Tue, Jul 09, 2013
Other Instructors Call For Revocation Of Schanze's License
A fatal accident during a paragliding training flight has generated calls for the revocation of the license of the instructor who owns the company that offered the instruction.
The accident fatally injured 48-year-old Henry Ho of Windsor, CO, who was taking a lesson in Imperial Beach, CA when he went down on some rocks, causing blunt force injury to the head and torso, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office. It was not clear if Ho had taken off on purpose or if the paraglider was caught in an unexpected gust of wind and carried aloft, according to a report from the Salt Lake Tribune.
But regardless of the circumstances, television station KSWB in San Diego reports that the accident had prompted calls by other paragliding instructors for the FAA to revoke the license of Dell Schanze, who owns the Utah company Paraglider Mall which set up the lessons. Schanze told the station that he is "the best instructor and the leader of the biggest paragliding school in the world," but others, including instructor Billy Pruden of San Diego, say he is reckless and a "habitual violator of any kind of air sport we have."
Schanze said the accident was a fluke, and that it was the first fatality connected with his school in the 12 years he has been offering instruction.
Schanze was not the instructor in the fatal accident, but that instructor is employed by Paraglider Mall. He was reportedly staying in a condo owned by Schanze while giving the instruction. SDSO has indicated that Schanze was on the beach when the accident occurred.
Schanze was reportedly shown in a YouTube video shooting a handgun at a protected owl while flying a paraglider in Utah. The video was posted on May 21, and is being reviewed by federal officials, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
(Paraglider pictured in file photo.)
More News
Hold Procedure A predetermined maneuver which keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control. Also used during ground operatio>[...]
Altitude Readout An aircraft’s altitude, transmitted via the Mode C transponder feature, that is visually displayed in 100-foot increments on a radar scope having readout cap>[...]
Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]
Also: Skydio Chief, Uncle Sam Sues, Dash 7 magniX, OR UAS Accelerator US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]