Bsquared 1 #1 Posted May 11 Non-skydiving related. Posting for a friend. Former FAA Manager/attorney seeking expert witness in Seattle area. Master Rigger preferred This is a wing walking incident and the attorney is battling the FAA on the need for air show wing walkers to wear a rig….really bad idea The attorneys number is 562-682-6686 Mods, please delete if this is not appropriate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuckakers 407 #2 May 12 20 hours ago, Bsquared said: Non-skydiving related. Posting for a friend. Former FAA Manager/attorney seeking expert witness in Seattle area. Master Rigger preferred This is a wing walking incident and the attorney is battling the FAA on the need for air show wing walkers to wear a rig….really bad idea The attorneys number is 562-682-6686 Mods, please delete if this is not appropriate Interesting situation. Shouldn't be too difficult to convince folks what would happen if a wing walker had an accidental deployment. Yikes! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,229 #3 May 12 2 hours ago, chuckakers said: Shouldn't be too difficult to convince folks what would happen if a wing walker had an accidental deployment. To them, the pilot, the plane and perhaps the crowd. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 1,451 #4 May 12 2 hours ago, chuckakers said: Interesting situation. Shouldn't be too difficult to convince folks what would happen if a wing walker had an accidental deployment. Yikes! Not to mention the fact that airshow wingwalkers usually are performing 'down on the deck'. Not really a whole lot of time to deploy before impact. (yes, I know there are some super low deployments where the forward speed of the aircraft & jumper open the canopy more or less horizontally) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bsquared 1 #5 May 13 The attorney found his expert….no one else need to reply or contact him. Thanks 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fcajump 157 #6 May 21 (edited) On 5/11/2024 at 3:31 PM, Bsquared said: Non-skydiving related. Posting for a friend. Former FAA Manager/attorney seeking expert witness in Seattle area. Master Rigger preferred This is a wing walking incident and the attorney is battling the FAA on the need for air show wing walkers to wear a rig….really bad idea The attorneys number is 562-682-6686 Mods, please delete if this is not appropriate VERY bad idea to wear a rig while wing walking.(inadvertent deployment while on the wing/javelin/ strapped to the upper stantion and/or at the N-strut would be devastating for all involved. (Aside - wing riders shouldn't either, for many of the same reasons, but they do need capable station straps/belts) I am a master rigger/jumper, but I think talking to current experienced wing walkers and (even better) pilots that are also wing walkers would be a better subject matter expert. There are several shows that have highly experienced walkers to whom they might want to reach out. FWIW - over the last 30 years of knowing and working directly with wing-walkers at a local show, I have known and/or learned of several fatalities. If you look at the raw statistics, as a profession/recreation, it does not have a great record compared to jumping... BUT, NOT due to falls*. The incidents have been either mechanical in nature, or pilot issues (error or medical). *that I know of the only two falls, one who was "flying" from the belly of a plane whose harness came unclipped (not a wing-walker), and another who was doing a plane to helicopter transfer and got impatient and reached too far. (I could argue this later stunt would be a time for a PEP). JW PS - Please forward me any public information about this incident and investigation as I know walkers that would be very concerned about the possible repercussions of this case. Edited May 21 by fcajump Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
