beginner death in france, detailed by the teacher.

[posey]

insane, condolences to the family.

"I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.""

[stefaans]

Yeah that mofo is going to jail for a long time.

i still don't get the run the boat over the lines approach. aren't you now just setting a nice hard object for the kiter to hit.

[windmaker]

Condolences..

However, this was avoidable!
How could you ever allow for ONE instructor to handle FOUR begginers with kite each, and without additional person on the boat in case of rescue? This should have never happened.

Also, knifes.. it would save a life here.

A sad story, but teaching 4 students at once out at sea without knowing their abilities is looking for trouble.

[FredBGG]

Thats tragic!!!

I blame 100% the ''killer'' teacher...In the name of profit they go in and teach the most dangerous part of kitetraining (water start) with 4 students!!!You stupid moneyhunter!!!Why didn't you used a knife and you tried to trap the kite with a boat!!!!oh i forgot ...the kite costs money and the lines too...why your students didnt have a knife on them???a proper diving knife ,not the ones on the harnesses cause you have to be very experienced to use it on danger... why you used a leash with the boards????Stupid!!!!

i wish you to rott in jail you smack!!!!

i teach also ... never over 2 persons cause they dont pay attention....and in the water start only one!!!

KILLER!!!!

I glad to see that someone else agrees with me on this.... (your post showed up when I posted mine... we must have been writing at the same time)

You are right that greed had a lot to do with this and your comments have more weight as you are an instructor.

Another thing to consider is that while this "killer" instructor was desperately trying to rescue Rene the other three students were totally unsupervised and could have suffered a similar fate. Just imagine 3 beginner students on the overpowered side with no one to help them......

I do think this death could of easily been prevented, but I think the instructor involved has learnt some harsh lessons and in the most horrific manner, he shouldn't be slammed at this moment in time! I think the kite school is the main culprit for having some seriously dangerous approaches to teaching. Sounds to me like they are all about the money, and don't really take safety too seriously!

They should be shut down and taken to court, as there practices have resulted in a death!

Surely there should be IKO practices set in stone by law?

Teaching seems to be the cause of the vast majority of the fatalities in our sport

From what I can see on the schools website this Eric guy is co founder of the school.

http://www.fildair.com/equipe

"le centre est né en 1998 de la rencontre d'Olivier BLANC et d’Éric PELAPRAT"

The center was born in 1998 from the encounter of Olivier BLANC and Éric PELAPRAT.

The instructor and school should be taken to court.
The whole story is one of irresponsibility, convenience for the instructor and greed for profit.

[mattdez]

I think people should stop banding the word killer around. I agree that a number of bad judgements all culminated in a tragedy but I think killer is the wrong word to use.

I cant quite see how this boat trick is safe. Yes if the wind is light and the student isn't very powered then the process would be carried out with greater ease and safety but this was not the case and the student got dragged into the boat! The instructor wasted time lifting the outboard to untangle everything and it also states that the boat caused the bar to get jammed against it keeping the kite powered.

I think the point about carrying a knife is an important one as it really is a last resort tool and would have worked well here if there was so much tension in the lines. The report also doesn't mention that the instructor simply tried to unhook the CL (although it mentions that the QR was pulled but nothing moving) which is what I do if the student is having trouble and unable/unwilling to follow my instructions (and hook myself in, obviously not in this situation).

I also agree that the sizes of kites seem very large for this wind strength. I was teaching on Kahoonas this summer and only ever used the 9.5 if the wind was light or if the student was particularly heavy. If the student is new to trying board starts then they should only have enough power to stand up and ride a short distance, at least for the first few hours, simple IKO stuff.

I hope this all gets sorted properly.

My condolences go to the family and friends of Rene.

[Bille]

How many of the Kiters on this forum, carry a
((Hook-Knife ))
while you are kite boarding ?

On a HG or PG, it's considered basic & standard equipment.
When we toss a reserve there is basically No control for landing
and the wind could kill you by being drug over the rocks.

It's a thought, and especially for you guys that go in the ocean with
waves !

& if Ya get one, DON"T get a cheep plastic one, a Good unit will
cost in the neighborhood of $50 bucks.

http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/sq ... aptorKnife

Bille

[The Captain]

Easy to pick out the chain of errors after the fact, isn't it. Kudos to the instructor for the man-up to admit his mistake so that others may learn.

As a group of kiters world-wide, it is important to remember not everyone who takes this sport on (it is growing) it a hard-core, fast acting spring chicken.

Some standards for instruction are warranted.

Line Knife-MANADTORY!
Board Leash-not with a kite!

Learn from this.

[seanflex]

How many of the Kiters on this forum, carry a
((Hook-Knife ))
while you are kite boarding ?

On a HG or PG, it's considered basic & standard equipment.
When we toss a reserve there is basically No control for landing
and the wind could kill you by being drug over the rocks.

It's a thought, and especially for you guys that go in the ocean with
waves !

& if Ya get one, DON"T get a cheep plastic one, a Good unit will
cost in the neighborhood of $50 bucks.

Bille

+1 always have mine..
ocean rodeo hybrid 2 comes with one.

[edt]

I know the area an used to windsurf there. When the wind is 5 to 6 bft it is expert conditions or at least intermediate with an appropriately small kite or sail.

There is a sentence missing in the translation you read.

"Le vent se révèle être conforme aux prévisions ainsi que les relevés en temps réel de la balise météo Fil d’Air située sur les parcs à huîtres au milieu de l’étang, soit 15 à 20nds. "


According to Eric it's blowing 15 to 20 knots, not 20 to 25 knots obviously a huge difference.

[alexrider]

A comment from the French site:
"Un cauchemar... Merci pour ton témoignage et le courage qu'il t'as fallu pour le faire... C'est mieux que les polémiques et chacun en tirera des enseignements. Toutes mes condoléances..."

"A nightmare... thank you for the testimony and the courage you needed to do it....It's better than controversies and each will draw the lessons. All my condolences."

It's no one's prerogative here to declare the instructor a criminal.
That's why I declare nikalaitzian is an idiot.

Easy to pick out the chain of errors after the fact, isn't it. Kudos to the instructor for the man-up to admit his mistake so that others may learn....