Mia came across some residents of the Columbia Basin. We like to think of them as the Paraglider Clean Up Crew !….
“You know Bob, as much as I like a good paraglider meal, I think that one has gone bad….”
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
From Something Bad, comes something Good….
Yes, not much in the way of postings over the last year. Plenty of excuses, truth is… I don’t find it that easy to keep daily posts but I thought this recent experience deserved a post.
For those that may not know I spent most of last summer working on a side project for the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada. The “project” involved the investigation of a terrible tandem hang gliding tragedy where the passenger was not clipped in (foot launch) and fell to her death. I will not post any details here other then to say that the critical connection to the glider was not made and that this critical step was not checked prior to take-off. My report detailed a suggested change in procedures. The essence of the recommendations, a check list.
The effect of this terrible event, made me reflect on my personal approach to pre-flight checks. Particularly the use of our already “in-place” check list system used for towing.
Truly, it would be impossible to tow on our platform launch system without hooking in. On the other hand, humans are incredibly skilled at finding new ways to screw up. The investigation made me more carefully asses potentials and given past experiences I decided that there were two individual mistakes that could find there way up onto the tow rig.
First, helmet chin straps. When its hot as hell and your dealing with the complexity of getting a glider up on the rig in thermic conditions, more then once we have had pilots get into the air without having the chin strap done up (including yours truly). Its not life or death, more a simple inconvenience. Most times, discovered and corrected in the air.
Second, Harness Leg Loops. This is far more serious. The step had always been the pilots responsibility. The thing with towing, is there is a much wider list of participants (much like a tandem). Distractions can easily conceal obvious omissions. With the complexity of towing, it is possible that a distracted pilot could miss the step. Because of this consideration over the winter of 2012-2013 I took some time to amend my towing operation procedures (update the check list, that had worked for well over 14 years). I should also say, making huge long check lists can cause more damage then good.
Simply put, we added “Leg Loops Secure ?” and “helmet buckled ?” to the list thinking it to be almost be redundant.
For the first time since we started towing, a pilot was preparing for take-off, we slowly worked our way down the list… “leg loops secure”…. shock, the list made its first “save”. All of findings of my investigation proved just how fragile our personal checks can be. It proved to me, never take anything for granted. We are easily distracted, please take the time to review your own personal safety protocols. Your life could depend on it.
From something bad, comes something good……
For those that may not know I spent most of last summer working on a side project for the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada. The “project” involved the investigation of a terrible tandem hang gliding tragedy where the passenger was not clipped in (foot launch) and fell to her death. I will not post any details here other then to say that the critical connection to the glider was not made and that this critical step was not checked prior to take-off. My report detailed a suggested change in procedures. The essence of the recommendations, a check list.
The effect of this terrible event, made me reflect on my personal approach to pre-flight checks. Particularly the use of our already “in-place” check list system used for towing.
Truly, it would be impossible to tow on our platform launch system without hooking in. On the other hand, humans are incredibly skilled at finding new ways to screw up. The investigation made me more carefully asses potentials and given past experiences I decided that there were two individual mistakes that could find there way up onto the tow rig.
First, helmet chin straps. When its hot as hell and your dealing with the complexity of getting a glider up on the rig in thermic conditions, more then once we have had pilots get into the air without having the chin strap done up (including yours truly). Its not life or death, more a simple inconvenience. Most times, discovered and corrected in the air.
Second, Harness Leg Loops. This is far more serious. The step had always been the pilots responsibility. The thing with towing, is there is a much wider list of participants (much like a tandem). Distractions can easily conceal obvious omissions. With the complexity of towing, it is possible that a distracted pilot could miss the step. Because of this consideration over the winter of 2012-2013 I took some time to amend my towing operation procedures (update the check list, that had worked for well over 14 years). I should also say, making huge long check lists can cause more damage then good.
Simply put, we added “Leg Loops Secure ?” and “helmet buckled ?” to the list thinking it to be almost be redundant.
For the first time since we started towing, a pilot was preparing for take-off, we slowly worked our way down the list… “leg loops secure”…. shock, the list made its first “save”. All of findings of my investigation proved just how fragile our personal checks can be. It proved to me, never take anything for granted. We are easily distracted, please take the time to review your own personal safety protocols. Your life could depend on it.
From something bad, comes something good……
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)