Trapeze artist falls 26 meters and breaks through safety net.

[porkchop]

This is a story from last month, but it slipped through CB and actually got very little press overall (probably because the guy, as far as I can tell, actually lived): Kenya Acrobat Falls Through Safety Net During Moscow Circus Show (VIDEO) [WARNING:There's an article at the link but if you watch the video you see the whole fall, there's no blood but it's not pretty].

There's not a whole lot of public information about this incident, but the story we're hearing most often is that the same safety net may have been used for as long as three years without being replaced. The net was purpose built and rigged for this act, but from what I'm hearing 3 years is way too long of a duty cycle. It's an unfortunate reminder that just because it's been working doesn't mean it will keep working forever. Inspect your gear regularly and retire it when the manufacture recommends!

 

[ruinexplorer]

From my understanding of artistic nets, they are not intended to be able to safely catch an artist from that much of a fall. From what I know (not a safety rigger for these types of acts), they are only rated at about 1/2 that distance.

 

[cmckeeman]

from the look of the video he was aiming for the net and it failed.

 

[techieman33]

With some rough calculations with an internet widget and conversion on my phone the net was trying to stop ~4500lbs of force. That's a lot of weight for a net to catch, especially one that's years old and has been used countless times before.

 

[Les]

Yeah, definitely looks like the net failed. Pretty sure I saw a hole when the net recoiled. Kind of a weird observation, but notice how the followspot operator "bounces" in anticipation of the 'trampoline effect' of the net. Seems that it worked several times before but all it takes is that one time.

 

[porkchop]

The fall is part of the act. The net was designed and rigged specifically to support it. It was made by a professional that specializes in these types of things.