WHAT WENT WRONG? - Summary Of Ft. Lauderdale Lofting & Videos

[ricki]

The kiteboarder is amazingly lucky to be alive. Looking at the high velocity of his lofting and head first flight, likely impact against pavement and/or the building it is miraculous that he isn't far more grievously injured than reported. He wore no safety gear reportedly such as a helmet or impact vest that might ease the trauma of limited impacts. Such simple aids have made the difference in survival and lessening injuries in some kiteboarding loftings in the past. Despite this the, use of this simple safety gear is far from the norm currently. Helmets never were used at one time in football, these things take time unfortunately.

Responsible kiteboarders would not have been out in an area of such violent, abundant and closely spaced squalls. Unfortunately, in these early days of the sport not all participants acknowledge the severity of these hazards yet. They discount the hazard if they even consider it at all and every once in a while one is injured or sometimes even killed as a penalty for this indifference.

Such meteorological hazards are fairly easily avoided through proper Weather Planning and Monitoring. The odds of being surprised by powerful gusty wind is substantially diminished with such procedures. Risk isn't removed but when is that the case in life? Not doing proper Weather Planning and Monitoring in the face of changing weather is foolish in the extreme. It is akin to flying cross state in summer through major thunderstorms and never bothering to look at forecasts or radar. People just don't do it.

The goal is to AVOID the crisis and not attempt to correctly react once you are buried in the thick of it. Avoiding such weather crises is fairly easy to do. Reacting in the face of an emergency always has an uncertain outcome. AN IMPORTANT new free reference in Kiteboarding Weather Planning & Monitoring is ONLINE NOW H E R E. I encourage everyone to read over it carefully and strive to avoid weather problems.

People also need to make Emergency procedures second nature in this sport. The time to try (and likely fail) to figure out what to do in an emergency is not while it is underway. Simple procedures exist, have been designed into gear and proper kiteboarding instruction. Kiteboarders need to thoroughly acquaint themselves with these procedures, visualize various emergency scenarios and practice them both physically and mentally until they are burned into your awareness. Holding on to your control bar in shocked amazement as you are blown across the sky and into the landscape at high speed is not a viable option. It is the response of fools and victims, core kiteboarders should not identify with these roles, right? They should know what to do and DO IT early.

Responsible kiteboarders ride for MILLIONS OF HOURS each year without incident or injury. We all need to pursue this as a hard goal. The days of yarding ourselves into harsh collisions with reality due to obvious squalls needs to vanish with a vengeance.

Best wishes for a rapid, complete recovery to this kiteboarder.

Text Copyright 2008 FKA, Inc.

[BigJmack]

I found this on another site (I don't know this guy)


THIS IS MY FRIEND FROM PENN STATE!

This morning, we talked about the video at work, and since someone else in my office meet Kevin before, we LOL about it, saying it was probably him.

Well.. 20 minutes ago I found out it was!! I will post of few pics of him if you all want.. I got this via email from one of his frat bros:

Health Status:
Stable; induced coma; unknown future

-Swelling in the brain (sub-something type of bleed)
-2-3 days analysis before we know more (CT Scan scheduled for today)
-26 stitches from center of eyebrow into scalp -Highest Rib broken -Broken Ankle -Possible Muscle Contusion in the back between Spine and Supporting Bones -Abrasions everywhere -Little Amnesia - EMT said its normal for head injuries like this. When he starts to come out of the induced coma he becomes a little combative - he's closterphobic/ doesn't know where he is

[davewolfs]

Other then the obvious of not kite surfing in conditions like this, what should someone do when in this type of situation? Can the kite even be released when being hurtled at this type of speed?

[ricki]

Originally Posted by davewolfs

Other then the obvious of not kite surfing in conditions like this, what should someone do when in this type of situation? Can the kite even be released when being hurtled at this type of speed?

YES, lots of things can be done.

CRITICALLY, the best solution is to never volunteer to enter the crisis in the first place through proper Weather Planning and Monitoring (CLICK).

Failing that, physically practicing Emergency Depowering (pushing the bar all the way out or dropping it if recommended by the manufacturer with flat kites or dropping it to the leash with C kites) and mentally visualizing what you would do in response to x,y,z ROUTINELY. Touching your QR several times a session and thinking about what if can also combat brain freeze.

The time to Emergency Depower is well BEFORE any change in wind speed or temperature. Think kill the power NOT let's try to fly out of this. With a proper downwind buffer there is no reason not to do this.

If you mega screw up and you're lofted, yes, you can usually free fall to earth. Shannon Best did this in a summer squall in Delray as did another kiter not a 100 ft. from the site of this accident in the last two years in another squall. I would have from 30 ft. up but was lofted years before reliable QRs existed and my chicken loop was twisted on hard as a rock on my harness hook. I was in for the complete ride. Today, there is NO need to do this to yourself or others or our sport!

[WindRyder]

Thanks, Rick, for keeping us updated. Fay looks like she will be visiting every area of our state. Weird how the weather patterns are working to move the storm the way it is projected to.
I hope that Kevin is able to make a full recovery.
We can only be thankful that no one else was hurt during this incident.....a car accident on A1A, kite/lines tangled around bystanders, etc.....

[mocean]

hey rick ..watching the vid and reading all of the info you put up jst freak me right out,
I hope that the dude lives and heals to ride another day..
if he does not get to ride again,I hope he just lives and heals.
AJ watson

[Steve-O]

Just want to take a moment to commend Rick and the effort that he puts into this website. He is a leader in kite safety/education and I look forward to meeting him one day. I send all my students here to read about past accidents and to educate themselves regarding weather patterns and human patterns as well. Rick has found an incredible tool of communication for our sport. I am sure we will continue to learn from these events, but like he said, it will take time. As unfortunate as this accident is, hopefully it will prevent more in the future.

If you haven't seen Riding Giants, it is a must see for any serious waterman and an incredible story about taking risks. Even the best of the best can perrish doing what they love, but the bottom line is it is still a tragedy. It can shake you up, and make you think twice.

Thank you Rick for your continued service to FKSA.

[greg meintjes]

When you look at the video, there were a few other kites on the beach, which I find amazing because conditions were forecast to be dangerous throughout the day this is scary in that so many other people also showed total disregard for theirs and other persons safety as well as any ramiffications from their actions.I am also wondering if anybody actualy took the initiative and tried to dissuade any of the riders from launching their kites.

Greg

[davewolfs]

So based on the speed that he was flying if he had simply pushed the bar out the kite would have given up? Sorry for my ignorance but I am an amateur who is looking to get into this sport, I've never used any of this equipment aside from a training kite and this video simply scares me.

Originally Posted by RickI

YES, lots of things can be done.

CRITICALLY, the best solution is to never volunteer to enter the crisis in the first place through proper Weather Planning and Monitoring (CLICK).

Failing that, physically practicing Emergency Depowering (pushing the bar all the way out or dropping it if recommended by the manufacturer with flat kites or dropping it to the leash with C kites) and mentally visualizing what you would do in response to x,y,z ROUTINELY. Touching your QR several times a session and thinking about what if can also combat brain freeze.

The time to Emergency Depower is well BEFORE any change in wind speed or temperature. Think kill the power NOT let's try to fly out of this. With a proper downwind buffer there is no reason not to do this.

If you mega screw up and you're lofted, yes, you can usually free fall to earth. Shannon Best did this in a summer squall in Delray as did another kiter not a 100 ft. from the site of this accident in the last two years in another squall. I would have from 30 ft. up but was lofted years before reliable QRs existed and my chicken loop was twisted on hard as a rock on my harness hook. I was in for the complete ride. Today, there is NO need to do this to yourself or others or our sport!

[ricki]

Originally Posted by davewolfs

So based on the speed that he was flying if he had simply pushed the bar out the kite would have given up? Sorry for my ignorance but I am an amateur who is looking to get into this sport, I've never used any of this equipment aside from a training kite and this video simply scares me.

Fear is a healthy perspective for something like this, has excellent survival value! Indifference which we seem to be plagued with, tends more toward grief in wx extremes.

Big point, YOU NEVER WANT TO TRY TO DEAL WITH A LOFTING ONCE YOU ARE FLYING.

The outcome is ALWAYS uncertain and biased towards the grim side of things. You want to take great pains to never escape gravity and start what may be a one way flight downwind.

That said, what you do if you're lofted and in flight? One approach is to detach from your chicken loop and drop to the ground. This may hurt and injure you. Then again, your injuries may be less than a frontal impact against a house, car, rocks, whatever. Pushing out on your bar if you are flying a flat kite will reduce the power but I think it might glide for a while. You'll burn off forward speed but will it help? Got me, goes to kite performance and accident specifics. If it were me, I would Emergency Depower well before the first gust came. If I was already in flight, I might try small control inputs to see if the kite is maneuverable and if there is something soft to glide into. If not or if I was still rising, I might just drop and free fall to an uncertain impact without the kite.

Do you see how bogus and uncertain all this is? That is why you need to take great pains never to be lofted and particularly not lofted in a spectacular fashion (i.e. 165, 800 or even 1750 ft. horizontally as have happened already).

Were I you, I would be worried about something FAR more important. That is interviewing and selection the best professional kiteboarding instructor that I can find. You DO NOT want to take this sport on solo. The odds of trashing your gear, yourself and our access are just too high. Ideas for interviewing and evaluating instructors appear at: http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45