Information wanted

[greblo]

Danny Blacks wife was summoned to northern California on Saturday when she was told by the Sheriff's office that Danny had been in a hang gliding accident. At that point, little was known about the cause. She is asking for information from anyone that might know about it.

[JD]

I spoke w/ the ICU nurse at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, CA where Danny is recovering. She passed a message to Danny's wife Olivia that I called. Greblo did speak w/ Olivia earlier today. I have a lot of additional information about the events that lead up to and following Danny's accident that I will pass along to her when she calls back. God's speed to Danny and his recovery.

[Rome Dodson]

i called lakewood c of c to get jewel's #. he should know everything, they should call in a m whith his # . 35 years flying at sylmar!! rome

[JD]

i called lakewood c of c to get jewel's #. he should know everything, they should call in a m whith his # . 35 years flying at sylmar!! rome

I have spoken with Danny's wife Olivia and he is improving. When Danny is awake and has something to add to the conversation I will pass that along. I have also gotten additional information regarding the weather from another pilot who was in the area at the time of Danny's flight. It now sounds like he may have gotten blown over the back by, or tried to outrun the gust front and found himself in lee-side rotor in Fandango Valley.

[stebbins]

My best wishes to Danny (and of course to Olivia also.)

Get well quickly, my friend.

[kyardley]

Many thanks to Jonathan / NMERider for being point man on contact with Olivia so the Hull Mtn group could know if she needed on-site support in Redding. Great initiative on that, Jonathan.

I look forward to seeing my pal Danny well and back home soon.

Katherine

[kyardley]

Many thanks to Jonathan / NMERider for being point man on contact with Olivia to help the Hull Mtn. group determine if she needed on-site support in Redding. Great initiative, Jonathan.

I look forward to seeing my old pal Danny home and well soon.

[JD]

I spoke w/ Modoc Co. Deputy, Mike Clausen at great length this evening not only regarding the search and rescue of Danny but of getting rescued in general and the effective use of personal locator beacons in particular. When I have some time I will write up what I have learned from this incident and how we can minimize our individual risk of becoming stranded when flying XC.

I spoke w/ Danny's wife Olivia and she's standing strong while Danny's vitals continue to improve, while he is still in a coma. Hopefully, I hear from the man himself before long. Olivia is appreciative of my calls and was saddened that none of the 6 pilots who flew w/ Danny has reached out.

Maybe we can send some flowers or something as a club?

Jonathan

[stebbins]

I'm willing to chip in, even if the club doesn't. Just let me know via PM, email or phone.

[JD]

Danny sort of woke up and asked the doctor where he was while Olivia was at lunch. The doctor says he can go home on Monday but will not remember anything other than flying on Friday. Danny has not opened his eyes yet. They are badly swollen. Let's hope and pray that his vision returns.

[skygeek AKA Seabass]

Jonathon do you have a phone number & room number to the hospital or contact info for Olivia, that is if she wants calls. Danny is a bad ass he will bounce back.

[skygeek AKA Seabass]

Jonathon do you have a phone number & room number to the hospital or contact info for Olivia, that is if she wants calls. Danny is a bad ass he will bounce back.

[skygeek AKA Seabass]

Jonathon do you have a phone number & room number to the hospital or contact info for Olivia, that is if she wants calls. Danny is a bad ass he will bounce back.

[JD]

Jonathon do you have a phone number.......

PM sent

[JD]

I also just spoke w/ Danny's wife Olivia and he is listening and responding to his doctor's commands. Danny gave her a thumb's up too. His eyes are still swollen shut however due to his 18 hours of exposure while unconscious. By Monday he may be returning to Los Angeles and the care of his primary physician.

I received my ACR 2883 PLB-350B 406 MHz locator beacon yesterday and just filled out the paperwork that registers it to me personally. When I figure out hos I'm going to access it in an emergency or for location reporting I'll post my experiences and maybe a video.

[JD]

I spoke w/ Olivia around 9:30 PM after leaving the Andy Jackson Fly-In which followed flying a short XC at Blackhawk earlier in the day.
The doctors had Danny on his feet and walking w/ assistance. He is communicating more but has not opened his eyes which ares till swollen shut. Danny also has 2 broken ribs on each side and a dislocated clavicle. This was news to Olivia since yesterday's conversation. The neuro specialist is a different doctor than the one taking care of Danny below the neck. It may be a while before he returns to LA. The initial report of no broken bones other than Danny's 2nd vertebra made no sense in light of the manner in which he was found and the way his downtubes were broken in two places each.

Needless to say, much of this was fresh in my mind when I went XC from Blackhawk today and knew the day was getting more active and had to decide whether to land before the surface winds kicked up. So I decked it from 500' AGL whether than trying to do a low save and possibly land in full mid-day turbulence. 10 minutes after I landed, a dust devil came ripping across the plains right at my unattended glider while I was getting directions from some passers by on Camp Rock Rd. I did a 50 yard dash to grab the keel and point the nose at the deck until it passed--after which the surface winds kicked up and were gusting 30 mph.

Lesson learned!

[Rome Dodson]

I WOULD LIKE LEAHS CELL 3# ,THANKS ROME

[JD]

I just got off the phone w/ Olivia and Danny has finally opened his eyes but is barely able to see. They do look a lot better after being swollen shut for a week.
Danny is slowly coming around but is mainly semi-conscious and his replies are mainly, "ugh". He's in a lot of pain due to his injuries but the doctors will not give him any pain meds in order to keep him awake and rehabilitate is brain.

Olivia and the doctors are trying to work w/ Kaiser to get him flown back to LA. They wanted to move him to Sacramento but she's negotiating for LA.

Rome, I sent you an email w/ Olivia's ph#.

[JD]

I just spoke w/ Olivia and Danny is on his way to Woodland Hills as I write this. He will be at Kaiser Permanente in their neurological ward where he'll be in intensive care for a short period until they move him to his room.

Olivia learned today that Danny has a fracture on the right side of his skull and a concussion to the right side of his brain where thinking and information processing takes place. As a consequence he is slow to awaken and his responses are delayed. He will improve over time as his brain stitches itself back together.

Olivia is sure that Danny will welcome visitors so I will post the information once his doctor says it's o.k.

Cheers, Jonathan

[rsherwoo]

In light of Jonathan's most recent post about Danny's condition, and his posts about getting a locator beacon, I have to add my 2 cents. One of the pieces of advice I received while training many years ago from Fred Vachss was to get a motorcycle helmet that was SNELL rated. He did mention that it weighed more and that might make the neck a little more soar on long flights, but that it was a good trade-off. I have been flying with a motorcycle helmet since leaving the training hill and have never had an issue with neck soarness. I'm certainly no helmet expert, but I believe my helmet offers significantly more protection that the typical hang gliding helmet. That is my 2 cents...