Honeymoon Couple Zip-Lining Fatality on Roatan

[Doc]

@JohnnyC: So, everything is good back in the USA? I enjoyed reading what you said, I even know the gear and the technical phrases you threw out, but none of this would apply in Honduras. Not the design, engineering, maintenance, hardware specification, testing, inspection...nothing.

An easily seen example: Two way radio communication? Handheld Radios in the salty air of sea level being knocked around brutally with locally prevalent attitudes thus creating a total lack of maintenance service? US norms are simply inconceivable on Roatan.

I myself have no real marketable productive skills but I do know a bit about failure analysis. My business card says, "Why Stuff Breaks" (I offer testimony on firearms). I quickly learned a very basic lesson- never offer the root cause of any such final resulting event from what little you may have read.

Your initial supposition "barring an improbable mechanical failure, my best guess would be..." Is faulty on its premise.

Again, I have high regard and respect your stateside OSHA level knowledge, but it has zero application at 10* North Latitude.

Bottom line here is: Home made carnival rides in third world nations are riskier than you might imagine. Zip Lines, scooter rentals, or unregulated (non-agency) Resort Course SCUBA experiences, lo mismo.

 

[caruso]

An obese person could also stop midway from sag in the cable and if she was large it could explain why she was only mildly injured (her natural padding) and her husband suffered a concussion (like hitting a massive brick wall).

That's my guess for whatever it might be worth.

 

[tridacna]

I did that zipline last year. Aside from the first scary leap, it’s a really easy ride. Guide went first, 2nd guide provided timing for the riders. No-one was allowed to start until the previous rider was already on next platform.

I’m mystified as to the reason for the crash...

 

[JohnnyC]

@JohnnyC: So, everything is good back in the USA? I enjoyed reading what you said, I even know the gear and the technical phrases you threw out, but none of this would apply in Honduras. Not the design, engineering, maintenance, hardware specification, testing, inspection...nothing.

An easily seen example: Two way radio communication? Handheld Radios in the salty air of sea level being knocked around brutally with locally prevalent attitudes thus creating a total lack of maintenance service? US norms are simply inconceivable on Roatan.

I myself have no real marketable productive skills but I do know a bit about failure analysis. My business card says, "Why Stuff Breaks" (I offer testimony on firearms). I quickly learned a very basic lesson- never offer the root cause of any such final resulting event from what little you may have read.

Your initial supposition "barring an improbable mechanical failure, my best guess would be..." Is faulty on its premise.

Again, I have high regard and respect your stateside OSHA level knowledge, but it has zero application at 10* North Latitude.

Bottom line here is: Home made carnival rides in third world nations are riskier than you might imagine. Zip Lines, scooter rentals, or unregulated (non-agency) Resort Course SCUBA experiences, lo mismo.

I mentioned the OSHA language to preface my position as someone who holds expertise in this sort of thing. Do you hold a level of expertise in rigging, the physics thereof, work-at-height, and related procedures that would allow you to form a qualified opinion?

What I didn't mention, I never expected it to be relevant, is that while I am a citizen of the United States, and a brief interlude working in Dubai for a year, I've spent the better part of the last 6 years working in Central and South America dealing with this and other industries operating under a similar umbrella.

Your blanket generalization does not in any way reflect my personal experiences working in Central and South America, including Honduras, within the work-at-height industry, which includes zip-line design, installation, and operation. I'm going to leave it at that...

 

[KathyV]

Quiet little Roatan has been in the news recently for the wrong reasons! A few months ago a cruise ship crashed into the pier (see link below) and now this Honeymoon zip-lining tragedy. Let's hope that the next news flash from the Bay Islands is good news!

WATCH: Giant Cruise Ship Smashes Into Dock In Honduras

 

[arew+4]

Did this with a different operator in June 2018. Most lines had clear line of site platform to platform. No radio com, but you can hear when the rider had reached the other platform (the cable stops singing) they waited for that each time before hooking the next person up. Except for the second guide, he was always headed right at me while the other one was unhooking me.

 

[Brodydog]

If the guide in the rear is listening for the cable to stop singing then it would have stopped singing when she stopped midway. No way to tell why the cable stops singing if they can’t see all the way to the platform.

I did this zip line on my off gas day years ago. I don’t remember being able to always see the platform at the end, but then again it has been more than a few years.

 

[tridacna]

You can see the other platform from each other. The lines are not that long. I’d love to read a real report of what happened.

 

[dmaziuk]

Do they go head-first like when you have to actually pull yourself, or feet-first like on most fun rides? I'm having hard time with a fatal blow going feet-first. I suppose in a "seat" harness one could spin around and get a hit on a vertebra?

 

[ReefHound]

Do they go head-first like when you have to actually pull yourself, or feet-first like on most fun rides? I'm having hard time with a fatal blow going feet-first. I suppose in a "seat" harness one could spin around and get a hit on a vertebra?

When we did it, they had us do the first couple of runs in normal sitting position then started having us try different ways, one of which was to lean forward and spread out your arms to fly like an airplane, headfirst.