McCulloh says the standards for operators are voluntary, there are no consequences if they are not followed.
"They can make individual decisions with no oversight there’s no penalty," says McCulloh.
Last Sunday, two men were injured, one critically….when the parasail they were in disconnected from the boat towing them.
Officials say the two men were being reeled back when the rope broke. they were dragged for about one thousand feet in the water.
The other man…was released from the hospital. The Coast Guard says they are still investigating what went wrong.
"We go down and make sure the vessel operates correctly that it has the proper safety equipment onboard 1600 and it has the ability to respond to emergency situations," says U.S. Coast Guard LCDR Darwin Jensen.
The men were parasailing with Xtreme Parasail.
Today they had "no comment" on Banaszynski’s death.
"As for the parasailing operations just like scuba diving and snorkeling and things like that we don’t inspect the gear that’s used for those we do certify the captain for those types of vessels and this was a licensed coast guard captain," says LCDR Jensen.
McCulloh says equipment changes are needed.
"Actually equipment changes that incorporate new equipment that can actually prevent fatalities 31 that’s not in play yet it is in other parts of the world but not here in the U.S. I don’t think the industry’s large enough to warrant the act of Congress to actually regulate parasailing by a government agency," says McCulloh.
The Coast Guard says they’ve done some outreach to parasailing operators…on ways they can help make the industry safer.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
