Serious Flat Kite Accident

Rick,

Thanks for the info. I hope the kiters' injuries heal soon. Props to the other kiters who tried to help out. Sounds like they laid a lot on the line in their efforts. To me launching a kite is one of the most vulnerable moments we encounter in kiting. Having bridles on the kites obviously increases the odds of something going wrong on the launch, like with this unfortunate incident.

As a preventative measure, I always keep one finger in the QR loop during launch so that if anything goes even slightly wrong, I am "outta there" instantly. If I even flinch while launching, I will probably activate my QR. It's kind of a built in "kite ejector" unless everything goes smoothly on the launch.
It's just not possible to grab a QR while getting dragged and bounced around. I bet this kiter tried, or maybe stuff just happened too fast. Either way, it's not easy, I learned the hard way.

I hope he heals up real fast.

[bryanleighty]

this is a common issue with bridled kites..

local rider and hello kitty inventor E-bone was the first in area to pick up a Waroo.. on one of his first solo launches he got a bridle wrap that resulted in a looping spiral of DOOM not unlike the this other guy.

Luckily for E-bone, he was on a mostly deserted beach with ample room for error so his experience left him mostly with only a bruised ego and a broken leash attachment on his harness.

Had he been in crowded conditions it would have been a different story. I know that others here would have jumped in to help and might have ended up getting themselves hurt...

Eric's story is in the back of my mind on every lauch of my Waroos.. I always tell the person launching me to make sure the bridles are clear and I make sure to get a visual of them myself before I give a thumbs up.

[ricki]

Do you see folks that routinely engage the stopper balls most of the time? That is launching, landing, riding?

Scott, you have a hand on your leash attachment QR when launching, correct?

Bryan, good points. Usually, most of the responsibility should rest with the guy being launched or the pilot. It seems though that it is possible to have a bridle tangle that develops when the kite is picked up for launch and the pilot is 75 ft. away and perhaps unable to clearly see this.

So, new burdens may fall on the helper that previously didn't exist. It would be good to talk this over with your helper prior to launch. Particularly hand signals as well, thumbs up, fist to hold and to never just drop or toss the kite among quite a few other precautions. Just like with C kites, the kite should feel like it wants to fly if it is ready to let it go.

Same here... finger in QR loop (which sucks, it needs a ball on it instead.. but thats best for you)... ask launcher to visually inspect all pulleys and bridles when kite fills... steer kite to make sure tension fells correct (surprised this guy didn't find something odd here immediately)... if kite steers ok and wants to take off on it's own, give the thumbs up.

I never self launch in 25+.

Yeah, this story sounds really familiar to my own 9m Waroo kitemare, which happened in February 2006 in Venice, FL on a strong NW wind.

My wife (who has done kite duty plenty of times) launched the kite, but a bridle wrap caused the kite to start looping right away. I got dragged over 100 yards but, luckily, the wind was perfect sideshore and I had about 4 miles of empty sand (and no bystanders) downwind of me. Otherwise, I could have been seriously injured or killed. I did not sustain a permanent injury, only incurring some minor cuts, strains, and abrasions. I had sand coming out of my ears for days, as well.

Still, my kite looped over 20 times in 25 to 30 mph and my wife got to witness one of the worst kitemares I've ever been involved in. I finally hit the quick release on the chicken loop (it's strange I didn't do so earlier, but I was a bit dazed by events and was still trying to regain control of the kite), and the kite then yanked my leash so hard that it ripped a leash attachment ring out of my Dakine harness. I hit the quick release on the leash, and the kite then drifted down and tumbled down the beach up against a volleyball net and depowered long enough for me to jump up, run down the beach, and grab the kite.

I was really freaked out and didn't kite again for a week or so after that. More importanly, I felt terrible for putting my poor wife through such an ordeal. The kitemare was brutal and for a moment she thought that I was going to get killed.

The accident was caused because I gave the thumbs up to launch before making certain the bridle was clear. I had a nagging suspicion that something wasn't quite right but I knew that the lines were straight, so I didn't catch on to the bridle being wrapped. The strong wind and gustiness amplified the difficulty of making certain everything was fine before I launched.

A wrapped bridle on launch is a preventable error but it is a relatively new type of potential problem for any kiter to encounter, especially a rider transitioning from C kites to a bow or SLE (as I was in February 2006). A bridle wrap can be very hard to see for the kiter holding the bar--the kiter holding the kite should give the bridle a quick look before launching the kite.

This drives home the point that launching any kite is one of the most dangerous moments of any session--if the kite is rigged incorrectly or a bridle is wrapped, all the safety features of a bow or SLE will likely not function.

My own 9m Waroo kitemare happened to me after I had been kiting for five years, as well, so experience alone won't save you. Good luck to the kiters involved in this new accident and I am glad the outcome was not worse. I can certainly sympathize with them. It sucks when a session that promises to be epic instead turns into an epic kitemare.

Originally Posted by RickI

Do you see folks that routinely engage the stopper balls most of the time? That is launching, landing, riding?

Scott, you have a hand on your leash attachment QR when launching, correct?

Rick, I have my fingers in the QR for the kite (c-loop) during launch (I hook in and sheet out while launching).
The QR on the leash would come second in my situation, should things go real wrong.

I activate the stopper quite frequently while riding. I use the new Waroo bar with the dynamic stopper on it.
I always push it away (total depower) before unhooking for a trick.
It is set to total depower while launching and landing, as well.
Having a stopper set to full power during a launch/land would be a bad idea, for certain.
Although from what I have seen, the Best system would depower given where the leash attaches (center lines), I still push the stopper way out before launch/land/unhook.

[bayflite]

i let go of the bar then grab c-loop w/both hands and unhook
i don't trust some QR's
nice2 have az a last rezort IMO