Link to the incident article in Herald-Mail

Post by **breezyk1d** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 5:44 pm

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=disp ... ormat=html

Good photos.

Description not too inaccurate, considering no one particularly wanted to fill them in. - Linda

Saturday December 31, 2005
Stranded hang glider rescued after leaping from High Rock
Bystanders rescue woman stranded in 40-foot tree
By TIFFANY ARNOLD

tiffanya@herald-mail.com

CASCADE -
Bystanders, with some help from the Washington County Special Operations Team, freed a female hang glider from the top of a 40-foot tree on Friday after she leapt from High Rock.

Rescuers responded to the scene about 3 p.m. and found the woman's friends using safety rope to get her down. Officials would not release the name of the victim, but said that the Virginia woman was uninjured and had declined additional help.

The Washington County Special Operations Team, part of the county's Division of Fire and Emergency Services, provided the bystanders with an additional safety rope, said John Bentley, chief of the Special Operations Team.

"They had one rope lapped over a tree that could have been dead at best," Bentley said. "We got another rope and wrapped it around another tree in case one snapped."

The Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Co., Blue Ridge Summit (Pa.) Fire and Rescue Department and Smithsburg Emergency Medical Services also responded to the call.

It took nearly 45 minutes for the bystanders to free the woman, Bentley said.

It was unknown whether the woman had a permit, which is required in order to hang glide from High Rock, said Kirk Mongan, chief of the Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Co.

Mongan said it was uncommon for people to hang glide in the winter, but said the woman and bystanders appeared to be seasoned professionals.

Bentley said Friday's rescue was the third hang-gliding incident this year in Washington County.

Bentley said the only other hang-gliding incident at High Rock this year occurred in July, when a man got stuck in a 75-foot tree.

"This incident was nearly identical," Bentley said. "But this guy's only option was to hang there and wait for someone to rescue him or to cut the rope and, of course, possibly injure himself severely."

Post by **hepcat1989** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:30 pm

So, A permit huh? I don't have one..... I am glad all worked out well Linda, and you are ALLRIGHT! Peace, Shawn.

YouTube · Post by **CraginS** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 8:52 pm

"It was unknown whether the woman had a permit, which is required in order to hang glide from High Rock, said Kirk Mongan, chief of the Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Co."

[quote="hepcat1989"]So, A permit huh? I don't have one..... I am glad all worked out well Linda, and you are ALLRIGHT! Peace, Shawn.[/quote]

Danny Brotto will need to correct this if I get it wrong, but my understanding is that the Washington County hang gliding permit, as refered to by the sign at launch at High Rock, is issued to the two clubs, MHGA and CHGPA. Any member of these two clubs in good standing who meets the club HR requirements (e.g. H3 with cliff launch, H2 with Observer, etc.), or special event guests of either club, such as HR Fly-In visitors, is flying under that permit.

However, here is the part I have never worked out: Do the various local emeregency services authorities know that the permit called for is for the clubs, and not issued to each pilot individually?
If they do know this, but wish to see proof we are MHGA or CHGPA members, what do we show them? After all, being the low-bureaucracy clubs that we are, we don't have membership cards, and convincing anyone that a Pulpit helmet sticker proves possession of a High Rock launch permit is gonna take a smoother talker than I am (Even if Lauren is up for that duty, how fast can we get her to launch from FL?)

Cragin

Spark · Post by **Spark** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 9:17 pm

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=disp ... ormat=html
TIFFANY ARNOLD ...

Bentley said Friday's rescue was the third hang-gliding incident this year in Washington County.

Bentley said the only other hang-gliding incident at High Rock this year occurred in July, when a man got stuck in a 75-foot tree.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but as I recall, yesterday's incident was the only one this year in Washington County.

I believe that Mr. Bentley's reference to an incident occurring at High Rock in July of this year is also incorrect. I suspect that he was referring to the infamous High Rock fly in incident of Saturday, August 21, 2004.

The Herald Mall article is referenced below.

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=disp ... ormat=html

Too bad that we were unable to provide appropriate input to the media for this article.

'Spark

Post by **dbodner** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 11:35 pm

On Dec 31, 2005, at 8:52 PM, CraginS wrote:

?? However, here is the part I have never worked out: Do the various local emeregency services authorities know that the permit called for is for the clubs, and not issued to each pilot individually?

The new sign in the setup area accurately describes the requirements (i.e. CHGPA or MHGA member, H3, etc.)

Dave

Richard Hays · Post by **Richard Hays** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 1:05 am

Local news definately revveed up the incident. Gotta love it. BTW....who
was the guy "this year" in a 75 foot tree? Chris' was last year.....and
Hugh opted to land closer than 75 feet, right? LOL. Squirrels
beware.....we're coming to getcha. heheh.

Pictures pretty cool though. Suitable for "hall of framing". heheheh

>From: "breezyk1d" <lbaskerville@wba-arch.com>
>Reply-To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
>To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
>Subject: Link to the incident article in Herald-Mail
>Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 17:44:33 -0500
>
>http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=disp ... ormat=html
>
>Good photos.
>
>Description not too inaccurate, considering no one particularly wanted to
>fill them in. - Linda
>
>
>Saturday December 31, 2005
>Stranded hang glider rescued after leaping from High Rock
>Bystanders rescue woman stranded in 40-foot tree
>By TIFFANY ARNOLD
>
>
>tiffanya@herald-mail.com
>
>
>
>CASCADE -
>Bystanders, with some help from the Washington County Special Operations
>Team, freed a female hang glider from the top of a 40-foot tree on Friday
>after she leapt from High Rock.
>
>
>Rescuers responded to the scene about 3 p.m. and found the woman's friends
>using safety rope to get her down. Officials would not release the name of
>the victim, but said that the Virginia woman was uninjured and had declined
>additional help.
>
>
>The Washington County Special Operations Team, part of the county's
>Division of Fire and Emergency Services, provided the bystanders with an
>additional safety rope, said John Bentley, chief of the Special Operations
>Team.
>
>
>"They had one rope lapped over a tree that could have been dead at best,"
>Bentley said. "We got another rope and wrapped it around another tree in
>case one snapped."
>
>
>The Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Co., Blue Ridge Summit (Pa.) Fire and Rescue
>Department and Smithsburg Emergency Medical Services also responded to the
>call.
>
>
>It took nearly 45 minutes for the bystanders to free the woman, Bentley
>said.
>
>
>It was unknown whether the woman had a permit, which is required in order
>to hang glide from High Rock, said Kirk Mongan, chief of the Leitersburg
>Volunteer Fire Co.
>
>
>Mongan said it was uncommon for people to hang glide in the winter, but
>said the woman and bystanders appeared to be seasoned professionals.
>
>
>Bentley said Friday's rescue was the third hang-gliding incident this year
>in Washington County.
>
>
>Bentley said the only other hang-gliding incident at High Rock this year
>occurred in July, when a man got stuck in a 75-foot tree.
>
>
>"This incident was nearly identical," Bentley said. "But this guy's only
>option was to hang there and wait for someone to rescue him or to cut the
>rope and, of course, possibly injure himself severely."

Post by **mcelrah** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:22 am

After all the effort to get a new sign up at High Rock, there is
still a second copy of the old sign down at the gate with the
offending "Washington Co. permit" language. My understanding is that
this is a hassle for the County too because they occasionally get
visiting pilots coming to their offices wanting to apply for this non-
existent permit. I will try to remember to call the public works
director and ask if he will take the second sign down. - Hugh

Post by **brianvh** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 5:03 pm

It might be good for public relations to correct the "three incidents this year" statement. I may poke around and see if I can find the proper person to send letters to the editor.

Post by **XCanytime** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 5:21 pm

They were just 4 months off.? 3 incidents in 16 months, not 12.? Buried in the noise.

Spark · Post by **Spark** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 5:48 pm

XCanytime wrote:They were just 4 months off.? 3 incidents in 16 months, not 12.? Buried in the noise.

Perception is reality. The Rescue guy only knows about One incident in 12 months. The incident with Hugh required no Special Operations Team response.

FYI - the guy that cleaned my chimney today asked me about Friday's incident. This is a small valley.

Flying Lobster · Post by **Flying Lobster** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 6:01 pm

Could have been worse--at least a wing of F-16's weren't scrambled!

marc

Post by **mcelrah** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 8:59 pm

I had an ambulance - and agreed to take the ride to the ER as a
precaution, since I had rung my bell. So far as I can tell, there
was no requirement for the over-the-top response to Linda's
situation. (I counted four large pieces of equipment - mostly not
relevant to the situation - a hook-and-ladder might have been
worthwhile...) So far as I know, no one from our group called them.
Best guess is it was the military police who called them - then every
fire-and-rescue in the valley piled on - must have been a slow day.
The emergency teams assume that they are in charge and that we are
bystanders to be kept away from the site. Is there any interest in
contacting these guys proactively to introduce ourselves, talk about
various types of rescue we may require and let them know we have some
relevant skills to contribute? - Hugh

Post by **dbodner** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 9:08 pm

I'm guessing we'd have better luck beating our heads against a wall.??On Jan 2, 2006, at 8:59 PM, Hugh McElrath wrote:

The emergency teams assume that they are in charge and that we are ?
bystanders to be kept away from the site.? Is there any interest in ?
contacting these guys proactively to introduce ourselves, talk about ?
various types of rescue we may require and let them know we have some ?
relevant skills to contribute? - Hugh

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