SAFA Skysailor Magazine

26 SKY SAILOR July | August 2020 Y ou could be forgiven for thinking that things would have gone pretty quiet on the AIRS front and that we in the Opera- tions Team would be working on very substantive stuff. Unfortunately, I have to report that while the bulk of our members have respected what has been going on, a few individuals seem to believe that directives issued by clubs, site-owners, councils and governments don’t apply to them. Or that they are exempt from being a member of SAFA in order to be allowed the privilege of flying our aircraft. Well, they’rewrong. We have a number of actions underway at the moment, either in terms of referral to CASA for investigation and prosecution, or as referral to the Board for a Disciplinary Tribunal. I’ll have more to say on these next issue of SkySailor. So, on to reports we’ve been processing recently. Due to the nature of our operations, particularly when ridge soaring, it is sometimes possible to lose situational awareness of vegetation and to- pography. No doubt we’ve all seen footage of pilots scraping past cliffs, particularly during competi- tion. While this looks spectacular, the risks cannot be understated. It is all too easy to lose track of vegetation protruding into the flight path and the situation can be exacerbated when an unexpected loss of lift is encountered. This is what occurred to the paraglider pilot involved in AIRS #1191. Light winds at Flinders, Victoria, meant not much lift was available. While scratching close to the hill and travelling east, a branch snagged a wing tip causing a deflation and a landing in shrubbery, luckily without injury or damage. Recently, Point Cartwright and Alexandra Headland on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, have been closed for operations. This has been due to changes in the layout of the Maroochydore airport and airspace. There have been several AIRS reports originating with incidents at these sites in the past year. In the recently processed AIRS #1199, a paraglider pilot had decided to launch after holding the wing overhead while assessing the conditions. There were four or five other pilots in the air, who had reported no problems. The pilot cleared the fence, but then did not get any lift once in the air and ended up descending gently into the trees without any injury or damage. The pilot was able to safely self-extract himself and his wing. Other environmental factors have contributed to some of the reports. In #1118, a PG pilot was coming in to a landing at a designated landing zone at Blackheath, NSW. While setting up for final ap- proach, the pilot’s shadow passed over a group of horses, spooking them and throwing a rider from one of these. The pilot landed and immediately went to assist the rider who was uninjured. The horse was new to the area and unaccustomed to flight operations in the adjacent LZ paddock. The pilot has spread the word within the club of the ‘Shadow Hazard’ and this has been incorporated AIRS Safety Wrap-up – May 2020 Greetings fellow pilots. Last time you heard from me, I was in quarantine and the world was going to hell in a handbasket. Now, we’re coming out the other side. by Iain Clarke, Safety Management Officer Rainbow Beach, QLD Photo: Christopher Cook