FKA Kiteboarding Forums  

Go Back   FKA Kiteboarding Forums > MAIN FORUM > Lessons From The Hard Side
Connect with Facebook

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-22-2007, 04:53 PM
ricki's Avatar
ricki ricki is offline
Administrator
Site Admin
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Florida
Posts: 8,700
Default Serious Flat Kite Accident

An experienced kiter was launching a new 9 m flat kite for the first time in strong, very gusty side onshore winds. The rider had many years experience with C kites but reportedly had less than two sessions with flat kites. A group of riders had visited this launch from out town and had setup up outside of the approved area. The wind record shown below suggests winds 22 gusting to 30 kts. around the time of the accident at 2:30 pm and substantially higher prior. Squalls were reportedly not present with winds resulting from a powerful cold front.



Other experienced kiters were out on 7 m and 9 m flat kites and heavily powered. A bridal line was wrapped around a wingtip without the knowledge of the kiter or his assistant apparently when the kite was picked up to launch.


How the bridle may have been wrapped over the wingtip.

After the kite was released it began to immediately spin out of control, fully powered up looping in the power zone dragging the kiter. The rider had attached his leash above the chicken loop and dropped his bar to fully depower the kite. The depowering mechanism relies upon the leading edge bridle which was snagged in place by the tangle eliminating the depower function. So despite dropping his bar the kite did not significantly depower as he was dragged along.


Another view of how the bridle may have been tangled.

The kiter that had launched him ran forward and jumped on him to hold him in place. Both were subsequently dragged until the helper was knocked off breaking a finger. Another well experienced kiter ran up when the kite hit the ground and grabbed one line to try to depower the kite. The kite relaunched causing a serious cut to the man's little finger and hand.


Hand injuries

The rider hit several objects during the dragging including two other kiters standing on the beach and breaking a 4" x 4" timber embedded in the dune with his shoulder.


A similar section of beach with stakes used to rope off the sea oats as well. Smaller timbers are shown in use here than at the scene of the accident.

The kite struck a palm tree, ending the dragging after the rider had traveled about 150 ft. up the beach. His leash broke shortly before this time. Aside from cuts and bruises the rider and other participants were reportedly OK. The one man that grabbed the kite line received stitches for his hand laceration.
__________________
FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

Last edited by ricki; 02-25-2007 at 09:22 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-25-2007, 07:58 PM
ricki's Avatar
ricki ricki is offline
Administrator
Site Admin
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Florida
Posts: 8,700
Default

Several things come to mind from this accident:

1. Never use new or unfamiliar gear in extreme conditions no matter how experienced you are.

2. Rider and helper must verify that lines and bridles are correct before releasing the kite. The kiter may not be able to see something like this during launch.

3. Avoid using kites near the upper end of the recommended wind range (32 kts. in this case) and never when new to the gear.

4. NOTE: Carefully evaluate where to attach your kite leash on flat kites, particularly when near shore. Reportedly, if attached to the Oh Shit Handle this kite will substantially depower, as long as the flight line doesn't break. If attached to the chicken loop as was done in this case, the depower may be disabled by breakage or snags. There are still other options with other kites, speak with manufacturer's reps if necessary. Spend some time on this and choose well.

5. Never grab a line attached to a powered up kite.

6. Rehearse mentally and physically dealing with a overpowered emergency by totally depowering the kite and finding and releasing the leash attachment to the kiter (should the later prove to be necessary in an emergency).

9. Always wear a good helmet, impact vest, hook knife, gloves and other gear as appropriate.

10. Always research where to ride before going to a beach. Preservation of access concerns us all.
__________________
FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

Last edited by ricki; 02-28-2007 at 08:00 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-25-2007, 08:11 PM
ricki's Avatar
ricki ricki is offline
Administrator
Site Admin
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Florida
Posts: 8,700
Default

This rider was incredibly lucky to have suffered fairly minor injury in a flat kite accident which could have EASILY been fatal. Other kiters on the beach might have also been seriously injured as well. He couldn't see the kite being launched and the helper may not have been all that familiar with flat kites. Some things to think about related to assisted launching and past accidents appear HERE

Both are very experienced with C kites. Hanging on to a kite for launch in high wind and blasting sand isn't all that easy a proposition particularly when the kite is near its upper wind limit. The time to experiment with new gear is not in such extreme conditions. Also, avoid "soft" leash attachment clips, for a good reason why click HERE

Another kiter had advised the rider not to attach his leash to the chicken loop but instead attach it to his Oh Shit handle and shift it over once well offshore. The rider was not that comfortable with this as he was used to suicide leash attachments on C kites through the chicken loop. NOTE: There are significant DIFFERENCES between flat kites and C kites, learn what they are by carefully reading the user manual, talking to other kiters and carefully building experience with the flat kite under controlled circumstances. Just because you are used to attaching your leash to the chickenloop or even the bypass leash attachment, doesn't necessarily mean this is a good place to attach to while near shore. In the current case, attaching to the Oh Shit handle until well offshore and then moving it to the chicken loop would have made more sense. What happens if a bridle breaks? Maybe something not all that different.

Make sure you know where your leash attachment quick release is and be familiar with activating it. On top of your butt may not be the best location for this either. Too many kiters ignore this simple step in self preservation along with even practicing totally depowering their kite. "I'll figure it out in the emergency," unlikely.

A stopper ball can simulate some of what happened in this accident. Don't engage stopper balls on flat kites nearshore or when you might potentially crash (i.e. before jumping).

Experienced guys don't need helmets or impact vests because ... ? Luck is great while it lasts but some basic safety gear may stretch your luck when you unexpectedly get dragged south at lightspeed someday. Overconfidence can be a killer not only in kiting but in many action sports. Flat kites may reduce kiting fatalities but the capacity to injure and kill is still there. Be careful out there.
__________________
FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

Last edited by ricki; 02-25-2007 at 09:19 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-25-2007, 08:52 PM
Skyway Scott
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-26-2007, 05:16 AM
bryanleighty's Avatar
bryanleighty bryanleighty is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
Posts: 1,359
Default

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.
__________________
Your mother flies a C-kite.

Area Launches: http://tinyurl.com/284jfa
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-26-2007, 08:28 AM
ricki's Avatar
ricki ricki is offline
Administrator
Site Admin
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Florida
Posts: 8,700
Default

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.
__________________
FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-26-2007, 08:57 AM
invisible
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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+.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-26-2007, 10:57 AM
E-Bone
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 02-26-2007, 05:24 PM
Skyway Scott
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by RickI View Post
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.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 02-26-2007, 06:07 PM
bayflite bayflite is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: st pete
Posts: 401
Default

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
__________________
don't taze me bro
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.

Do not advertise outside of [COM] Forums.
Do not show disrespect for others in your postings.
Users can be denied access to this Site without warning.
FKA, Inc., it’s officers and moderators are not responsible
for the content of the postings and any links or pictures posted.

Report Problems by PM to “administrator” or via email to flkitesurfer@hotmail.com

Copyright FKA, Inc. 2004, All Rights Reserved.