Video may help parasail inquiry

By ANDI ATWATER, aatwater@news-press.com

FORT MYERS BEACH — An onlooker's videotape may provide a clue in the investigation of a deadly parasailing accident Wednesday on Ft. Myers Beach 

Parasail expert Mark McCulloh on Friday met with officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and US Coast Guard as he took a first look at the equipment involved in the crash that killed two people.

Kentucky mom Lisabeth Hope Bailey Straney, 37 and her daughter, Taylor Straney, 13 died after their harness broke and they plunged 250 feet into 3 feet of water, authorities said.

After two hours with officers on Friday, McCulloh said he wants to inspect AA Parasail Waverunners Etc. Inc's boat and talk to the captain before he gives an opinion about the accident.

But what he did see so far has confirmed his fears about the safety of tandem bars in parasailing, he said. In the past six months at least 11 parasailing accidents have happened while customers were hanging from tandem bars, he said.

A tandem bar allows two parasailors to sail side by side. The other type of harness used for multiple fliers is called an in-line bar, were people sit front and back.

McCulloh, founder of the Orlando-based Parasail Safety Council, is a longtime proponent of regulating the parasail industry. " I'm asking parasail operators to voluntarily not use the tandem bar right now" McCulloh said.  "There  appears to be, in my mind , and not directly because of this accident, a trend of injuries because of the tandem bar.  This accident just really brings that to the front line.

The Coast Guard, which is the lead investigating agency in the accident, asked McCulloh to inspect the equipment and render his opinion as to its condition at the time of the incident. 

Evidence form the crash, including the parasail, tandem bar and a bystander's video, was collected and taken to commission headquarters in downtown Fort Myers.

He's basically here to determine if the harness showed fatigue that shouldn't have been there, " Sgt. Mark Frantz said. "To see if it needed replacement."