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  #37  
Old 10-02-2007, 03:33 PM
Skyway Scott
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I am also relieved to hear that he is okay.
I didn't read a flame post on here (maybe it was removed, I just got home). I feel like most of us have expressed geniune concern for Chris and pray he gets well.

However, I do believe it would be irresponsible to not learn from each other's mistakes. If we do not discuss the mistakes made, others might make the same mistake again.
I also believe that since this did grab media attention, making it clear most of us avoid that area and those types of conditions is necessary to assure the public that we are safe. I hope Chris sees it that way and agrees.

I was asked to give some inputs today on safety and the local kiting scene, to what I thought was going to be Channel 8 (I don't know now who it was, in all honestly, because I did a phone interview and then someone showed up in "normal" car).
I demonstrated our safety gear and I was asked if Chris's accident was avoidable. I did answer yes, and explained about not launching upwind of power lines. I think I phrased it "He would have lessened his odds drastically". I definitely wasn't going to answer the question with "no, nothing different could have been done."

I made it clear I was not there, and was going by what I heard.
If they edit that out, trust me, I made it clear from the get go I was answering the question based on information received, not personally witnessed. I was also asked if Chris was an experienced rider.
Again, I said I didn't know Chris, but that most of us know each other and the fact so few of us have met him and the nature of the mistake made, that I assumed Chris was a new rider (to me, less than 2 years is a fairly new rider). I answered questions regarding Chris's accident the best I could given information provided by from eyewitnesses
My answers were non-emotional and matter of fact. My single goal was to the leave the interviewer with the understanding that our sport is safe when performed properly.

Hopefully they don't axe murder it to the point of editing out everything but three words "can be dangerous".

I hope you and Chris understand some of our points of view in simply trying to keep our sport safe and educate riders as well as the public. This accident has become a focal point, like it or not, and we need to make it clear it was an avoidable accident, imo.
I don't think any of us feels anything but sad for Chris's accident and we just want to lessen the odds of similar accidents occuring in the future.
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