The Death of Richard Flax
On the afternoon of 7th February 2000, we lost a brother from our family of paraglider-pilots. The Dasklip Pass was to provide Richard Flax's final and tragic launch, the beginning of his ultimate flight. After 14km of flying, his glider collapsed and threw him violently against the cliffs. He broke his neck, and died instantly. This account I write can in no way heal the pain of his loss. I can only offer my deepest sympathy for those who grieve for Richard. Rumours grow in the absence of truth, and I would merely offer my account of the day, from where I saw it as the director of the SA National PG Champs, so that one part of the puzzle is illuminated.

Conditions were average for the Porterville valley, and other pilots reported no severe turbulence or abnormalities in the air, apart from the customary thermic buffeting. Launch conditions were typical side-on Dasklip Pass, challenging but not overwhelming. Richard's ground-handling skills were poor. After many attempts I told Richard to take his time, as there was no pressure to launch. There was adequate time left in the competition window, and there was no anxious queue behind him. A few other pilots lauched, then he tried again. His pullup was perfect, and he flew out smoothly. To me, the signs showed a pilot in control at that point. He thermalled off down the ridge, and was lost from sight.

Half an hour later, a visiting pilot from America was flying some distance behind Richard. Arnold Marx com ments that Richard was flying very low and close to the rocks, which is a danger acknowledged by all pilots. Richard's glider encountered severe turbulence, and his wing had a large (>50%) asymetric collapse. This caused the glider to enter a spiral dive almost immediately. The standard response to an asymettric collapse is to pull on the brake on the unaffected side, and to lean away from the collapse. Richard made no visible correction to his glider. Arnold is an instructor, and would have an eye fo r such detail. After one full rotation, Richard impacted the slope travelling with the wind. He hit on his right side. Arnold landed immediately to assist, but when he reached Richard it was obvious that he had not survived. There was no pulse, no brea thing, and attempts at CPR failed. The paramedics arrived within half an hour, and confirmed Richard Flax's death.

The coroner's report was detailed. Badly punctured lungs, ruptured internal organs, and many, many broken bones. Suffice it to say that he would have died from many other injuries besides the primary, I have no desire to shock with the macabre. The primary cause of death was Richard's broken cervical vertebrae (C1, C2). The severity of the break would have caused instant death. His helme t had taken a hard impact, and there was an impact graze on his forehead. The coroner was asked to ascertain whether there could have been a stroke or heart attack. There was no evidence to conclusively prove this - his heart had no abnormal arterio-scle rosis, his blood sugar and hydration were fine. Although there was bleeding within the skull cavity, this was most likely to have been caused by the massive impact he sustained to his right side and head - not by any stroke.
I inspected Richard's equipment. The Apco Futura tandem seemed in good condition, being relatively new and having no line failures or tangles. It was fitted with a free-running speedbar and not the more risky trim tabs usually found on a tandem wing. His reserve parachute would hav e deployed without any strain - the pins pulled free with a gentle tug. He didn't try to deploy it. His wooden seatboard had shattered on impact. Everything else about his equipment seemed in perfect working order. \par \par Could Richard have avoided the hand of God which struck him from the sky? Only the theologists could truly answer that question, but I do know that he was flying too close to the mountain. He suffered a massive asymmetric collapse on a glider which needed more height than he allowed it to r ecover. He may have been overwhelmed by the severity of the spiral dive, a maneouvre which requires much practice to become accustomed to, let alone master. His aircraft crashed.

May he rest in peace, and may those who grieve the deepest for his loss find the strength to carry on. Those who continue to brave the elements, take a moment's silence for our fallen brother, and reflect on the warning his death displays. Gravity is unforgiving. Fly with great caution.

In loving memory of Richard Flax
Sun filters through the clouds
like gold through the veils of angels
the breeze whispers your words
that we can no longer hear
the air holds threads of memory
coloured with your emotion
yet you are gone,
your sky surrounds us all.