Day after The Purple Taco - Paragliding accident on Lake Isabella April 2008

This accident was very expensive and I have lost partial vision in my right eye. Wing exploded on impact and my harness got shredded in pieces so that is why my harness didn't float. The back piece had blown out and it was nothing there to keep me afloat. I literally almost drowned. There are many things we can do to make ourselves safer while doing maneuvers. Wearing life jacket should be mandatory on every clinic.

Yes I did have my reserve and you can see it out just seconds before impact. I throw it as soon as I heard my instructor telling me to do so. My opinion is that he gave those instructions too late. He was saying I was fine so I thought I was. I had no idea I was so low.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Accident
• crash
• SIV
• clinic
• paraglider
• paragliding
• acidente
• parapente
• Epsilon5
• Epsilon
• Advance

[alexsakon]

Was this a commercial SIV clinic or just random group of people having fun? 

[MartinettiUS]

@alexsakon it was an SIV clinic

[duleigalo]

Sve se mjenja sem kamenja...i Iva Martinetija.

[MartinettiUS]

hahahahaha

[doughboy779]

god, who is the instructor? what an idiot! he told you to "catch the surge" after you already came close to getting gift wrapped. bad timing. And to put pressure on you asking you if you're going to do it or not. How unprofessional. Sorry you had to go through that bro.

[johnknoefler]

The term "personal responsibility" comes to mind.

[MrGeorge2220]

The girl's dad was a substitute at my school today.

[carot2003]

Instructor said the reserve much to late..

[pixelbeans]

Crap SIV tuition - you should so have been throwing reserve earlier. Glad you're ok man.

[persiantraveler]

@doughboy779

I agree.

[MartinettiUS]

@TornTech haha ... actually not funny, it is too bad that USA has such bad health system.

[skyfreak909]

name the instructor, clinic admin.

This policy and proceedure if it continues, is going to kill someone, soon. It sounds like Gabriel Jebb on the radio, is it?