Scary story about landing on a Lake Tahoe golf course

Some of the posts here about water landing could give the impression that it's not so bad. Sometimes it isn't.

Readers should bear in mind that those who drown while so doing are not posting their story in counterpoint. I have just one friend who's ever attempted a water landing with his glider. He won't be posting.

I was waiting for someone to point that out. I recall that accident near Turf. Water landings may be no big deal if everything goes well. However if something goes wrong, you drop a wing, you stalled, you misjudged you’re altitude above the water (easy to do) etc and it can be more serious and less forgiving than ground.

Ramy

On Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 11:59:08 AM UTC-7, Steve Koerner wrote:
Some of the posts here about water landing could give the impression that it's not so bad. Sometimes it isn't.

Readers should bear in mind that those who drown while so doing are not posting their story in counterpoint. I have just one friend who's ever attempted a water landing with his glider. He won't be posting.

I have been an avid sailor most of my adult life. Over a third of all drowning victims are good swimmers. I have also been in a dunk tank for training on how to get out of a submerged helicopter. Great experience and I am not convinced unless, you are practiced and current that most could pull that off. Do you know your reference points, have you practiced upside down, blind folded and wet?
While Ramy has 8,000 plus hours of XC glider flying most of us do not. So his A, B, and C might be significantly different than what others could pull off. I have been in Sergio's elevator. I also remember a good pilot named Joe that got killed in there as I was leaving soaring for an extended hiatus. While lots of good information here, Harrison Callahan really summed up life "a man has to know his limitations". Don't push yours.

Steve Koerner wrote on 7/29/2020 11:59 AM:
Some of the posts here about water landing could give the impression that it's not so bad. Sometimes it isn't.

Readers should bear in mind that those who drown while so doing are not posting their story in counterpoint. I have just one friend who's ever attempted a water landing with his glider. He won't be posting.

I've heard of 5 or 6 water landings, and they all went well - the pilot survived
without injury. This is the first one I've heard of that didn't. What happened?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

This is the first one I've heard of that didn't. What happened?


I wasn't there, but as I heard the story, he was trying to land on the boat ramp and he was waiting for it to clear of people when he stalled and spun into the water. He was knocked out, and the people that swam out to help him couldn't figure out how to open the canopy and the glider sank, drowning the pilot. Please excuse me if this isn't correct.

Boggs

On Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 11:59:08 AM UTC-7, Steve Koerner wrote:
Some of the posts here about water landing could give the impression that it's not so bad. Sometimes it isn't.

Readers should bear in mind that those who drown while so doing are not posting their story in counterpoint. I have just one friend who's ever attempted a water landing with his glider. He won't be posting.

That's a very unfortunate point Steve. I paraglide at a coastal site near the San Francisco Bay. Hang glider and paraglider pilots drown there nearly every year. Although water landings are usually gentle, any injury or loss of conciousness can be deadly in the water. People get stuck in their harness, drown in surf, smashed into rocks, or succumb to hypothermia. If the water is 32 degrees and you're a poor swimmer, then banging up the sailplane on dry land could be the better option.