then you've got time (and should already be aware of) the fact that in the next few seconds, things are probably going to go to hell...

I'm sure I'm calling down karma on me but I see it time and again here... refusal to QR even when you're heading into trouble and then you're already out of control and then flying through the air and then heading through the kites on the beach...

I dispute that it takes a second too :D

In the OP someone mentions complacency with familiar bad-condition locales... I'm sure that's the case for all of us - which makes me even more aware of launching with one hand on the QR

I'm sure anyone who's been injured would rather trash a kite than go through all the hospital crap again :dunno:

I am not judging just trying to encourage good habits.

It does take time to pull the Quick release and usually it is delayed by the decision. Last time I got snatched into the sky there wasn't time to pull it. When I crashed into the hardpack thinking I might have broken my back I was getting drug along the beach faster than my brother could sprint after me. Practicing going for my quick release made it automatic and I was able to deploy them to keep the kite from relaunching and snatching me again. In about 30m I had already burned a hole in two layers of pants as I was sliding down the beach. As it is things ended up ok but if I hadn't gotten to my QR who knows.

Must have been a first generation Waroo in the hands of a noob. I've heard the first generation wasn't all that good a kite (mine is as stable as a PL).

Quote:

...why didn't he use the QR?

Could be he panicked, I've seen that plenty, or it could be that he was being dragged on his stomach. That happened to me once while launching my Venom 19 a sudden wind gust hit me (it was about 15 before I launched and gusted suddenly to 30+). I was dragged a good 20 yards on my belly before I could roll over onto my back and release the QR. Fortunately, the wind was side shore and I didn't have any obstructions downwind.

I think people tend not use the QR because they are worried about what is going to happen to their gear. You get one life, you can have as many kites as you want. As a skydiver, I was trained to not hesitate to release my main and go to my reserve if you could not fix the issue with your main, in this instance, it is life or death. I feel the same way about the kite, something starts to go wrong and I can't immediately fix it, bye kite! A good habit I picked up from skydiving was always practicing my emergency procedures, this was to embed it in your muscles (muscle memory).

I had an incident when I was first starting to learn how to jump. I went under the kite and the it fell from the sky. What I didn't see was one of my lines wrapped around my bar. As soon as the kite inflated again it just took off looping, over and over again. I was dragged underwater, I went to the QR and release the kite. Eventually I had to release my lease and swim to shore. I did get my gear back, but I was happy I went to the release.

Life over gear, be safe out there.

I can remember 2 instances where I've pulled my quick release in a dangerous situation. Once was while launching my 15m phantom at nabx. It had a line wrapped around a spar and was looping out of control. I realized after the first loop I didn't have control and QR was instant. Lots of guys helped secure the kite but I didn't hesitate to pull it.

The other was one of my first depower flights with a 9.5 Montana in ~20mph winds. A relaunch went wrong with a bowtie on one end of the kite. The kite launched me across the ground and I landed in a 3 point stance about 25 feet downwind. I pulled the QR after I left the ground and it couldn't have been a second lapse as quick as I came down. I was lucky that it was soft sand. The QR pin smacked my finger and gave me a blood blister but I felt I had done all the right things at the right time.

Bottom line is to avoid hesitation.

BeamerBob ... all the ripstop is gone from your Sig ... anyone got an old single line Batman delta they can send him 'til those P2's surface ....:evil:

Quote:

Originally posted by Bigbear97e BeamerBob ... all the ripstop is gone from your Sig ... anyone got an old single line Batman delta they can send him 'til those P2's surface ....:evil:

Thanks BigBear! I can fly me a batman kite! Not to worry, just went with the condensed version sig. Big bag of kites for me and the boys to use so don't worry. Going to make a boys weekend out on the playa to put some miles in.

Snatches you can't do anything about - unless you're psychic but that wasn't the case for this guy and numerous cases here either...

I can think of one guy that got dragged out of the water - I yelled "Safety! Pull your safety!" at him twice THEN pulled my own as he got dragged over the beach and through my lines. Probably panic but... that's why we should be taught, practice and be prepared to release the QR.

They just don't do ANY of those here :o and elsewhere it seems

Something to consider is that we are all subject to action vs. reaction time lags.

Action---The kite pulling you is a one step process....the kite pulls you.

Reaction----You have to perceive the problem, formulate a response, execute the response.

Typical reaction times for example in automobile accidents are 1.5 seconds. This is a long time when you are hooked to a kite that is trying to hurt you.

That time can be reduced by practice, practice, practice.....but you will never get infront of the curve.

I would encourage everyone to practice AND not fly in conditions that can catch you off guard!

There is something referred to as the OODA loop....when you get caught so off guard that you can't even formulate your response. Training your reaction helps with this.....it is definitely a bad place to be. If you have ever seen someone just stand paralyzed while something really bad is happening around/to them then you have seen the OODA loop.

some of the responses makes me want to laugh,
some make me want to cry,
but I only listen to the response that requires Morphine.
Glad he's able to kite again.

Ouch! Glad he's alright.
Practicing quick release is undeniably important. However I'm usually hesitant to use it because I want to become a better kiter by fixing my /the winds/ the kites errors. Sure it can lead to bad sutuations that I could possibly regret.. But I don't think pulling the release everytime everything's not 100% right is the answer.
Of course, as with everything in life, you've got to find a healthy balance

If you've got the space downwind, no obstacles etc etc battle it out all! But when the next stop is the side of a house QR and risk the kite.

(psst - great excuse to buy new gear)

Perhaps the better choice would have been to not kite that day and kite another day. The risk of getting hurt or killed goes up in these conditions (even worse when the launch is tight). It's like playing russian roulette. Why bother?? Perhaps, people make the wrong choice because of desperation (it's been awhile since the last session), or they think that guys are actually having fun out there, and maybe they are missing out on something. Maybe they become complacent since nothing has ever happened.

Often in these conditions, you can witness sketchy launches and landings over and over, kites falling out of the sky every 2 minutes, difficult relaunches, guys coming in to rig something different more than once because there is no sweet spot to be had, guys are not doing even half the #@%$#! they normally would do, and guys come in and often say it's the worst session ever. Kite repair guys will often see a spike in repairs the day after too. Personally, I hate the way my kite feels in turbulent or extremely gusty conditions.

I will not launch anyone in those conditions. I will land guys (because it's sketchy), but I take no responsibility for any damage that may result to the kite from the funky winds in the LZ.

true dat ZG. conditions selection is the first choice

You have to know when to say no. Sunday was a piss-poor day to fly in north Florida. The winds were 23 steady with gusts in the low thirties. The gusts were looooong too. I wanted to fly but the safety margins were way too low. I don't have a field that big and obstacle free.

I was away without internet last week and in FL when this happened! I was at Saint Augustine Beach on Sunday wanting to buggy so bad- but felt the wind was just too much for my skillset.

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza which makes me even more aware of launching with one hand on the QR I'm sure anyone who's been injured would rather trash a kite than go through all the hospital crap again :dunno:

Kami- I love that you bring this up. One of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten is to launch with one hand on the QR. I tend to err on the side of caution and will happily pop my QR if anything looks the slightest bit off with the kite- esp on a launch where I'm on the land with potential obstacles/people downwind

Quote:

Originally posted by Mostly Harmless You get one life, you can have as many kites as you want.... I feel the same way about the kite, something starts to go wrong and I can't immediately fix it, bye kite! Life over gear, be safe out there.

MostlyHarmless - I couldn't have said it better myself. Glad to be sharing the Long Island waters with responsible and level headed kiters like yourself