London Vacation Packages - Army Corps of Engineers Issues Ban on Tube Kiting U.S.

By Mark Hoerrner

" a popular extreme water sport, has issued a warning to recreation seekers on Corps waterways to stop the practice of "tube kiting, south Atlantic Division, army?s Corps of Engineers. The U.S.

Usually in the form of inverting the rider and slamming them at high speed into the water, the kiting portion involves standing on the tube and surfing until gravity inevitably takes control. The tube will take flight and soar into the air, generally above 25 mph, at higher speeds. Tube Kiting involves a large rubber tube pulled by a speedboat.

Banning it in at least one national park that includes Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the National Park Service had already begun to examine the sport. The Corps took action and released a prohibition on the activity, 000 products, which is charged protecting the public from death or injury from over 15, consumer Products Safety Commission. Following on the heels of a public warning released by the U.S.

The unpredictability of weather conditions and possible equipment malfunctions, other reasons include unskilled boat drivers. Chief among them being the uncontrollability of the tube in flight, the agency cited a multitude of reasons for the casualties. Two deaths and more than 12 injuries have been confirmed by the USCPSC and dozens more have been reported.

Was one of the people recently injured while tube kiting, an experienced snowmobiler and extreme sports enthusiast, minnesotan Travis Kladivo.

" "I was ejected off the kite tube after a gust of wind threw me, paul. " Kladivo told ABC affiliate News Channel 5 in Minneapolis/St, "I was flying about perfect and all of sudden I shot up about maybe 20 to 30 feet.

But woke up two days later in the intensive care unit at Hennepin County Medical Center, he was given a less than one percent chance of living. Kladivo?s crash collapsed both lungs and sliced through his aeorta.

Kladivo says the sport is just too dangerous, after his injury.

" "A gust of wind will take you and just sail you 50 feet in just seconds. " he says, "You can't control the wind.

Kladivo is not the only one speaking out against the sport.

Only managing to get the tube a few feet into the air, he said he and his friends read the instructions and kept the boat speed low. He and seven friends were out on a lake trying out the specialized tubes which can run as much as $600. Wisconsin resident Jack Schreve lost a longtime friend in a recent tube kiting incident.

" It knocked him out (when he) hit with that kind of impact, "Even though he was 6 feet up in the air. " Schreve said in an interview with WISC TV in Waunakee, but little did they know that he had already fallen off and was laying unconscious face down in the water, "Everyone was excited that they got it to work.

Has recalled its entire line, a popular manufacturer of Kite Tubes, wego, as a result of pressure from the USCPSC.