Abe Luguna: 'They are upset because my prices are lower'
Thomas Rold: 'Two major incidents in such a short time is just a bit too much'
A Queenstown paragliding company boss under investigation for alleged dangerous flying claims critics are commercially motivated.
The New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association’s disciplinary committee is investigating three Fly Paragliding pilots – including owner Abe Laguna – over two non-injury incidents this year.
In both cases the pilots took paying passengers from Coronet Peak. Instead of dotting down at the Flight Park landing zone above Malaghans Road, they were blown about three kilometres off course.
In the May 26 incident, Laguna threw out a reserve chute. On October 19, Laguna’s American and Romanian pilots and their Australian passengers were rescued by chopper.
Following two complaints from NZHGPA members, an association disciplinary committee is investigating both incidents on behalf of the country’s sky cops the Civil Aviation Authority.
The association’s paragliding operations manager Rob Darby says the committee will make a re-commendation to its executive before Christmas.
Delicensing the pilots is an option, he says.
Pending the outcome, Flight Park owner Thomas Rold has banned Fly Paragliding from his landing zone.
“I saw both incidents,” Rold says.
“I think we’re very lucky that no one died or got very seriously injured. Why do we have to wait for something serious to happen?”
Rold claims both times Fly Paragliding operated after other companies had pulled the plug.
“[In the first incident] I was absolutely blown away that anyone would ever consider flying.
“And the same in the second instance – there was an absolute storm approaching.”
Regarding the October incidents, a CAA register notes: “During turbulent conditions, pilot ended up landing in a ravine.”
Rold estimates wind speeds on each occasion were 50 to 60kmh – “way above the maximum speed of a paraglider, which means you’re effectively at the mercy of the winds”.
“For a little company like that to have two major incidents in such a short time is just a bit too much,” Rold says.
Laguna – who told Mountain Scene on Tuesday he continues to operate – defends his decision to take off both times.
“We never fly where there is over 15-20kmh [of wind], both times the wind was below that.”
Laguna has videos of other pilots flying in similar or worse conditions and laid a complaint over another pilot allegedly flying into cloud, he says.
Laguna – who set up his company last year after working for others in town – believes his complainants are commercially motivated: “I think they are upset because my prices are lower.”
Laguna describes his use of a reserve chute in May as a “descent technique” – Rold, on the other hand, considers it a “very serious” manoeuvre not seen before in commercial paragliding in NZ.
Asked to comment on his Flight Park ban, Laguna claims Rold has a conflict of interest because he also flies commercially off the Skyline launch pad, above Queenstown.
Rold has previously crash-landed into a tree flying from Skyline, Laguna adds.
In response, Rold says: “We’ve all made mistakes but not as many as him.”
Rold denies any conflict of interest: “[Skyline] is my day job.
“It’s not competing with the Coronet Peak companies.
“I pay my mortgage from the companies that operate at Coronet Peak – one of them used to be Abe’s.”
Your say
Thomas blatantly lies in this article.
Mr Rold lies in this article when he states his crash was in solo flight. It was a commercial tandem and is posted on you tube called 'Men in Trees'. Wendy Laguna, Fly Paragliding EDITOR REPLIES: Rold never claimed he was flying solo during that crash into the trees - it was incorrectly inserted into the story by Mountain Scene, which recalled mistakenly that he was flying solo. You're right - he did in fact have a passenger. Both emerged from the forest uninjured. Apologies for the error. - Ryan Keen
03 Dec 2010 09:16AMrideslidefly
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