Wanaka speed-flying crash victim loved action sport and music

Monday, 15 October 2018

James William Taylor, also known as Jimmy Keane, was killed in a speed-flying accident near Wanaka on Sunday. Taylor, pictured left, was a big part of the Wanaka music scene and was a regular DJ at Lalaland Lounge Bar in Wanaka.

The man who died in a speed flying crash near Wanaka was '43 going on 25', a friend says.

James William Taylor, of Wanaka, also known as Jimmy Keane, was speed-flying at Isthmus Peak on Sunday when he crashed about 9am.

He was flown to Dunedin hospital with critical injuries but died later in the afternoon.

Lalaland Lounge Bar Wanaka manager Alex Earll said Taylor used to DJ at the bar and was part of the woodwork.

'He was a good friend. He was super adventurous doing speed-winging and BMX.

'He was 43 but going on 25. He had heaps of energy, loved action sport and music. He would play all night and do digger driving during the day. I don't know when that guy slept.'

He had only taken up speed-flying about four months ago, Earll said.

Taylor and his friend had hiked up Isthmus Peak the night before and planned to fly down in the morning.

The crash happened on take-off when apparently part of the wing collapsed due to a draft, Earll said.

'He got tangled up and whipped him off into a rocky bottom.'

Maggie Evans, of Wanaka, was hiking up Isthmus Peak with her 6-month-old son when she heard cries for help from a gully below the track.

Taylor's companion was calling out for them to help wave down a rescue helicopter, Evans said.

'[Taylor's] friend stayed with him then he climbed back to the track and we walked down the mountain with him.'

The track itself was not technical, she said.

'You could bike up it, and we took our 6-month-old up in a front pack,' she said.

'The summit is not steep enough to launch off for speed-flying. The point where they chose to launch, the track falls quite sharply.'

Local sources described speed-flying as a form of paragliding, but with a smaller wing designed for flying closer to the ground. If it involves skis, it is known as speed-riding.

A paragliding safety officer from the Southern Club, an affiliate of the New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (NZHGPA), said he understood Taylor had foot-launched.

The association would assist any Civil Aviation Authority investigation, the safety officer said. To fly a speed-wing legally requires a paragliding licence from the association.

Another man, extreme sport enthusiast Sean Kerridge, was killed in 2012 in a speed-flying crash after launching from the access road at Treble Cone, a skifield close to Wanaka.

A witness at the coronial inquest, held the following year, described speed-flying like this: 'The whole rationale of the sport is to whizz along close to the ground.'

Taylor's death has been referred to the coroner.