Lesson From Others Misfortune

This incident happened at a well run NAR launch in Washington state. In case you had any doubt how important it is to pay attention when someone calls a heads up, this will explain why.

By the way, the motor was an AT H238 that had the delay stop burning. In my opinion, that's kind of a big rocket to not have electronics backing up the motor ejection but the safety code says its fine.



Rocket man: ‘I looked up a split second too late’
By Christine Pratt
World staff writer

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

WENATCHEE — What amazes Kenneth Brown is not that he could have been killed by the hobby rocket that hit him Saturday at Mansfield’s Fire in the Sky event. It’s that he actually got injured at all.

“I kind of liken it to being struck by lightning. The odds of it are extremely rare,” the 45-year-old Brown said Monday, nursing a broken nose, two black eyes and numerous lacerations on his face and abdomen, some requiring multiple stitches.

He was released Monday morning from Central Washington Hospital, where he spent Saturday and Sunday.

“I was a participant, but we had not flown yet that day,” he said by cell phone on the way back to his home in Mead, just north of Spokane. “My wife was getting ready to put up her first flight. I heard the warning, but looked up a split second too late. I didn’t see it coming.”

The rocket that hit him was 5 feet tall and about 4 inches thick. It launched properly, but its parachute didn’t deploy on the way down, causing it to free fall back to earth.

Event organizers sounded an alarm, but it was too late for Brown.

“I was using binoculars to watch a different flight,” he said. “I think the rocket hit the binoculars first. Then it hit me in the chest.”

The annual event, hosted by the Washington Aerospace Club, draws hundreds of hobbyist rocketeers to the Mansfield Sportsman’s Club.

Brown built his first rocket as a Spokane gradeschooler. He and his wife, Lorrie Anne, would launch rockets as a family, when their kids were younger.

His parents and an uncle live in Mansfield, so he’s been a regular participant in Fire in the Sky — and says he’ll continue to be.

Several rocketeers at Saturday’s event were doctors. They attended to him at the scene, before his transport to the hospital.

“Everybody does a really good job trying to do everything as safe as possible. They’ve got a tremendous track record,” he said. “It’s a good hobby. It’s educational. It’s good, clean fun.”

In hindsight, he added, “I can’t say we weren’t paying attention, but I probably could have paid closer attention. I could say ‘What if’ all day long, but I don’t know that it would have changed anything. It was just an unfortunate accident.”

Christine Pratt: 665-1173

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www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/may/28/...lit-second-too-late/

We've had a spirited discussion on this event on TRF.

www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?549...e-struck-by-HPR-Ouch

The explanations and excuses are amazing, but in the end, after all the excuses and finger-pointing, it's the rocket owner who preps his rocket, puts it on the pad, angles the rod, arms the recovery system, and then gives the ok to launch. He's ultimately responsible for the safety of his flight.

Each club has range safety rules and the RSO and LCO are there to make folks aware of them. but it's the responsibility of the rocket owner to comply with them, and if he/she doesn't, accept responsibility for his actions. It can be shown by simulation that angling the launch rod/rail of a high power rocket 5 degrees off vertical away from the flight line will insure the ballistic return of a rocket will not impact on or behind the fight-line. This type of accident is 100% avoidable if this one simple precaution is undertaken. If you worry that you might loose your rocket if you do this, then you should not be launching it.

Bob

I've got one thing to add. Even if everything is done correctly there's no guarantee that you're in the clear when if a recovery system fails. Over 10 years ago at a NARAM in NY I flew a large heavy rocket that was most definitely angled away from everyone. Primary (my fault) and secondary (motor manufacturers fault) deployment charges both failed and the rocket somehow came back on a trajectory that put it way too close to a bunch of people. When the LCO calls "heads up" , listen and look. If you see the rocket point to it. If you see someone who's totally oblivious to what's going on, yell at him. I'm always amazed to see someone not look up or stop a conversation when the air horn is blown. We don't want to be featured in that kind of news article.