Ignorance of few affect the many

[Lanny Dean]

This is the same post I made under the reports section from the 10th, I felt this needed to be addressed further due to the reports of injuries and even a "possible" hospital admittance of a tour guest from a certain tour company who was injured after taking a direct hit from the Wakita tornado. After looking over my video as well as others who were closer, this was nothing more than ignorance and people not knowing what they were doing... see video here:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/raw-storm-chasers-hit-by-tornado-17279?from=shared_videos_face

As a chase tour owner myself I certainly understand "getting the action" for your guests however, there is NO EXCUSE FOR PUTTING YOUR GUESTS IN DIRECT DANGER! We were on the same storm with a full tour, a production company and media following us and although we filmed the funnels we did not get the full condensed tornadoes simply because I did not feel comfortable putting my guests in a situation like that.

For those that know me, you know that I have NEVER come on this forum and talked about any other tour company....no need to explain the reasons or why but after taking a look at the video I felt that a post was in need. The fact of the matter is that this could have been a possible fatal situation for those folks on tour due to the ignorance and lack of knowledge from the guides/owner of said tour company.
That lack of knowledge and ignornace would/will no doubt have a major impact on the tour business as a whole including mine. I do not care how many "true" meteorologist and "experienced" guides you claim to have....fact is this action was caused by people who do not have enough experience and knowledge about basic weather not to mention how to run a tour in a safe mannor.
My guests and I heard about the event last night and of course I am pissed off about it, so much so that I had a long talk with my guests today and tried to reassure them that we (Extreme Chase Tours) do not and would not be taking those kind of actions.

I have lost respect for this tour company and will be addressing this situation on my blog after our current tour is over. I will also no doubt be passing the word on to all of my current guests and well as past. I know there are other tour company owners who are members of this forum and I would encourage all of you to do the same.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I agree. I know a lot of folks like to get close to the action, but tour companies should know better. I know most tour companies are ran with professionalism and care, but this incident may taint tour companies in general, and that's a shame.

Like Lanny said, get your guests some action and thrill, but don't jeopordize their lives in doing so. I don't know what tour company this was, but they seemed more concerned about getting close to the tornado again instead of taking care of the injured guest.

 

[Matt Gingery]

Just watched the video Lanny. I really don't know what is more stupid on their part, Getting dangerously close, or selling the video to TWC to exhibit their stupidity. That is not what it is or should be about. Just because these people sign a waver doesn't mean that the tour company has zero liability. Neglegence would fall under this example. . .

 

[Verne Carlson]

I know I chase a lot differently if I have others in my car and having a tour group would definately require that you keep a much safer distance and escape routes. Add to that the forecast storm motions that were known days in advance and you would want to keep a tour group even farther away on that day. I was in the mix on hw 11 under that meso and there was plenty of room to get around and get out of the bear's cage. If they are blaming other chasers that's just not the case that day.

 

[Jay Cazel]

TWC did an interview with someone form that tour company, I think it was yesterday morning, I just caught the end of it about, they where talking about the video and what happened that day.

Did anyone see what blew out the window? Or what hit it?

One would think that a tour company that has been around since 2002 should know better.

 

[Scott Olson]

How many people who were chasing this thing were in someway hit by it? It seems I've read of 4 or 5 different chasers that got a little taste. People have been chasing since the 1950's and the media is no longer interested in just seeing a tornado from 5 miles away. The Storm Chasing show of this time is a show not about chasing but getting into tornadoes.

I will stand up for the right for every storm chaser to do this because it's their choice, they understand the consequence and they can decide what they are willing to gain and to lose. Whether they do so intentionally or through misjudgement. But the tour companies need to be held to a higher standard. Their business models make or break based on them getting the customers to tornadoes, so the pressure is certainly there to push the limits. The tour industry has operated with a nearly flawless record and there are companies out there who have worked very hard to achieve such a record. In the last 10 years we've seen an explosion of the number of tour companies, with new names popping up here and there. Each one of these companies have the ability to bring down the industry in a heartbeat.

The public generally views storm chasing as much more dangerous then it really is. Those of us who do this, realize that with proper training, experience, protocols and equipment, storm chasing can be little more risky then simply driving on highways. It's certainly possible this is all a fluke mistake and will not be happening again anytime soon. It's possible that F5 Tornado Safari has exercised prudence in other situations while other tour companies pushed the limits. However, you are the airlines of the storm chase skies, living in a time without the FAA. It's entirely up to you individually and the industry as a whole to decide how responsible you are going to be and what limits you will place on getting the customers what they paid for. The tour companies should always pratice safety first because there is a media sensationalist story just waiting to be shown about a tour company driving into a tornado and you will get your FAA. It could come from the Department of Transportation, it could be in the form of limits and higher premiums for your insurance, it could be based in a particular state.

I know this has been stated forever, that somehow a chaser would get killed and there would be some sort of regulation. In reality, that is very unlikely to EVER happen. But it would be easy for a single incident to get the ball rolling in a certain state legislature to regulate a commercial chase industry. You know, I don't even care if they do. I just want to see the industry set the STANDARD for responsible chasing and not to follow the standard of the independent chaser.

That's all,
Scott O.

 

[Kevin Walters]

As federal and local government becomes more and more intrusive each day, I would never rule out the possibility of storm chasing being regulated at some point. There is always a group of people (politicians) that want to tell you what to think, what to speak, and how to live your life. When a chaser related serious accident or fatality hits the national news, regulation will most likely follow.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Wow, that was just stupid. I saw that video before but I didn't catch the fact that it was a tour group.

If chasers want to place themselves in that situation when it's just them, that is their right and they know the dangers and I won't complain. We all chase differently. But for a guided tour group to do that with guests who paid to go on that tour and putting their lives in danger like that, that is just irresponsible and stupid.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

Oh Good Lord, Kevin, don't start that old song again. This thread is too interesting to turn into a chaser license lightbar thread.

I'm hoping the tour operators that got caught by the tornado will come in here and explain things, though for liability reasons it would be understandable if they did not. I cannot for the life of me fathom how one accidentally ends up being chased by a tornado like this down a highway; with 60mph storm motions that day and strong to violent tornadoes likely, it seemed pretty obvious that the non-crazy play was stay near a north/south option and watch storms roll by and maybe try to keep up following behind the storm after a tornado passed -- but getting a mile or two in front of the path of a meso or tornado and flooring it on the highway to try to stay ahead of it does not compute. Doing that with a vanload of tourists who are trusting you to not get them killed borders on criminal; a bit like a skydiving tandem jumper waiting until 1,500 feet to open their primary chute. Not sure what any of those chasers thought would happen in that situation. That shot out the back window of the van was a bit of a nightmare -- "Oh, look, we're being chased by a 60mph multi-vortex! Oh, look, traffic is stopped up ahead!" Yikes.

 

[Marcus Hicks]

Yeah this was just plain dumb to put guests in danger.

 

[Rob Gardner]

I wasn't on this tornado we were farther east, but I have seen several different angles, and I`m curious about one thing. Were there 2 separate tornadoes on this storm at one point, or was there a main multi vortex tornado with a satellite? It seems like a couple of the videos I saw where people got hit or near hit they were fixed on the multi vortex and wasn't aware of the second / satellite tornado... Not that that justifies their ignorance.

 

[Lanny Dean]

I was also hoping that this thread would get a response out of said tour company or any others for that matter. I know Brian Barnes is a member and although he and I have had issues, I know he runs his tours in a safe mannor and does not pull any stupid stuff like this. Obviously there are many good tour choices out there who have a great track record with veterans leading their team. I am very curious to know what some of their thoughts would be.
I am very amazed that there has not been a bigger response to this via this thread or blog sites and the like. Again, people got hurt.... cuts to the head, face and all over. A few guests got hit with some type of debris and this community is not throwing a **** fit? Why? Because it was a tour group and not a single chaser? Have we come to the point that we are laxed about this type of thing?

I just recieved a phone call from a "possible" guests who Jeff Smith and I have been "courting" for a while and now does not want to go becuase he saw the video on TWC....this is already hitting the business!!! SHAME ON F5 TOURS! If nobody else will say it I will.

Scott said it best when he said that we are held to a higher standard. That is a very true statement. In years past and when I am/was chasing by myself everyone here knows some of the crazy stuff I did. But the fact of the matter is that during a tour it is completly different...you have to be so much more careful, all of your decisions have to be thought out to the point that you may miss a tornado to keep your guests safe, which was the case on Monday for us.
Accidents do happen, I would be a fool to suggest otherwise but this was certainly no accident. Innocent people got hurt because of the ignornace of the few. And what did it gain said tour company? $300 from TWC for said video? (yes I already spoke with E.W. from TWC, she confirmed that the sale was made)
I simply do not understand this....

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

I have only skimmed the posts in this thread and the discussion thread based on this topic, and most have covered the main issue at hand. However, I will say one other thing.

In addition to being annoyed that they are apparently making money off licensing this video to media networks, I'll say that it is in my opinion that any money off of the sale of this video by the tour company should go 100% towards refunding the guests that were in the van that was hit by the tornado. I realize $300 won't go far towards giving the van inhabitants their fees, but if future sales are to be made I'd suggest the entire funds go towards that route.

 

[John Farley]

Lanny, there has been a fair amount of discussion over on Wx-Chase - not sure if you are a member of that or not. Some of the discussion has been on chasers caught in tornadoes on May 10 in general, but also some on the chase tour that was caught. I suspect one reason there is not more discussion in this thread is that a lot of people agree with you, but don't feel they have a lot to add. Personally, I chose not to chase that day due to the expected combination of fast-moving storms and massive chaser convergence, which did not seem like a good combination to me. I know tour groups don't have the option not to chase, but I totally agree with you about the need for caution when you have guests in the car and especially for tour groups. Why they weren't out of the tornado's path or at least in a place with a south option is beyond me. Putting themselves in the direct path of a fast-moving tornado, especially in a heavy-traffic environment, seems like pure folly to me. And almost as dumb to expose their folly to the world by putting that video on TWC.

 

[Patrick Martin]

To play devil's advocate for a moment, were they actually hit by a tornado or was that RFD? I ask because I've watched that video several times, and in the beginning they are obviously running from it, but then it seems that there is a jump in the editing to the part when the window(s) were blown out, that they were behind it as the video is shot with a view out the front windshield, looking at the tornado up the road as it seems to go behind the trees, as if they were behind it but caught a blast of the RFD. It seems they were facing eastbound, as you can hear the guy in the front passenger seat they should be able to move up, as if the tornado is still moving away from them.

And just so nobody wonders, I am not affiliated with F5, nor do I personally know anyone that is part of that tour company. I'm just asking for clarification.