Kite rips down power lines.

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Charl dv

2485 posts

Charl dv

WA, 2485 posts

4 Dec 2011 11:19am

Hunter S said...

I'm not a handle passer, but Space monkey man's posted about this before - I gather your standard kite leash just can't take the strain of regular use, and is prone to failure.

they can. ive used a leash for over 3 seasons and it was still holding up fine.

rdunlop

57 posts

rdunlop

WA, 57 posts

5 Dec 2011 3:37pm

Yes, 22kv lines are heavy duty and if you look to the top of the pole the right hand conductor is the only one in the air. The other two phases are coiled up on the ground behind me as I took the pic, they are hanging from the next pole further down Safety Bay Road. Not sure how the kite pulled them down, would needed considerable force????

picker said...

There is ALOT of total BS in this "story"

1. Have you evern seen a power company turn up early - or with in 10 minutes?
If requested by an emergency service they Never give a eta. Always "within the hour"

2. Accidents happen everyday - power company reps. Would not care - they have their job because of these.. They use a EWP (elivated work platform) for most overhead jobs anyway crew would not work without one. SOP.

3. 5 cop cars?? Really??

People can climb/sit/plank on overhead wires - see asia for details. A slingshot kite is not going to bring 2 down.. Nor is it going to start a house fire - the kite would just flash and burn its self - unless a gust of wind blew the burning kite into your shed when you had just tipped petrol all over your floor, had the oxy bottle cracked open, fireplace cranking, durries going and maybe a few oil soaked rags in the dryer. That might just cause a fire then..?

Darkside

27 posts

Darkside

WA, 27 posts

5 Dec 2011 9:42pm

The conductors didn't break, i am guessing but any moisture on the kite would of created a short and this would of blown the conductors.

WA66

138 posts

WA66

WA, 138 posts

6 Dec 2011 8:36am

Thanks for the extra info Bob, re the coiled conductors.
Highly likely then a phase to phase short was created by the kite impacting the lines. Enough slack in the lines for this to occur.
Therefore this would have caused the lines to arc, melt and break. Quite spectacular to have seen !
I doubt the moisture on kite would have caused it as Darkside suggested. If that was the case the kite would have been like a rather under rated fuse between the lines and would have gone up in a puff of smoke very quickly. No signs of any burning on the kite if this indeed happened :o)

Spacemonkey!

2288 posts

Spacemonkey!

SA, 2288 posts

6 Dec 2011 11:44am

Why is there still mixed details regarding the actual reason for releasing the kite, surely someone must know. No point over speculating about the power lines, really the only thing that matters was that a run away kite ended up in them and caused damage.

I feel like people are protecting the instigator who released his kite, name and shame.

rdunlop

57 posts

rdunlop

WA, 57 posts

12 Dec 2011 2:41pm

I am also a resident of Safety Bay Road and support kitesurfing as a sport. I also worked for Western Power for 28 years and am aware of the dangers of this kind of incident. Keep in mind the kite crossed the busy Safety Bay Road to reach the power lines.
The 'Pond' is a public beach not a designated kitesurfing area. I would like to see WAKSA, the local Kitesurfing Schools, local authorities and other stakeholders review and implement some agreed kitesurfing safety guidlelines. I hold a PADI Rescue Divers certificate, diving is a self regulating sport, maybe WAKSA and Kite Schools could introduce something similar.

Ahua said...

Hardcarve1 said...

If i were the residence on that street I would be calling for a kite ban. What happens if the lines fell on to a house and started a fire. I'm in a similar situation where if kites hit lines my house could be in danger of falling lines. While I love to kite out front I would be getting the locals together to pressure the energy company into a ban.

I am a resident that lives on Hawker and was without power for about an 1.. this was the second time without power in two weeks. The first loss of power was a council worker hit the power poll and live wires came down in my neighbors yard. Luckily their child wasn't in the yard playing. Accidents happen. Kiting on any level should not be banded, locals and visitors just have to kite safe. Follow the rules, always wear a leash.

WAKSA

813 posts

WAKSA

WA, 813 posts

12 Dec 2011 3:03pm

Rob

I have sent you a PM re: this indident & your post above. Please email me direct - president@waksa.org.au

Juddy

dbabicwa

808 posts

dbabicwa

WA, 808 posts

12 Dec 2011 5:54pm

And than we go to Bali and see this:

I'm sure no one would ban flying kites over there, even tho it's not far from the airport.

There were accidents, they will be accidents, and the life will go on...

LoadNPop

10 posts

LoadNPop

SA, 10 posts

12 Dec 2011 9:18pm

and how do you know it was a noob that cant fly a kite maybe he/ she was doing a s mobe kiteloop 360 sidespin backflip to blind and in the 1% chance of not landing it actually crashed and the leash broke?

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