HANG GLIDER ACCIDENT SERIES

Vancouver Hang-Gliding, the outfit involved in Saturday's death, asserts that they 'will not compromise on safety.'īut there is little regulatory substance behind such claims. But the sport's supporters insist it has become much safer, and that responsible pilots can minimize the inherent risk.Ĭompanies offering tandem flights typically boast about their safety record. Given the dangers, critics have questioned why anyone would take such a chance. Spokeswoman Barb McClintock said that it was too early to predict the outcome, but that beefed-up safety procedures could form one element of their recommendations. Coroners Service is conducting a formal investigation. His popular site, said the community studies every death to see what lessons can be learned.

HANG GLIDER ACCIDENT SERIES

Straub, who maintains a series of memorial links at 'So common I would say probably one person a year does that.' 'Not clipping in is probably the worst mistake we have,' said veteran hang-glider Davis Straub. The incident has set off a wave of discussion among enthusiasts in the North American hang-glider community – most of whom acknowledge that a tragedy is only one bad error away in the sport. Hang gliding is a recreational activity in which a pilot utilises unpowered flying apparatus consisting of a rigid frame with a stretched fabric aerofoil over the top to form a wing. To court documents as reported by the CBC, he is alleged to have swallowed the memory card of a camera that may have been recording the incident. Out of some horrific sports accidents comes stories of determination and the human spirit struggling against the odds Two years ago 40-year-old Peter. The veteran pilot, Jon 'Spike' Orders, was charged with obstruction of justice and was in custody ahead of a court appearance Wednesday. He was watching as she fell from the glider and tumbled 300 metres to her death in the Fraser Valley. On Saturday, the 27-year-old was on an outing purchased by her boyfriend, who was waiting his turn for a tandem flight. That absence, and the relative lack of regulatory oversight, are raising questions after the death of Lenami Godinez. Largely absent, though, are hard data indicating the chance of disaster striking while soaring. They say, anecdotally, that this is the first tandem fatality in the country.

Prominent members of the Canadian hang gliding community have portrayed this as a freak accident. Also, since pilots are not required to provide the number of hours they fly, risk of death or serious injury can't be assessed in a meaningful way. When things go wrong in the sport, the Transportation Safety Board does not investigate.

Hang glider accident