Alejandro Isaza <email> writes:

After reading the article in the Oz Report "The problem with landing" (and see here) about Zac Major's bad landing in Santa Cruz Flatlands. I realized I have being doing just the same in many landings, that is pulling too hard on the downtubes to "rotate up" and to "add some speed", resulting in the opposite effect of reducing the speed.

Today, the harnesses we use, racing, cross country or competitions harnesses have the fiberglass backplate that gives them the nice shape on the back and make them more aerodynamic, etc. But this backplate makes our landings less safe, why?

The backplate does not allow the pilot to fully stand up (rotate up), so the pilot has to grab the downtubes much lower and land in a more flying (down) position and get straight only at the moment of flare. We rotate up because of a natural reaction or instinct, after all you are about to land. So "rotate up" (straighten up) pull out your "landing gear" and prepare for a landing.

Now if my instinct is to "rotate up" but my harness doesn't fully allow me to do so, then I am in a dangerous situation. This instinct or natural reaction and the full rotation (not half way) of the pilot to a straight position before final, should be respected and should always be permitted by the harness construction. I think the great majority of pilots land in a full up position (rotated up), instead of the flying position (low - head on) even if this is a good landing technique.

Johnny Durand landings are excellent (perhaps that is what we should all do), but approaching the ground 1 or 2 meters high at 30 miles per hour still in a flying position (head on) takes a lot of nerve, especially if you are flying in rowdy air, rocky terrain, having a emergency landing, or simply in one of those very fast landings we have to make often.

Many accidents and bad landings have occur because of problems with harness and we should put better attention to their safety, and demand from the manufacturers more safety. Today new pilots are already beginning to use this harnesses and you can't tell them "hey, before you land, rotate only half way". I think it is just a matter of design, better and more creative designs of the backplates and harnesses can solve this problem, allowing pilots to fully rotate up and down.

If you think about it, the backplate is not a problem during take off (on the contrary it may help the pilot rotate down and grab the speedbar), neither it is during the flight, is just for landing that it becomes a problem, so why not change the shape or position of the backplate (harness) or bend it somehow or retract a part of it with the help of a string, etc. (invent something), for the landing.

Yes, this harnesses have being around for many years now, but it is never too late to correct something that is not safe enough. In my opinion Zac Major's bad landing was not his fault, because he was landing in rowdy air and the normal reaction is to grab the downtubes strongly, rotate up fully and add some speed, it was the harness' fault because of its limitations. By the way, is there any safety standards or specifications a harness should meet? Are harnesses being evaluated by any safety organizations, like helmets or hang gliders are?

I think that back plate harnesses are safe, and keeping your hands low on the down tubes is actually a good thing. Pilots using these harnesses just have to be aware that they need to pull in, not down.