Increase in zipline incidents due to poor communication

Did you know that in 2019 there were four zipline incidents all due to poor communication? Here we outline a recent incident that occurred due to poor communication on a six part zipline course.

What happened

In this incident the landing platform guide did not have the brake reset correctly before telling the launch platform guide that it was clear to send the next rider. Once the landing platform guide realized the situation, there was not enough time to reset the brake. This resulted in the rider hitting the braking system abruptly and swinging upwards, causing moderate injuries to the rider.

The type of ride

Riders are part of a group that are taken through the course by two zipline guides. When the group arrives at a zipline, one of the guides rides the zipline to the landing end to set up the braking system and prepare for arriving riders. Only one person at a time can ride the zipline, a second rider is not launched until the launch platform guide receives clearance from the landing platform guide.

Summary

Unfortunately, we received three other incidents similar to this in 2019. The main theme being a lack of clear communications between the launch and landing platform guides, as well as complacency shown by the platform guides while performing their duties.

More details in the full incident report.