November 2011 trip to Eygpt and Red Sea. Diving sites are in and around Soma Bay, between Hurghada and Safaga.

This news video shows some of the events that followed the crash at Green Bay in August.

The passenger involved in that tandem accident is now in a back brace as a result of spinal injuries sustained in the fall and has been unable to work since the accident. Ms. Lin used to work as a beautician but after spinal surgery to repair the damage done in the accident has been reliant on friends to look after her.

Ms. Lin was a customer of the well-known Yeh Ma paragliding club’s tandem operation at Green Bay, who now deny any responsibility for the accident or for Ms. Lin’s injuries. Yeh Ma has been operating a flying school and tandem operation up at Green Bay for close to 20 years now. Yeh Ma states in the video that the other pilot was at fault and that all other instructors in Taiwan hate him ‘because he has the most successful business’. In fact the reporters go on to claim that Yeh Ma has a turnover of over NT$4m (USD138,000) a month, and that tax officials are now investigating the club for tax evasion.

Meanwhile Ms. Lin has not been able to get any help from the legislature or scenic area authorities (Green Bay is inside the North Coast Scenic Area) etc., all of whom claim to have no control over the activities of private companies operating there.

The news report goes on to state that Yeh Ma does not offer any insurance policies to clients but that they should take out insurance cover on their own. This is somewhat contradicted by the club’s website which states that flights cost NT$1,000 and include insurance coverage of NT$2m. In the video Yeh Ma himself states there is no insurance company involved and that as a club, he cannot buy any coverage. According to consumer protection agencies in Xinbei this may be considered false advertising and may be punished with a fine of up to NT$25m, though there was no talk of such a case in progress.
The legislature passed regulations back in 2004 (after a spate of accidents) that require those offering flights for hire to have a minimum of NT$3m insurance for their passengers.

The news reporters go themselves to Green Bay and take a flight with the Yeh Ma club and are told there is no need for any training before flight. The attempted take-off results in a tumble but apparently no injury to the reporter. Yeh Ma himself is seen taking cash from the reporters in direct contravention of site rules which forbid any tandem flights for money.

The last 6 months have seen 5 accidents at Green Bay and 6 people injured:

9/11 three gliders collided injuring two people.
9/10 a bad landing injured one person.
7/31 two gliders collided injuring one person.
6/25 crash injured one person.
5/22 tree landing injured one person.

Please note the above information is taken directly from the news report and I am only responsible for translating it, and not for any factual errors in the report. If I’ve made an error in translation please feel free to point it out in comments. The scene at 5:51 where a girl is taking an insurance form from the reporter is at Ilan where the club operating the site does offer proper cover.

I wish Ms. Lin a speedy recovery and hope she gets proper compensation. It’s very sad to see the operations of a fine site like Green Bay have fallen into their current state, not to mention the many others that are like this.
Please do not add yourself to the list of accident victims and be sure your friends don’t either. Avoid flying tandem with anyone not possessing a proper tandem rating. An Advanced pilot’s license is a step toward a tandem license, not a substitute. Make sure you have appropriate insurance that clearly mentions that paragliding incidents are covered, many travel insurance policies directly exclude such activities. Do not support those who flout the law and safe practices by giving them your money.

Taiwan will host a Pre-PWC comp in February. The registrations so far are mostly from around Asia. Organizer Chris Yeh is well known on the local scene and has also competed in quite a few international events.

A pilot named Lee died in an accident in Ilan on August 31st. Police have stated he fell from his harness after failing to close his buckles properly. Mr. Lee (53) was president of an electronics factory so his passing probably made more news than usual. According to news reports (not very reliable in Taiwan) he had only completed about 30 flights and just gotten his pilots license. The initial reports are that he fell from the harness not long after take-off and fell about 20m onto open ground.

In 2002 there was a similar accident at Saichia when Chen Dz-Yung also failed to buckle his legstraps at launch and fell to his death.

Two tandem gliders collided at Green Bay over the weekend, though luckily no-one was injured. The sky over this site in Feitsuiwan has been very busy this summer with thousands of onlookers willing to take a ride on a tandem paraglider.

There is video shot by one of the pilots on this news site, showing the collision and the resulting fall into a stand of bamboo. The ridge on which the site sits is covered in lush vegetation, which saves many who crash there from more serious injury.

Green Bay is the base for dozens of tandem operators and has seen many accidents involving paying passengers. In 2004 there was a similar incident in which a solo and a tandem glider collided resulting in the injury of the passenger and one of the pilots. Taiwan still has no formal system by which tandem pilots are trained or their skills examined.

A commercial tandem flight which ended in a tree has caused the site at Luyeh (Taidung) to be closed. A tour group had booked flights with the site operator and one of the flights ended in a tree landing. Citing safety concerns the Huadong valley’s scenic area authority ordered all free-flyers grounded.

The local news article (in Chinese) can be seen here.

The Luyeh site has seen several accidents involving tandem operations in the past and a novice pilot was killed there during an international competition in July 2004.

Our long-awaited return to Saipan for diving. Marylyn had only finished her PADI Scuba Dwarfer rating last year so she had to finish off Open Water. I just wanted to do fun dives and start into some underwater photography. Marylyn was so much more comfortable and confident in the water this year, partly I think to having her own gear now, that she looks like a different diver altogether. She even started in on her Advanced Open Water course, though she won’t be able to finish that until next time, by doing a couple of the specialist dives in that course.
As always, thanks to Eva McKinney and her untiring efforts to make us comfortable and keep us happy.

My beloved Sigma6/28 is for sale. This awesome XC glider which already knows the way to many places. The first flight took me to Liukuei and since then there have been many great memories like flying over Swiss lakes, Spanish valleys and a 140km personal best flight in Australia.
The glider still looks and flies like new, was fitted with brand new lines just a few flight hours ago and has no rips or holes or patches. Risers are upgraded to the Omega6 items for more top speed and lighter speed system.
Included original spares (repair tapes etc.), manual, original Sigma6 risers, glider bag and packing strap.

Make me an offer if interested.