Bad decision/poor timing, probably both

Please tell what happened and how it might have been avoided. Names should be ommitted. This forum should help others learn from mistakes that caused or nearly caused a mishap.
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bricksfly
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Bad decision/poor timing, probably both

Post by bricksfly »

Saturday at the AJ Fly-in I rode up to Marshal with friendly familiar faces, Alex, Steve, Tom, Adam, Frank and Jacquie as our return driver.
Frank and I assisted the first pilots get in the air and then I got prepared to launch. Frank was still at launch and helped me launch. Slight wind in my face and a bit cross.
After all the safety checks we were clear for me to launch. I ran strong and steady, clean off the hill with nice even lift straight off. I kept the bar in a bit for stability before I was comfortable going to trim. As I was going prone my knee-hanger slid down near my right ankle and made me feel awkward. This is where things go badly. I was at trim and felt steady, I reached for my knee hanger to pull it up and free my leg some but it didn't do much, I checked myself and immediately tried again, this time I feel a thermal lift my right wing and turn me to my left, I put my hand back on the control bar but continue turning straight toward launch. I couldn't turn out with the downwind so I tried to continue the left turn beyond the 180 that I had already done hoping to pull away from the hillside. My speed was too much and I ate up the few remaining hundreds of feet in mere moments. I was turning to the left but without enough room to save myself from hitting hard. I pushed out some just before impact and the wheels hit and I bounced hard on my right side and then my left. I was really stunned by the impact and was not clear if I was seriously hurt or not... A quick check that I could move and was breathing and I attempted to call out on the radio to say I was down hard at Marshal but ok. It took a few attempts before my voice was steady and not too weazy to be understood.
A handful of people came down to see if I was okay and help me with my glider. Thanks to all that helped, I appreciate the woman (paraglider pilot i believe) that stayed with me until I was able to reach the top of the hill. Frank had already left for his glider hoping to fly soon when the comments by on-lookers about what was apparently my impending crash. He returned with some water and helped me get my harness up the hill as well. He was quite shocked that I was down after seeing what appeared to be a clean launch and off to trim for me....
Jacquie came back up the hill and helped me break-down my glider. (thanks honey)

Clearly, my equipment (knee hanger) initiated my problem but my reaction to it was the real cause of the brutal less than stellar "landing"... I should have waited until I had gotten further away from potential danger and at an altitude sufficient to allow me time to correct the equipment problem without too much added risk. I wish there was an eye witness to give a better critique of the events or at least a different perspective than my own.

I will certainly be ever mindfull of the importance of getting myself in the air, in control and sufficiently out of the known danger zones after launch. I hope this is a reminder to my friends as well, I sure don't want to have them go through something like this when it is preventable. Follow what we were taught by our instructors and peers and this won't happen to you.
Damages: certainly two downtubes, saw at least one small tear in my sail which may have happened when trying to drag it up the side of the hill, broken bracket on vario, (glider to be evaluated by windsports), for me, scratched left elbow and arms, right arm bruised bicep likely went through the downtube, inside of left thigh hand-sized bruise, right shin scraped, with deep bruising, ribs on both sides sore along with muscles all over pretty unhappy with my actions..... relieved and thankful that appears to be the extent of my injuries.

Thanks again to everyone that helped or offered to help me on Saturday.
Bill
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JD
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Post by JD »

YIKES! Glad you weren't injured beyond scrapes and bruises.

If you can, just fly the glider and forget about the harness unless it's cutting off your circulation or breathing. Gain as much altitude as you can and then think about fiddling with it. You were at no risk of slipping out of the harness so your only attention should be on your flight until you have plenty of room.

Now you have one more thing for pre-launch review in the 5-Cs:
Connection
Clearance
Chin strap
Crotch (leg loops)
Chest strap

A 6th "C" would be:
Calf (knee hanger strap can't slip down)
jcflies
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Post by jcflies »

wow, bill! so glad to hear you are okay. sorry about glider damage, but it all could have been SO much worse! let's hear it for strong bones and biceps!
janyce

"You HAVE to make it..."
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

thanks Jonathan. Absolutely, no messing with non-critical items and concentrate on flying safely to an altitiude that is forgiving of a few moments figuring out the equipment issues. Not sure I have seen a calf hanger, I guess if it starts low it won't be likely to slip.. Sounds like it could make hanging upright and a landing run a bit tougher.
Bill
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

Thanks Janyce. I am thankful that it wasn't more severe for me or the hang glider. I really don't know the extent of the damage yet, waiting to hear what WindSports can tell me...
Bill
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eriklarabie
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Post by eriklarabie »

Yikes! Glad you're ok Bill.
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JD
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Post by JD »

bricksfly wrote:...........Not sure I have seen a calf hanger, I guess if it starts low it won't be likely to slip............
Bill - "Calf" is merely intended to jog your memory to be sure that your knee-hanger isn't about to slip over your calf. Greblo taught me the 4-Cs but I have 5 Cs to deal with. In your case it's also 5 Cs but instead of 'Chest strap' you have 'Calf' which refers to your knee-hanger strap.
JT

Post by JT »

I'm happy to hear I won't have to attend another memorial. I hope there's no hidden damage. It'll also be nice to hear that Jacquie will still let you fly.

Good thing all your equipment is paid for, right? Especially that expensive GPS compatible variometer.
OSCAR
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Post by OSCAR »

Hope your feeling better today Bill, I was very concerned for your well being that day I was in the LZ watching but I took my eyes off Marshall launch to watch Richard Shaw's landing when I heard you on the 2 meter I looked up and seen you on the hillside below launch :o .thanks for posting, I will definitely learn from your experiences .Are you still going to Big Sur ?.I hope so. 8)



Oscar
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

JT wrote:Good thing all your equipment is paid for, right? Especially that expensive GPS compatible variometer.
Thank you Jim. Thanks for lending me your vario. I apologize again for not either returning it or paying you for it. I will write a check and put it in my wallet for you. If it isn't enough, you will let me know. :-)

Jacquie is nervous about flying and injuries but is open to my flying if it is what I want to do. :-)

I'm afraid the costs of the repairs may keep me from being able to go to Big Sur next week. Will have to see what WindSports says on the damages. I keep finding more bruises, I can only imagine what damages I may have missed when packing up the glider...
Bill
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

Oscar,
Thanks for your comments. I am feeling better over-all. Finding new bruises each day.... as they start to darken up.... :-p Notice that my left foot hurts now, I see a bruise on it as well.

I am still planning on going to Big Sur. My main concerns: getting the glider safe and flyable and covering the cost of repairs and the trip...

See ya!
Bill
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

NMERider wrote:
bricksfly wrote:...........Not sure I have seen a calf hanger, I guess if it starts low it won't be likely to slip............
Bill - "Calf" is merely intended to jog your memory to be sure that your knee-hanger isn't about to slip over your calf. Greblo taught me the 4-Cs but I have 5 Cs to deal with. In your case it's also 5 Cs but instead of 'Chest strap' you have 'Calf' which refers to your knee-hanger strap.
I see. Well, I actually do check the knee-hangers before I launch and even tightened them during my hang check and checked again at the hook-in check. I even commented to Frank on my wires that my darned harness lines and knee-hangers give me trouble every flight... I believe that the very light pants I was wearing made the knee-hangers slip down too easily. They did do better over blue jeans.
Thanks
Bill
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stebbins
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Post by stebbins »

I'm glad you are ok.

A thought: Do you have any "clips" on the knee hangers or just velcro? If you only have velcro, it's easier for them to slip. If you have clips too, then I'd suggest tightening them a bit. (Not too much, obviously!)

Everyone's body is built differerently. I sometimes had the same issue you had when I had knee hangers. Ultimately, I got a different kind of harness. Yet my best buddy (who had the exact same harness) had no issues whatsoever and flew in the same knee hanger harness for many years. Different leg shapes, I guess.

I know you and others have already said "Fly the glider." It is good to see you learn from the event. I want to note though that this is alwaysa key issue. No matter what else is going on: Leaking camelback, slipping knee hanger, radio dangling, jammed zipper, full bladder, even a medical problem in the air! Everything else is secondary to the rule: "Fly the glider!" If you cannot do so (as in some medical issues) it's time to think about the chute.

Again, glad you are ok, and that you learned from this event, keying in on the main issue right away. Good job.
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

Thanks George. I appreciate your comments. I don't have any clips (haven't heard about them before...) sounds like they might be a really good idea until I can afford to move into another harness. Of course it will have a bit of a learning curve at first too, but I will be glad to stop worrying about the tangled lines and slipping knee hangers.

Yes, there can be many types of distractions that could be a problem and I will work on keeping my focus on the flying as priority #1.
Bill
JT

Post by JT »

Bill, it was a joke. Take care of your glider first; I obviously didn't have much use for the vario and you need to get back in the air, ASAP. Everyone knows that an injured glider doesn't heal itself, as we do. That's why it hurts us more than our own bruises but it only takes money to fix it.
Fat Fred
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Post by Fat Fred »

Bill,

I am happy to hear that you are basically OK. It sounds like you dodged a bullet on this one.

Bills quote:
"Sounds like it could make hanging upright and a landing run a bit tougher."

I have always found that it is preferable to remove the knee hangers before setting up my approach when I am foot landing. This gives you a good upright body position and no interference for running out a landing if that proves necessary.

-Fred-
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Christian
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Post by Christian »

I collected all ithe information I could find on knee-hangers, some of which is not obvious (avoiding tangles, for instance).

http://shga.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... ght=manual
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

Thanks Jim. I appreciate your consideration. I still know I need to get straight with you as soon as possible. :-)
Bill
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

Hey Fred. Thanks for the suggestion. I have never considered removing the knee hangers before setting up my approach. It sort of makes me worry about the loose lines hanging free afterward. But I have definitely had some difficulty with running a couple times due to the restriction from the knee hangers.
See you soon.
Bill
Bill
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bricksfly
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Post by bricksfly »

Thanks Christian. I ran across your post some time ago and read through it. Interesting tips and tricks.
Bill
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