I have now had the opportunity to read the articles
that started this thread as Jim Skydell kindly sent
them to me. I do not intend to comment on the specifics
of his accident other than to point out that the comment
concerning a 6000 ft runway was in error. In effect
we are talking about 2 x 3000 ft runways.
Having read the articles I asked myself two questions

1 Could it happen to me?
2 Have I learned from it?
Despite my 10000 launches and 1300 hrs the answer to
both questions is a resounding yes.
I think the whole point of the articles has been missed
by some as Jim obviously knows the mistakes he made
and has chosen to share his human fallibility with
the rest of the gliding community. It is unfortunate
that some have taken the opportunity to ridicule him
because of this. He is to be congratulated for a courageous
and bold decision, not sniped at because some people
think he should have known better. The people who have
sniped at him are the very people who are likely to
make the same mistake. The articles also highlight
possible deficiencies in teaching and supervision and
it is right that these should be addressed. I would
urge everyone to read the articles carefully.
Looking back I have allowed my irritation with those
who have made unwarranted personal attacks to lead
me to do the very same thing, for that I apologise.
I stand by my assertion that if you think you could
not make a mistake you should not be flying.
I mean no disrespect when I say that living in the
UK I had never heard of Jim before this thread started
let alone met him. I thank him for his frank admissions
and for the opportunity to learn. Jim was lucky, he
was able to write about his experience. Reading his
articles might just save YOUR life one day.

DAJ
ASW17 401