Teen Girls Critically Injured - Parasailing Rope Broke

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These girls are going to have an unbelievable story (with pics) to tell for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately they'll probably also have PTSD.
 
I'm surprised the girls survived. This was such a tragedy, the video is hard to watch.
 
Angelonline said:
I have parasailed many times and several of those at Panama City Beach. This article really terrifies me though. I think it will give me pause next time I am at the beach and thinking of parasailing.
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I just para-sailed in Destin in April!
 
I'm wondering who signed the release forms for the girls? Anything we have done like that... parasailing, wave runner rental, pontoon rental... required a legal adult to sign the waiver, and then we had to fill out a different waiver for each minor child. I'm not sure about this particular company, and I could not find the info on their website, but a person must be 18 or older to sign the waver, AND provide ID to prove so.
 
Gypsy Road said:
I live about 100 miles on the Florida coast where this happened. When I saw it on the news I was horrified! I read last night that one of the girls has not regained consciousness and that her brain continues to swell. The other girl is has regained consciousness and is responsive. I also read that both girls sustained broken necks and several broken bones including their legs and both are still in critical condtion. I haven't been able to find any updates today on their conditions, and just hope to God that they can both recover from this. What an absolutely horrifying experience!

Parasailing is a big industry here, but it's not regulated. The sky is filled with parasailers on any given day along our beaches. These girls probably signed a 4 or 5 page waiver before they were rigged up. I don't know how the waiver would stand up in a court of law, or whether or not the families will have any right to sue. It's really a shame that this industry isn't regulated, and it's just tragic that these kinds of accidents can happen. The weather was bad that day. The winds kicked up. Summer storms can crop up in a flash around here - especially in the late afternoon after the heat from the day has built up. That boat captain should have never taken them out when conditions were favorable for a storm to pop up.

ETA: There are several videos out there of this accident if you care to watch them. Watch at your own discretion - it's pretty horrifying. Once the girls hit the railing....they bounce off quite a distance and their bodies go limp. I can not even begin to image the fear or the horrific pain they must have experienced!
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I was considering parasailing a couple years ago during an upcoming trip to Florida until reading about a newlywed husband-wife team who suffered a tragedy parasailing on Florida's east coast. (The wife's safety straps broke and she fell to her death in the water below.) That news story led me to search more into the history of that industry in Florida, and what Gypsy Road says is absolutely spot on. Apparently a lot of folks sign on for these out on the beach in front of their hotel, thinking they are affiliated--but they're not. These are independent contractors operating out there. I love an ocean adventure, but an unregulated industry where anyone can set up shop along the beach without accountability or equipment inspections is not the sort of adventure I want. :-/

So, so sorry for what those poor girls are going through.


ETA: Article written about the industry in Florida last (2012) as a result of the accident I'd read about in 2011:

With as many as 120 parasailing companies operating during the peak season, Florida has more people getting strapped into harnesses and soaring over crystalline waters than any other state. Few of those parasailors — many of them tourists — know that the industry in Florida, and almost everywhere else in the country, is not regulated, leaving most owners to operate at their own discretion.

But the death last week of Kathleen Miskell, a 28-year-old Connecticut woman who dropped from her harness and plummeted nearly 200 feet into the ocean off Pompano Beach, has led to renewed calls for greater supervision of Florida’s parasailing industry.

“There is nobody that regulates or restricts the industry at this time,” said Lamar Fisher, the mayor of Pompano Beach, where two people have died in parasailing accidents since 2007. “People who go up don’t think about safety issues and harnesses; they assume the equipment is safe and inspected and ready to go.”

Ms. Miskell, who was on vacation, died Aug. 15 after she and her husband went on a tandem parasail operated by Wave Blast. The two were harnessed to the same boat, but Ms. Miskell somehow slipped out and tumbled into the ocean as her husband watched from above. The boat operators found Ms. Miskell in cardiac arrest when they scooped her from the water.
...

Parasailing operators in Florida must have a valid boating license and their boats must be seaworthy. But no state or federal laws govern the activity. Inspections, training and certain safety devices are not required. And while most parasailing operators follow guidelines and many carry insurance, they do so voluntarily.

Only two states — Virginia and New Jersey — regulate parasailing.

Mark McCulloh, the chairman of the Parasail Safety Council, who helped begin the parasail industry, said news video taken after the accident appeared to show a frayed harness, which he said could mean that the equipment was old and faulty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/u...lorida-renews-a-push-for-regulation.html?_r=0
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PoirotryInMotion said:
More info on the particulars of the accident these two girls were in at the link below--also this:

"In May of this year the Florida Legislature failed to pass a bill that would have regulated the parasailing industry."

http://www.newsherald.com/news/crim...calls-parasailing-crash-tragic-1.167671?tc=cr
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I read earlier in one of the previous inks that Jeff Jones (I think that is the owner's name) of Aquatic Adventures was one of the most vocal opponents of this legislation.
 
Blondie in Spokane said:
I read earlier in one of the previous inks that Jeff Jones (I think that is the owner's name) of Aquatic Adventures was one of the most vocal opponents of this legislation.
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Just like fox in charge of chicken coop.
 
Sidney, 17, remains at Bay Medical Center with a promising recovery. She underwent successful neck surgery Tuesday. She is now eating on her own, and doctors hope she can walk later as soon as Wednesday, according to a family statement released earlier Wednesday.
From your link, mistivon.
These girls are so strong!
 
I thank God these girls survived and are recovering.
 
i've parasailed many times as have my babybees........even being afraid of heights didn't deter me and i loved it.............

but after reading this thread tonight...........i think we're grounded :(

blessings to them both :rose:
 
Life-changing payout for para-sail crash victims: Secret settlement in condo crash will allow girls to live 'comfortably for the rest of their lives' as they struggle to recover

Sidney Good and Alexis Fairchild both suffered broken bones and brain trauma after the accident in Florida in July 2013

The para-sail snapped off its boat and sent them crashing into a condo

Their lawyer says both Alexis and Sidney will be well taken care of thanks to lawsuit settlement with para-sailing operator and other businesses

Good and Fairchild graduated from high school last year, but they only read at grade-school level


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...condo-parasailing-accident.html#ixzz3SeGD3vzn
 
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