GASP.
So that's why there hasn't been any flight reports posted for this past weekend. I believe that's the second deployment we've had at Miller- the other being Dima while flying a wing with questionable stability.

John- So glad to have you still amongst us. Heal well and come back and continue flying with us (perhaps in mellower conditions) I'd imagine that it was quite the terrifying experience. Are you glad that you attended the parachute clinic this spring (silly question)?

We've all been in some pretty rowdy and incredibly powerful air over Miller and Carr this time of year. If Eric says that it was the roughest he can remember- Wow. That's gotta' be some pretty nasty air and Eric was probably using a large portion of his 45 years of flying experience to keep from getting tumbled himself.

Well, you now have a better idea than I do of how much your PG can take before they get turned into a pile of laundry on a string.

John launched around 11:20 a.m. into light to medium cycles (from the E launch). He flew out front and found some good lift. I launched around 10 minutes later, found some sink and flew left in front of the ridge. There I found some great smooth lift, which I took up to and above Carr peak. John soon followed. Throughout my one hr flight I never experienced any rough air or wing tip collapses (other than the usual bumps one can expect in strong thermals). I flew for a while between 11,000 and 12,500 ft, keeping an eye on cloud developement overhead. Around 1/2 hr into the flight I called John and suggested we fly out front and see how far we could get (cross country). There was no cloud developement yet out front.
After a couple of minutes I looked around for John to see where he was. I could not spot him and called him on the radio. No answer. I called John L. at launch to see if he could spot him - no luck. A short while later John came on the radio saying that he went down under reserve, and that he thought nothing was broken. (He sounded in shock). Now we tried to find out were he went down. After about 10 minutes of flying all over hill in front of Carr I spotted his red reserve way down below.
At this point I flew into some strong lift which took me to 13K. I tried to spiral down (1/2 spiral) and in the process I glanced at my vario and was actually going up at 500'. So I went into a deeper spiral which got me down about 500'. Then I went into big ears and full speed bar which eventually got me out of the lift. I decided to fly out to the Lz to get the car and drive back up the canyon to assist John. But I hit major sink and landed way short on the road about a mile below the meadows (Inn). As I landed I was coming straight down the last 100'. My max. 10 sec. avg. gain was 1100fpm., and my max sink rate was 1600fpm. (spiral).

So now as to what could have happened to John. We believe (discussion between John and I) that he got hit hard with turbulance and probably had a large asymetrical collapse which spun his DHV 1 wing and twisted the risers numerous times. This put the wing into an immediate full spiral dive. The g-forces were so great that John couldn't even turn his head to look at his reserve handle. He managed to reach it with his hand and throw the reserve. The reserve came out , but his twisted paraglider in front of him started the whole mess spinning/circling. Eventually he was able to pull in the paraglider but the wing totally covered him up so he had no idea where he was. He finally managed to pull the wing down so he could see just as he was going to hit the cliff. The collapse happened up at around 11K and ended up at 7200'.

John was very fortunate that he did not sustain more serious injuries. I believe his full face protection helmet helped alot since he flew straight into the cliff. John also feels that a reserve swivel really would have helped to keep him from circling. John did everything right under these conditions. He was getting light headed when he threw the reserve. Had he waited any longer the results could have been disastrous.
John please make any additonal comments and corrections.
Gunter

John, we're really glad you're safe and were able to walk away from this one. Like Morey, I also wondered why I hadn't seen any flying reports for Sunday. Please give us your perspective on the ride when you feel up to it. We all have a lot we can learn from these incidents. I'm sure Betty would be interested in your input. Actually, if I recall correctly she packed your reserve for you at the clinic, so flowers may be in order. In any case, take care and let us know how you're doing.

Thanks for all the good thoughts. I'm still working on the full report. Actually, the reserve had been packed by Fred and Gunter with some advice from Betty at the clinic, but I had Mic repack it a few weeks ago, just before I went to Santa Barbara. It was time for the annual inspection on the wing, so it was a good time to have the reserve repacked as well. I've not yet worked out the right way to thank Mic, as he doesn't seem like the flowers kind of guy.

My wrist may have a slight fracture, but there is no misalignment of the bones. Both knees are severely bruised, and I have a stunning array of bruises spread over my body. Overall, I'm healing well, but my typing speed (with cast on my left wrist) is a bit reduced.

Again, thanks for all the kind thoughts.

John,
Glad to hear you are healing. If you need help with anything please feel free to call me.
Interesting day,John L. dunked his radio, he called it the day that keeps on giving, I lost my phone, Gunter tore his wing. Tucker landed short. What a day! Wendy the driver\first time spectator got quite a show!
Look forward to hearing the whole story.

(Morey I have been flying locally since 73, more like 33 years)

Eric
790-3507

Summer mid-day conditions is not for the beginner PG pilot. Gunter and I have been doing this for now 11 years without any major incidents. But we have had some huge collapses that made me think what the F&*^ am I doing this in mid-day.

I now wait till after 4 or even later for more enjoyable flying. Old PG pilots and BOLD PG pilots, but NO OLD BOLD PG PILOTS.

Full text of the report I submitted to USHPA.
------------
Wind on the east launch was 3-8 mph, mainly straight up the slope, but with
occasional variances of as much as 15 degrees from the north.

Pilot, with assistance and advice from another pilot (P5), aborted two inflations

before making a successful, clean reverse-inflation launch into a building cycle.
Pilot found lift after launch and eventually flew north of launch where he found
some sinking air. Pilot changed course, heading southeast for the primary LZ
and found more lift on the way, climbing above launch. Shortly thereafter the
other PG pilot launched and headed north of launch where he found lift.

Both pilots continued exploring the area north and west of launch, finding
ample lift, but never experiencing extreme turbulence. Pilot eventually headed
east, toward the LZ, flying at approximately 11,400 feet MSL.

Incident was likely initiated by a severe asymmetric collapse. The wing then
dove sharply and spun, producing at least one half and perhaps as many as two
and a half twists in the risers. Wing immediately re-inflated and was horizontal
(parallel to the ground) with the leading edge facing upward, and the lines
were horizontal (parallel to the ground). Pilot was sitting upright
(perpendicular to the ground) at the time. At this point the wing was in a
full spiral dive with twisted risers.

Pilot experienced extreme forces and was unable to move his head to visually
locate the reserve handle. Pilot located the reserve handle by touch, hesitated
perhaps one more second to see if the situation would improve. It did not, and
the pilot deployed the reserve parachute. Pilot reports having come dangerously
close to losing consciousness before deploying the reserve parachute.

After the reserve parachute inflated, the wing remained in the same horizontal
attitude with twisted risers, and the spiral dive continued, but the descent
was slowed by the reserve parachute. Accordingly, the forces on the pilot were
drastically reduced.

Pilot then tried to disable the wing by pulling on one riser. Since this
increased the rate of the spiraling motion, he released the riser and then
tried pulling on both risers. Since the wing was fully inflated, this
had little effect, and the pilot released the risers. After a few seconds,
the wing experienced a large asymmetric fold on the pilot's right-hand side.
Pilot grabbed the slack lines and pulled them in quickly, eventually reaching
the wing fabric.

Pilot rapidly stuffed the wing fabric between his body and the harness, and
then the remaining wing fabric suddenly enveloped the pilot. Even with the
main wing disabled and now wrapped around the pilot and the harness, the
spiraling motion continued, creating a faster-than-normal descent under the
reserve canopy and pitching the pilot forward in the harness so that his
face was angled toward the ground.

Pilot struggled to unwrap the wing while stuffing it between his body and
the harness. Pilot managed to remove the piece of fabric blocking his vision,
just in time to see the rock he impacted. The four-point impact included
the left wrist, both knees, and the forehead.

The heavy-duty, full-face motocross helmet likely prevented serious head
injuries. Left wrist sustained a minor fracture, and both knees were severely
bruised and sustained minor lacerations.

Pilot experienced symptoms of minor shock for approximately thirty minutes, but
eventually recovered enough strength to pack up all the equipment and walk down
1500 vertical feet across a half-mile of very steep terrain from the point of impact
(7500 feet MSL) to the bottom of the canyon where he was met by three other
pilots.

Radio communication was crucial for the rescue, as the other pilots worked with
a local resident to determine the best route of descent, relaying that information
to the accident pilot, guiding him to the trail.

Aerial reconnaissance was also a significant factor in the successful rescue, as
two of the pilots flew over the area until they located the reserve canopy and
marked the accident pilot's location. One of the pilots then headed out to
land while the other orbited for over an hour, searching for possible approaches
for rescue and descent routes.

GPS navigation provided some assistance as the accident pilot and the other
pilots coordinated the descent and meeting point.

Cause of accident is poor judgment by pilot in selecting the time and place
to fly. This is a mountain site above a desert floor. While the conditions
for this particular day were predicted to be light to moderate, this site
always presents the potential for very strong conditions at mid-day during
the summer. Encouraged by the smooth cycles on launch and the well-organized
lift in the air, the pilot flew higher and later in the day than his skills
warranted.

The accident could easily have been prevented by a decision not to fly this
site in the late morning of a summer day.

I'd like to give my heartfelt thanks to the folks who coordinated the rescue:
John Lowery
Gunter Schmidt
Eric Smith
Eric Tucker

I really appreciate everything you guys did to help me get down the mountain.

John, thanks for posting the report and submitting it to the USHPA. It gives us all food for thought and hopefully will help others learn without having to repeat your experience. I was out of town for the meeting so didn't have the benefit of the discussion about the incident. We are really glad to hear that you are healing well. Considering the cast on your wrist, I'd say you're a pretty fair typist as well as a reserve thrower.

John,
Thanks for submitting the report a lot of good information.
I wondered if you would be up for a discussion on some of the particulars?
One of the many questions I have is how long from canopy collapse to impact? and how many vertical feet descent? It seems like your GPS trace would document this.
Again great job getting out of the situation on your own.

Eric

I'm happy to discuss the particulars.

I had the impression that 3-4 minutes elapsed between the collapse and impact. The GPS claims that it was 8 minutes. I'm inclined to believe the GPS, but it certainly didn't seem like that much tmie passed.

The GPS also indicates:
Incident altitude: 11276 at 11:46:53
Impact altitude: 7571 at 11:54:41
So that's 7:58 to descend 3705 feet.

John,
My name is Jerry Dalen from Phoenix. I was reading your accident report. Awesome job of getting the reserve out in time. You say the accident could have been avoided if you had chose not to fly that day. It sounds to me that you just ran into some very bad luck.
If a PG (I'm a HG guy) suddenly collapses and goes into an unrecoverable state, it seems to me that it is just like a hang glider getting tucked, tumbled, or whatever, breaking, and being in an unrecoverable state also.
I think you're selling yourself short. You definitely sound like you are in control 99% of the time. Just like most of us no tail flyers. Besides, Gunter wouldn't have let you fly if you weren't qualified....
jd

John,

I'm having trouble following this part:

Wing immediately re-inflated and was horizontal
(parallel to the ground) with the leading edge facing upward, and the lines
were horizontal (parallel to the ground). Pilot was sitting upright
(perpendicular to the ground) at the time. At this point the wing was in a
full spiral dive with twisted risers.

It sounds like you were sitting with your feet pointed to the ground and your head pointed to the sky. The risers were twisted. The wing was in front of you and was fully inflated with the leading edge pointed at the sky and the trailing edge pointed at the ground.

Is that accurate? To be in a spiral dive, it seems like the leading edge would be pointed at the ground and the trailing edge would be pointed at the sky. And it seems like the centrifugal force would have laid you over so your head was pointed toward the wing.

Good job getting the reserve out and collapsing your wing. Do you recall throwing the reserve or was it more of a drop?

Scott:

Your interpretation of my description is accurate. The centrifugal force did pin me against the harness, and given the speed of the spiral and the urgency of the situation, it’s likely that my perception of my orientation relative to the ground is inaccurate.

We all (Eric, Gunter, others, and I) have had a similar quandary over the point you raised. How can a wing be in a spiral dive if the leading edge is pointing up? How can it stay inflated? Since nobody witnessed the incident, we’re left with only my account. Unfortunately, this means that we’re depending on my memory of my perception of what actually occurred, leaving lots of room for inaccuracy.

Here are some things that are very clear:
- force: lots of it, pinning me against the back of the harness
- twisted risers: at least a half, maybe as many as two and half
- inflation: wing was definitely fully inflated
- taut lines: no doubt about this
- facing the wing: I was definitely staring at the wing

Since the forces I experienced are consistent with a spiral dive and it seems aerodynamically unlikely (if not impossible) for the wing to be in a spiral dive with the leading edge facing the sky, there’s a good chance that my account of the orientation of the wing is inaccurate. Even so, I wrote, as accurately as possible, what I remember about the incident without trying to work out whether it made any physical sense.

Finally, I do remember throwing the reserve for all I was worth. Thankfully, I was well trained, and we had recently practiced the act during a reserve clinic. I also think that I may have briefly lost consciousness just after throwing the reserve, but it’s hard to tell. My next memory after the throw is realizing that the reserve had, indeed, inflated, not because I could see it, but because I was no longer experiencing the extreme forces. Then I got busy with the struggle to do something about the main wing which seemed bent on spiraling me into the ground, drag-chute notwithstanding.

--JRW