Big Cb & paragliding

[Basil]

From Sydney Morning Herald.

A lightning strike killed a Chinese man who disappeared after being sucked into the storm survived by German paraglider Ewa Wisnierska last week.
Mr He, a member of the Chinese paragliding team, had been in training for the Paragliding World Championships, which start on Saturday in Manilla.

During her ordeal, Ms Wisnierska passed out due to lack of oxygen and flew unconscious for up to an hour covered in ice after reaching an altitude of 9947 metres - near the cruising height of a jumbo jet.

Full report at:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/lightning-killed-paraglider/2007/02/20/1171733745020.html

[niknak]

What was all the more suprising was that she gave the impression that she'd done something worthy of note, when her entire performance and the death of the other paraglider could have been easily avoided by checking the prevalant weather (Thunderstorms and CBs within sight of the launch site) or the forecast for the area (Thunderstorms/CB/Towering Cu forecast).
Very sad that it ended in a pointless death and that any low hour/immpressionable para glider will think she is some sort of heroine, when precisely the opposite is the case.

[IO540]

Re: checking the weather. One could make exactly the same comment, IMHO, regarding some other recent accidents. Some people have a whole different attitude to risk.

[Kirstey]

I can kind of see the point NikNak.. Surely convecting unstable cu clouds are required to get the most out of paragliding?

[scooter boy]

Kirstey,
Count me out of flying on a big kite into a massive black thundery cloud with rain and hail coming out of the bottom.
In fact count me out of flying a Boeing 747 into one for that matter.

There is a very thin line between bravery, stupidity and suicide. Of course the line is far clearer in retrospect but how that fraulein survived her ordeal god only knows.

I am with Nik Nak on this one.

SB (perpetual avoider of CBs)