American Paraglider Misjudges Landing, Gets Snagged on Top of High-Voltage Power Pole, Causing Blackout Across Entire Koh Larn Island
The incident occurred near Tawaen Beach on Koh Larn. Upon receiving the report, rescue volunteers were immediately dispatched, and coordination was made with officers from Pattaya City Police Station stationed on Koh Larn to rush to the scene for inspection.
At the scene, a large crowd of Thai and foreign tourists had gathered to watch the incident. Upon checking the high-voltage power pole, which stands over 10 meters tall, authorities found the foreign national, identified as Mr. Michael Travis Langhart, 55 years old, American, still wearing his paragliding suit, with the lines and canopy entangled on the pole. His body was dangling upside down, head toward the ground, and he was calling out for help.
Initially, the rescue operation was extremely difficult. The rescue team had to coordinate with the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to cut off the power supply before proceeding with the rescue. This power cut resulted in a complete blackout across the entire island of Koh Larn. After that, the rescue team successfully brought the foreign national down safely, taking nearly 1 hour. Upon examination, the injured man was found to have abrasions on both legs and burn wounds (electrical burns) from electric shock. The rescue team urgently transported him to Ban Koh Larn Hospital.
From questioning, it was learned that Mr. Michael Travis Langhart is a licensed paraglider and skydiver, holding a license from the Royal Aeronautic Sports Association of Thailand. He was not a tourist on a paragliding trip or part of any local paragliding tourism attraction or company and was paragliding independently.
He had climbed to the summit of Koh Larn mountain (several hundred meters high) before jumping off to glide down. This sport is known as “paragliding” or “hang gliding.” While gliding down from the mountain toward Tawaen Beach, he misjudged the landing and got caught on the high-voltage power pole, resulting in the injuries described.
Mr. Adam Judd is the Chief of Content, English language, of TPN Media since December 2017. He is originally from Washington D.C., America, but has also lived in Dallas, Sarasota, and Portsmouth. His background is in retail sales, HR, and operations management, and has written about news and Thailand for many years. He has lived in Pattaya for over a decade as a full-time resident, is well known locally and been visiting the country as a regular visitor for over 15 years. His full contact information, including office contact information, can be found on our Contact Us page below. Stories please e-mail Editor@ThePattayanews.com About Us: https://thepattayanews.com/about-us/ Contact Us: https://thepattayanews.com/contact-us/
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