A paraglider pilot was killed at Mt Borah on Monday this week. Details are below. I'm sure the wise will read the following and realise that there is a message for sailplane pilots as well.
Fly safe (and do your pre-flight checks!) Pete -- Hello everyone, I have some sad news to report and wish to briefly note some details for you all in order to avoid any confusion via media and 2nd hand information. A pilot visiting from interstate had a fatal accident at Mt Borah yesterday (22nd Oct approx 12.35pm). Name and address has been withheld by police request until next of kin are notified. The pilot was from Tasmania and had been flying for 7yrs with approx 35hrs logged. The glider was a DHV 1-2 and the harness a mid 90's cross brace design. The accident was witnessed in full by myself and around 6 other pilots/students from the launch. The pilot was ground handling for up to 1 hr on the Borah North launch in light conditions up the face. The pilot launched into a light cycle. We noted some straps hanging down beneath as he flew past just after he calmly yelled out "I think I'll just do a sleddie". My initial reation was no leg loops done up but with the pilots calm comments and in control flying away from the hill I thought it may have been from the large rucksac which was strapped to the back of the harness or perhaps even cross bracing straps that may have not been attached. After doing a right turn towards the paddocks and coming into a side profile view, a few pilots and myself on launch noted that he was hanging lower than what you would expect but a few minutes later one said that he had been flying in that positon for the last few days. It was apparent from a pilot who was first at the accident scene that the pilot indeed flew WITHOUT his LEG LOOPS done up. I noted later on inspection of the harness that the cross bracing straps were done up tight. He flew for approx 10-15 minutes over the flat grazing paddocks infront of launch seemingly in control but in a hang position. This included a sustained spiral dive (with approx 100m height loss) and numerous turns in the light thermic conditions. The appearance of in control flying was also noted by another pilot who flew close by a few minutes prior to the accident. The pilot then flew to the NW corner of the paddock (which was bubbling/buoyant) and flew a series of random turns in what looked like either a set up for an approach or finding a thermal at between 50-100mAGL. At approx 40-50mAGL the pilot started a right hand turn which quickly developed into a full negative spin. This continued until approx 5-10mAGL where it appeared that the glider started to recover (or was allowed to recover) with a sharp dive. The ensuing pendulum swing resulted in the pilot impacting the ground causing massive internal injuries. According to the ambulance officer later on the scene it was likely that he died on impact. Two pilots from the east landing area ran approx 1km to assist. They gave CPR for approx 25 minutes until the ambulance arrived. The pilots : Kevin Chisholm (Manilla) and Brad Tull (Central Coast) should be commended for their actions in performing first aid (inc mouth to mouth) under extreme circumstances (massive bleeding). We are all shocked at the events of yesterday and collectively extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the pilot. regards Godfrey -- * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information.
