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avoidable accident


grassy2014

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I would like to tell you about an avoidable accident that I had at the bore chasers flyin. I had previously checked my paramotor and it was fine.  As I hadn’t flown this paramotor before, I had run it on my back and walked around the field to get an idea of the power and stuff. Everything was fine. After laying my wing out and getting prepared for my flight I started the motor on the floor to warm it up again. Big mistake.

It immediately went into full  throttle. It slammed into me as I tried to duck behind the seat. My right shoulder jammed against the cage. The propeller shredded the netting and sliced through the support spars. Then slammed into my arm. The propeller shattered and flew off. This happened in just a few seconds. I managed to turn the machine off and stood up not knowing what to expect. My arm was completely numb.

I was very very very lucky. Apart from a very bruised arm and some cuts I got away with it. I was amazed. I could have so easily lost fingers, even my arm. I had many small nicks to my face and neck where small bits had hit me. If they were any bigger I could have lost my life.

I am not telling you this to stop anyone starting their paramotor on the floor as I don’t think it will make any difference. All I ask is please please bear this in mind when you start your motor and be careful.

I was at the flyin. I had expert help within less than a minute due to the brilliant organisation from Simon Westmore. A first aider treated me straight away and patched up my cuts. I was then taken to hospital who eventualy told me I hadn’t broken anything. When I got back, my kit had been brought back and stashed in my tent. Thanks Cas.

We inspected the throttle later and found it sticking. It had been fine before, so check your throttles before starting every time.

Just think. If I was on my own or just with one other person. Things would have been much worse.

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Wow, lucky escape for you and anyone around. It certainly serves as a lesson for ground starting your machine or offline throttle checks. I do, do it but never rev it and never leave it without the stop button in my hand. Its a tick-over to make sure it'll start and to test the stop prior to putting it on the wing and my back.

I was recently on a paramotor holiday and there was a couple of guys on the trip who were obsessed with "warming up" the engine on the ground and on their back and revving it and shutting it down and revving it some more. All a bit needlessly in my opinion. It seems to have been part of their training and this is what you should do. Anyway, on our last flight of the holiday one of the chaps was starting the engine and revving it up, the throttle return spring failed the revs stayed on he slipped and somehow he ended up punching the prop through the back of the paramotor harness. I think he was lucky it was on full revs as the prop "knocked" his knuckles back and away. If it was going slower he might have got in between the prop frequency and lost something. I don't think anyone who saw it expected him to have a hand when he got back up. Anyway the machine fell over the prop shattered and engine stalled. He was shaken up had bruised knuckles and he lost his last flight of the holiday but otherwise OK.

I have to admit I don't like engines running off your back and revving and especially with no stop in hand. I don't think its necessary and certainly not aggressive revving as I witnessed.

 

I hope your not worse the wear for your incident now Grassy and you get your gear repaired soon.

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This is something we keep repeating on facebook, always start your paramotor on your back end of :-x , after all its a GIANT vertical food mixer and several fitted with hard sharp carbon blades, in most cases limbs normally lost and severe damage

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grassy only other thing i'll say :mad: is i hope you've learnt from your lucky escape 9_9, and thank you for open honesty and posting this up, but alas we both know it would of surfaced because of the event it happened at :P.

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So glad it wasn't worse terry ' i saw you with your motor as I was landing , then I saw the prop go flying off , bits flying all over the place , see you drop to your knees so lucky you got the motor  stopped '. Few off us had look at your motor the throttle still hadn't returned to idle position , lucky man 

cas. 

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Grassy, good for you for having the courage to tell us about your accident.  The more people who have the same courage to be open, the better.  Eventually the message will get through.

On another note.  Attendance at public events is usually conditional on pilots having insurance and complying with various conditions.  Would it be worth making a condition that motors are only started on backs?  Or is that more nanny state?

I'm glad that you got away with it and hope that you are airbourne again soon.

Christian

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thanks everyone for your kind words and not being judgmental. I am still embarrassed that I did it. I am usually pretty safety conscious. I don't think people will stop starting their motors on the deck as it is easier. but my message might just make them think. (check your throttle) if it saves someone from hurting themselves. then I don't mind being embarrassed.

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Very glad you didn't get hurt more than you did Grassy. I always say try to imagine a prop is a circular saw blade. People treat them a bit differently then. It's no. 1 rule that we only start them on our backs at our fly in as there is usually a friend to give you a hand  anyway. I'm not even going to check that mine fires before I put it on my back anymore. Mine is easy to start with one pull anyway, so even if I am alone I can crack it every time

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Thanks for posting up what Happened.. Your very lucky to be alive and not too have lost anything...  This is becoming Far too common these days.. 

Starting on the ground Is a 100% NONO....  It still amazes me that people are STILL being taught to warm up or start up while holding the Machine on the ground, Pulling the motor over with one hand while the throttle Hand is holding back the machine!!   This has to be one retarded way to start a machine...    I've heard all the excuses... " I hold the Kill" "I've checked the throttle and it was free"  All Bollox....  

Please Guys if you see someone about to start there motor up on the ground go and advise them the correct way to start up...   

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On ‎01‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 18:33, grassy2014 said:

thanks everyone for your kind words and not being judgmental. I am still embarrassed that I did it. I am usually pretty safety conscious. I don't think people will stop starting their motors on the deck as it is easier. but my message might just make them think. (check your throttle) if it saves someone from hurting themselves. then I don't mind being embarrassed.

Good on you Terry... you really have nothing at all to be embarrassed about at all. It was an accident and you truly got away with it!

FYI I started mine on my back all weekend long and always do. Note that some days it is easier than others... but it only gets started on my back. I also helped loads of other people pull start theirs when they had them on their backs - really not a problem to me what so ever. I'd definitely prefer to help people pull start their motors than to searching the grass for their fingers or worse!

Anywho as ever it is always good to see you and Darren - take care mate!

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1)Thanks grassy for sharing your (bad) experience

2) NOT, NOT, NOT start your engine on the ground. If for any reason the engine starts at full throttle you do NOT have the time to react and turn it off, even if you have your finger right on the kill switch.

I know, the first turning on after some time of not using the engine, can be not so simple.... and this is the reason why , when I fly alone and nobody can help me with the turning on on my back, I do the first turning on only after having disassembled the propeller. I do carry a small battery operated power drill that fastens the assembling and disassembling operation of the propeller. Please be smart.

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I'm amazed that all bar one of the paramotor manufacturers still don't include the SafeStart system, or at least offer it as an option. Pilots are still left with marketing where frame dynamics and weight are prioritised over easily solving one of the biggest risks of the sport. I've been banging on about this years, almost no one in the industry seems interested. I love our manufacturers and appreciate the massive progress in designs which has taken place in recent times but not addressing this fundamental safety concern is irresponsible. 

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2 hours ago, calcifer said:

1)Thanks grassy for sharing your (bad) experience

2) NOT, NOT, NOT start your engine on the ground. If for any reason the engine starts at full throttle you do NOT have the time to react and turn it off, even if you have your finger right on the kill switch.

I know, the first turning on after some time of not using the engine, can be not so simple.... and this is the reason why , when I fly alone and nobody can help me with the turning on on my back, I do the first turning on only after having disassembled the propeller. I do carry a small battery operated power drill that fastens the assembling and disassembling operation of the propeller. Please be smart.

I was trained to start my engine on the ground. The basic rule, don't start it until you are in a position to be able to hold FULL power. If you haven't adopted the "full power position" then this can happen.

And I know it can be easy to forget things...but this was one thing I was taught never to forget. And a god job, because not so long ago I obviously didn't do pre-flight checks properly and my throttle clamp (the Parajet twist type) was tight. Hence I started it, with throttle pressed,  and it stuck on full power!!!!!!

How many people really do a thorough pre-flight check?

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@AndyB : I was trained to start the engine on the ground too.  This was before I personally witnessed not one, but TWO propeller impact accidents on my flight ground. The first costed the pilot two fingers, the second costed to a friend the correct mobility of the right arm and shoulder. I've already reported both accidents in this section of the forum. TWO prop related accidents in less than 1 year of PPG experience.

Sorry of not being able to agree with you, but I think that the only position that 100% allows you to hold your PPG @ full throttle is on your back. I ALWAYS make the pre-flight checks on the engine but sorry, If you want me to turn on the engine on the ground with the prop installed is to force me at gunpoint. NO WAY.

 

 

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I agree with you. I think I have been more driven by the fact that I cannot do many things easily (disease of back). I cannot stand up for very long with the machine on my back and I certainly can't run it at full power to warm it up (right leg weak from Caudia Equina). I also cannot pull the starter very well.....right arm not very flexible. Fine when my elec start works!

I have been experimenting this past few days with starting on my back. It's not that bad! In fact it works quite well. The only way I can warm it up is to bend forward and rest my elbows on my knees to take the weight. This puts the prop horizontal and thrust straight down. With thrust down through my arms resting on knees, I can run on full power.

Converted.......just need to learn the new routine!

 

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Well, Andy, with your health problems I agree that could be a problem to stand up too long with the engine on your back.

It happened right last friday.... I was ready to takeoff, but the wind direction was quite unstable. I went on my knees leaving the engine @ idle, discharging the engine's weight on the ground, and I waited in that position abt. 10 minutes for a more stable wind condition. Then I stood up and I was ready for the takeoff.

I know other guys with back related problems, and they all have converted themselves to the trike. I'm now 43 and soon the day will come when I will also start to have problems to my back, but on that day I will not convert myself to the trike. One of the things that I do really like of the PPG is the versatility... no need of trailer to be transported, possibility to takeoff on rough grounds.... that's AWESOME !

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1 hour ago, AndyB said:

I have been experimenting this past few days with starting on my back. It's not that bad! In fact it works quite well. The only way I can warm it up is to bend forward and rest my elbows on my knees to take the weight.

Andy.  You can always sit on the ground, start the motor and warm it up (ensuring area behind is clear).  Then either turn off and have an easy start while standing up, or if you have a clutch - carefully stand up while motor is on idle.

 

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Start your motor and run it for a minute before putting your prop on. If it won't start, then what is the point of putting the prop on? :)

Once the prop is on, only start it when it is on your back. It's the only way to ensure these things never happen, as another person found out today, the hard way: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/10/man-injured-paraglider-propeller-palm-bay/101503782/

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8 minutes ago, andre_74 said:

Start your motor and run it for a minute before putting your prop on. If it won't start, then what is the point of putting the prop on? :)

Once the prop is on, only start it when it is on your back. It's the only way to ensure these things never happen, as another person found out today, the hard way: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/10/man-injured-paraglider-propeller-palm-bay/101503782/

 

if yours has a clutch you might get away with that, otherwise it's a pretty bad idea with most engines - the prop is the flywheel - most won't even run without a prop.

But I agree with your next bit - there's no excuse that's a good excuse - run it on your back ONLY. that's it. 

I had an argument on the comments with a guy in youtube starting his air conception nitro (clutched) on the ground and leaving it running and walking away.

he refused to acknowledge issue - 'its got a clutch', 'im careful' bla bla. he'll either get away with it, maybe encourage others to do the same, or he won't.

all it takes is a broken clutch spring and a stuck thottle, and bye bye appendage. 

I just do not get the reticence to start on your back from some people - do they not see that big sharp spinning thing going round at 300+mph ? 

I spent an hour picking bits of minced fingers and bones up from a field in spain once at Las Candelas - I have no wish to ever have to do that again.

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