Monday, June 9, 2014

Student Ankle Injury

A PG student practicing side hill landings suffered an ankle injury requiring medical assistance from EMS.

Lone Peak PG Injury

An experienced pilot on a long cross country made a cell phone call to friends and pushed his Spot messenger 911 button. He did not remember the crash at the time but did suffer a fractured collar bone in three places and some neck and back injuries. Search and Rescue hiked to the 7400 foot level of Lone Peak and extracted this individual on a gurney which took many, many hours. He was hospitalized for a number of days. This highlights the importance of a Spot device. Also, please remember to check out your insurance coverage and see if they would cover the expense of a helicopter rescue, an injury due to flying, a rehab stay etc. (this post was edited on June 10th. to better reflect the actual facts)

Full Frontal Deflation off Launch - PG Injury

An excellent and experienced pilot took a frontal deflation off launch at a mtn. site in strong conditions. There was not sufficient altitude to recover despite his high skill level and correct responses to the event. The injury was to a single vertebrae - slight compression. Pilots are reminded that an assymetric deflation can be steered straight but a frontal simply takes time and altitude to recover. Also, as an aside, a glider that is old or out of trim will recover more slowly - consuming more altitude. It is recommended to learn your particular gliders full frontal recovery behavior in the proper environment with a coach.