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Archive for circle of death – Page 2

Kill Switch Public Service Announcement : Hunter Bland of U.F. bass fishing team

Hunter Bland and Conner Young of the University of Florida Bass Fishing team were ejected from their bass boat at speed during a Collegiate tournament in January 2017. A steering system failure caused the boat to abruptly turn to the right. Hunter was operating the boat and had the kill switch lanyard attached. Both young […]

Deputy Devin Hodges killed by boat propeller during training exercises on Lake Hartwell in SC

Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in South Carolina was conducting on water training exercises in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Lake Hartwell in the Singing Pines Recreational area near Starr South Carolina on Thursday 1 June 2017. ACSO Deputy Devin Hodges and another ACSO person were on a USACE boat […]

5 year old stops boat in Circle of Death: Cowichan Bay / Vancouver Island Canada

This report is of a near miss propeller propeller accident that could have been avoided if the operator had been wearing a kill switch per Canadian authorities. It also points out the dangers of hypothermia while boating in cold waters that were stressed in the recent NBSAC meeting. Thursday night, 23 March 2017, a family […]

Open Letter to Fell Marine / Mob + wireless lanyard / kill switch

To: Fell Marine From: PropellerSafety.com 15 February 2017 We were thrilled to see your entry into the wireless lanyard / kill switch market in the United States. We recently posted coverage of your MOB+ device after which I dropped you an email asking you contact us after the Miami International Boat Show in response to […]

Ejected from bass boat: kill switch saves them on VIDEO

Hunter Bland and Conner Young are members of the University of Florida Bass Fishing Team. Saturday January 14, 2017 Bland and Conner were fishing in the FLW bass tournament on Lake Seminole along Georgia’s border with Florida. It looks like the accident may have occurred shortly after blastoff as they are following a wake and […]

MN Good Samaritans save boaters in 2 separate Circle of Death Accidents

Good Samaritans in Minnesota have came to the rescue in at least two different Circle of Death boating accidents so far this year. Neighbors were recently honored for saving Lora Sweet, 51, and Timothy Bahama, 48, both of Brainerd Minnesota from a 15 April 2016 Circle of Death accident on Rice Lake. They were in […]

$23 million Circle of Death propeller accident verdict upheld

Derek Hebert was on a Champion center console boat being operated by Daniel Vamvoras on 7 May 2005. They were between the Calcasieu River and Lake Charles County Club. The steering system failed and the boat began to spin (the Circle of Death). Derek Hebert was ejected, struck 19 times by the propeller, and died […]

Vermeer OPS: supplemental kill switch technology

Kill switch preventable accident after kill switch preventable accident is stacking up this summer. It is long past time for the industry to investigate alternative methods to prevent Circle of Death accidents. Outboard powered recreational boats from which an operator has been ejected, circle repeatedly striking those in the water. This post opens with a […]

Circle of Death Warning

It has long been known that if you take you hand off the tiller or steering wheel, many outboard powered boats will circle hard to the right due to propeller torque. The boating industry has had various name for it through the yeaers. In the 1980’s some called it the “Circling Phenomenon”. Some call it […]

Milligan UK boating accident inquest

An inquest into the deaths of Nicholas “Niko” Milligan and his daughter Emily in a May 2013 boating accident at Padstow Harbor in the UK was held November 10-11 2014 in Truro. The incident was deemed to be an accident. We covered the accident earlier at Nicholas Milligan accident and the subsequent MAIB report. The […]