ZIP LINE ACCIDENTS /
REPORTS / PROSECUTIONS
This site is a gate-way
for all professional Guides who work on or operate a Zip line (flying fox).
The number of accidents with zip line operations is
increasing at an alarming rate.
As a professional Guide, you can do something
about this!
If you think your employer isn't providing proper and
thorough staff training, you should speak up.
Are you being provided with PPE that is fit for its
intended purpose?
How regularly do staff
undertake rescue and other skill proficiency training?
If you knowingly turn a blind eye to safety issues -
then you are actually part of the problem.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The
documents on this site are in Adobe PDF file format.
NOTE:
Documents in PDF file format
require the latest version of Adobe
Acrobat Reader. It is a free
download.
Link: https://get.adobe.com/reader (be sure
to select your operating system - eg windows or MAC
O/S)
To download and save Adobe PDF files, right click and select "Save
target as". You will then be asked to select a folder to save the
file to.
All of these documents are the intellectual property of various
authors, consultants and OHS / WHS authorities. Your 'rights' to use these
documents is confined only to your immediate efforts to learn about risk
management and how accidents are caused. You may not use these documents for
commercial gain and/or profit. Using these documents for commercial gain
and/or profit without consent is a crime known as stealing and may result in legal
action by the author of the content.
|
ZIP
LINE CASE LEARNING MATERIAL
|
|
|
DOCUMENT
|
DATE
|
SUMMARY
|
SIZE
|
|
1
|
VWA
v Bass straight views
|
Oct 2004
|
A 9 year old girl fell approximately 12m from a launch
platform when her attachment hardware (carabiner/connector)
released from her harness.
After being initially attached to the zip line, the girl was then left
unattended and unsupervised when she fell.
The girl suffered serious injuries and was admitted
to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria.
The operator of the zip line (Bass Straight Views) was convicted and fined
$35,000.
|
|
|
2
|
VWA
v Warren Maxwell Williams
|
Feb 2007
|
A student (child) launched on the zip line and then
crashed into a scissor lift (a type of elevating work platform) at the
dismount termination end. The scissor lift was used to release customers
from the zip line so they could dismount and safely exit. The child
launched on the zip line before a previous customer was released and the
scissor lift moved out of the way.
The student was knocked unconscious from the impact and
suffered skull and brain injuries. The student was taken to hospital and
placed into a medically induced coma. The student eventually made a full
recovery.
The operator of the zip line (Warren Maxwell
Williams) was convicted and fined $10,000.
|
|
|
3
|
OSHA
fine USA
|
15 July 2015
|
Darrell Gilley (54 year old employee) attempted to grab
a customer who rebounded at the end termination (dismount end) of the zip
line. Darrell clung to the customer and they both rebounded away from the
platform. Unable to hold on, Darrell fell approximately 150 feet to his
death.
|
|
|
4
|
OSHA
fine USA
|
Oct 2014
|
OSHA cites Maui zip line owner and operator for employee
death. Patricia Rabellizsa (29 year old employee)
tragically died as a result of a fall from a platform. She was not using
PPE to prevent a fall (her employer regarded fall protection as optional).
Patricia fell approximately 150 feet.
|
|
|
5
|
OSHA
fine USA
|
2012
|
A zip line support tower in Hawaii catastrophically
collapsed when the ground (in soil) anchors failed. One employee of 'Gozip' was killed and another seriously injured.
Gozip received 3 separate citations and fines for
various breaches of Hawaii OSHA laws.
|
|
|
6
|
GoApe Accident report
|
2016
|
Tina Werner fell approximately 35 feet to her death from
a transfer platform owned and operated by GoApe
(a challenge rope course and zip line site in Delware
USA).
Tina was a customer (not an employee/Guide).
All customers are issued with PPE and given a safety induction briefing and
demonstrations in how to use their PPE correctly.
After completing their safety induction, customers are then able to use the
challenge ropes course facility - with no direct staff (employee)
supervision.
It is assumed that customers will be proficient in the use of their PPE and
not make inadvertent errors.
The double (ie twin-tail) lanyards that were
issued were not of the 'communicating' type where it is impossible
to remove both connectors at the same time. The issued double lanyards
could be misused by simple inadvertence or a lapse of concentration. One
needs to keep in mind that paying customers are not experts, and they don't
have high levels of skill.
It is not known if GoApe have
since changed the type of double lanyards they issue to customers.
|
|
|
7
|
Zip
line collision Thailand
|
2015
|
Lisa Sayre (customer) collided at high speed with another
customer (Hazel) who was still on the zip line.
The cable span was very long - and supervising staff did not have direct
line-of-sight visual contact from the launch platform to the receiving
platform. Hand-held radios were used for staff communication.
Both customers sustained severe injuries as a result of
the force of the collision - with Lisa Sayre in particular suffering major
head injuries, broken ribs and the loss of sight in her right eye.
|
|
|
8
|
R
v Clark [2007] QCA 168
|
2007
|
Lucy Keen (customer) suffered horrific injuries when she
fell approximately 20m from a platform on a zip line on 29 May 2004.
Steve Jay Clark (Guide) who was employed by 'Jungle
Surfing Tours' was held by the QLD Supreme Court of Appeal to be criminally negligent.
The Guide (Steve Clark) failed to attach Lucy to a
safety line or zip line mobile attachment device.
This is the first case in Australia where a professional Guide was
convicted and sentenced to prison.
Lucy has permanent brain damage and requires constant
care for the rest of her life.
|
|
|
9
|
QLD
Workcover 11Mar2019
|
11 Mar 2019
|
In July 2016 a women (customer) suffered serious
injuries when she initially collided with an employee Guide and then a
tree. The line attached to a magnetic deceleration device snapped and failed
to arrest the forward momentum of the customer.
The operator of the zip line was fined $40,000.
|
|
|
10
|
Zip
line failure Mexico
|
April 2016
|
Heather Gladden suffered serious soft tissue injuries
when the zip line she was riding on catastrophically failed. Heather
plummeted several hundred feet yet miraculously survived because the
handlebar she was holding onto snagged on a tree branch. Heather was
trapped hanging upside down from the tree for approximately 20 minutes
until she was rescued.
The operator of the zip line denied that the zip line had failed.
|
|
Back to Top
Send your suggestions
to us via the 'contact us' page!
PO Box 362 Castletown
HYDE PARK
TOWNSVILLE QLD 4812
Australia
Tel +61 7 4721 4746
Home - How to Join - Member Levels
- Training - Background
- Insurance - Contact Us
Copyright Professional
Association of Climbing Instructors Pty. Ltd
ABN 19 061 622 151 ACN 061 622 151
|
