SAFA Skysailor Magazine

41 March | April 2022 SKY SAILOR Staying in Tasmania… AIRS #1562 – Impact on launch On PIC’s second launch of the day from Kunanyi/Mt Wellington (Tas), PIC got lift and launched before the slope falls away to a road crossing. PIC’s last step was on a rock causing wing to pitch forward. PIC flared while swinging back under wing to avoid hitting roadside barrier, but impacted it with the bottom of the harness, and rolled down the embankment. A strained chest muscle resulted, no damage to equipment. This is a difficult PG5/HG-Advanced rated launch, timing and conditions are critical for a safe launch execution. Complacency can and will catch pilots out. AIRS #1549 – Incident at Single Hill PIC launched from the lower SE facing launch at Single Hill (Tas). The wind speed was insuf- ficient to sustain proper lift, so they flew very close to the hill, attempting to scratch for every scrap of lift they could find. This continued for about five minutes, then it became apparent that they had no other choice than to land. PIC attempted to land halfway down the hill above a fence but came too close to a small tree in an attempt to perform a final turn towards the chosen landing spot. Recognising that a collision with the tree was unavoidable, they buried their left brake as they came close to it, which resulted in them avoiding hitting the branches face on. The right-hand lines ended up tangled on the tree, whilst PIC had a gentle descent to ground level. No damage or injury. Pilots are reminded to always have a safe landing option lined up in marginal lift condi- tions and make an early decision to head to it. Let’s head north, way, way north. AIRS #1567 – PG1 accident on take-off PIC was under instruction and launching from Pops, north of Townsville (Nth Qld). They’d flown from there previously and had completed several high tow flights. On this occasion, PIC became distracted by some trees to the left immediately after launch and froze. This caused them to turn left, and PIC failed to heed the instructor’s directions to alter course to the right. They broke the distraction, but applied a large corrective input to the right, which almost spun them back towards the hill. They made a heavy landing on straight legs from a height of 0.5-1m agl and then dropped onto their back. PIC initially indicated they were fine and walked back up the hill to the vehicles, before being instructed by the instructor to lie down on the back seat of the vehicle, prior to transport to hospital for examination. X-rays subsequently revealed they had sustained stable fractures of several vertebrae: L1 & L2, T6, T7 & T9. When under instruction, avoid being distracted by obstructions to the side of the flight path, and concentrate solely on the instructor’s directions. The tendency is to become fixated on the obstruction and steer towards it, counter-intuitively the opposite of the intention. If faced with a drop onto the ground, adopt the PLF (Parachute Landing Fall) position with knees bent, and prepare to roll onto the ground