Thread: Australian tourist falls to death while parasailing in Phuket

A prominent Western Australian businessman has fallen to his death while parasailing on the Thai resort island of Phuket.

Roger John Hussey's wife was filming the flight on Kata beach when he plunged into the sea.


A video of the flight posted on Facebook showed Mr Hussey being strapped into safety gear on the beach, but that straps between his legs were left undone.

He was relaxed and smiling.

The video then shows Mr Hussey and a crew member being pulled up into the air as the boat left the beach. Mr Hussey fell as the parasail wing was still climbing.

Thai media reported the two-minute video was recorded by Budsabong Thongsangka, Mr Hussey's wife.

It was apparently posted on Facebook after being handed to police

Beachgoers screamed and rushed to bring Mr Hussey ashore but he was having difficulty breathing and died later in hospital.

Police said they were preparing charges against the parasailing business owner.

The crew member was being interrogated.

Mr Hussey, 71, was based in Perth and was on the board of numerous companies and not-for profits, including Landgate WA, WA Neuroscience Research Institute and the Bali Eye Foundation.

He had been holidaying with his wife in northern Thailand and Phuket and they were due to return to Australia on Friday, Thai media reported.

Australian tourist Roger Hussey falls to death while parasailing in Phuket, Thailand

Warning graphic.

Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

but that straps between his legs were left undone

they were fastened - but there is no chest strap on the harness

^ Let's not jump to any conclusions!

I'm very surprised as the motto "safety first" is repeated as nauseam here, don't tell me it's just lip service ?

Wow did the police post the vid online? That would be gross...

If the operator's responsibility is established, what compensation would the wife receive and when?

Poor risk analysis by a mature man whose judgement let him down and killed him.

Quite why any sentient, civilised person should possibly entrust their lives into the care of a Thai beach jockey is mystifying.

But then, I could never relate to geriatrics indulging in extreme pursuits, given their ageing bodies are simply not designed to withstand adversity when things go awry - geriatric bungee jumpers are a particular case in point when they bitch about their detached retinas.

I blame the plethora of silly Hollywood movies featuring geriatric Stallones, Shwarzeneggers and Willises prancing about in their make-believe derring-do.

^
Can't green ya Thegent. Always a pleasure to read your replies.

two and a half minutes to live from the start of filming. Chilling.....

Originally Posted by aging one

two and a half minutes to live from the start of filming. Chilling.....

It must have been a friend or family who uploaded the video. A little disrespectful IMO.

Aussie media reporting the wife was filming.

Originally Posted by MeMock

Aussie media reporting the wife was filming.

I hope she was well rewarded.

Originally Posted by MeMock

Aussie media reporting the wife was filming.

Which probably explains why it has her name on the website as the videographer then.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Poor risk analysis by a mature man whose judgement let him down and killed him.

Quite why any sentient, civilised person should possibly entrust their lives into the care of a Thai beach jockey is mystifying.

But then, I could never relate to geriatrics indulging in extreme pursuits, given their ageing bodies are simply not designed to withstand adversity when things go awry - geriatric bungee jumpers are a particular case in point when they bitch about their detached retinas.

I blame the plethora of silly Hollywood movies featuring geriatric Stallones, Shwarzeneggers and Willises prancing about in their make-believe derring-do.

Speaking for myself, I still indulge in stupidly childish shit because I couldn't afford to do it when I was younger.

Did this last summer and it was fucking epic.



Of course the safety standards are exponentially higher than some bunch of chimps who decided to start a business fleecing tourists in Phuket.

I can understand why you would want to quietly veg in your old age, but personally I still like a little fun if it's safe to do so.

I'd like to point out the military plane that crashed the other day had 16 people on board. If you're allowed to post that video on the net why not this paragliding accident. Oh and what about the burning apartments in London? The bus crash in Phuket? The Chinese women run over when no one came to help her? Etc...
Fuking do gooders telling people they can't do this and they can't do that. Go get a job as a moderator on Thaivisa. You great big camel toe!

Originally Posted by Wilsonandson

I'd like to point out the military plane that crashed the other day had 16 people on board. If you're allowed to post that video on the net why not this paragliding accident. Oh and what about the burning apartments in London? The bus crash in Phuket? The Chinese women run over when no one came to help her? Etc...
Fuking do gooders telling people they can't do this and they can't do that. Go get a job as a moderator on Thaivisa. You great big camel toe!

Just what are you bitching about? The video is up around the world for all to see. Damn dude..

The wife supplied her own video to the "news site".

Whether she did this to try and warn other potential victims, or because they paid her for it, who knows?

There seems to be no danger of ao being struck by a low-flying point these days.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Poor risk analysis by a mature man whose judgement let him down and killed him.

We have every faith in your judgement and if you want to go flying in Jomtien, I will pay for your ticket.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Speaking for myself, I still indulge in stupidly childish shit because I couldn't afford to do it when I was younger.

Did this last summer and it was fucking epic.


I can understand why you would want to quietly veg in your old age, but personally I still like a little fun if it's safe to do so.

Indeed, but nothing will match the excitement of waiting to learn if the operation to re-attach your retina has been successful.

It's all relative I suppose.

Personally, looking for cheap thrills through the medium of extreme physical movement as a source of pleasure is not my bag. Flying at 40,000 ft and then dropping 2,000 ft in a second or two because of unheralded turbulence is quite sufficient for me and, frankly, I rather think as a life-enriching experience it was somewhat overrated.

In my youth, I and my ilk would drop a lot of acid in challenging environments to test our mettle in maintaining competence. Driving through a blizzard at night up the M5 between B'ham and Cheltenham tripping out of my skull was quite good fun although I think in truth i was scarcely doing more than 40mph. The thing is, distorting sensory perception and doing stuff at what appears to be "on the edge" just becomes a bore in the end and i eventually realised that life, no matter how much one fucks with it, generally becomes routine after a while and true satisfaction has to be gained from a somewhat deeper involvement and not from mere indulgence in the ephemeral.

Either way, for me, having a Thai wingman is quite sufficient as a source of potential death-defying high japery. Never can quite tell when that old blue touch paper fizzles quicker than a lightning flash and one is propelled into the realm of high uncertainty and possibly great physical harm

Quite enough at my age, thank you very much.

Originally Posted by aging one

Originally Posted by Wilsonandson

I'd like to point out the military plane that crashed the other day had 16 people on board. If you're allowed to post that video on the net why not this paragliding accident. Oh and what about the burning apartments in London? The bus crash in Phuket? The Chinese women run over when no one came to help her? Etc...
Fuking do gooders telling people they can't do this and they can't do that. Go get a job as a moderator on Thaivisa. You great big camel toe!

Just what are you bitching about? The video is up around the world for all to see. Damn dude..

Sorry, Dad.

Originally Posted by Wilsonandson

Sorry, Dad.

Those wacky 12 year olds...

Originally Posted by Wilsonandson

Operators told police the 70-year-old man confused the ropes on his parasail and pulled on a hook which unstrapped his harness, causing him to fall to the sea below.

There should be no hooks or ropes that can be pulled or adjusted by the thrill seeker. All of that should only be undertaken by a third party and only be carried out on the ground.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Quite enough at my age, thank you very much.

Yes, go and have a lie down, and keep quiet for ten minutes.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

There should be no hooks or ropes that can be pulled or adjusted by the thrill seeker. All of that should only be undertaken by a third party and only be carried out on the ground.

I did it once at Laem Sing. But there was no wing-man. I was on my toddler. They wanted me to land on the beach at the end as it is a hassle to get the chute out of the sea but I decided to drop into the sea as Laem Sing is a very small beach and the sea looked like a bigger target lower risk option - so they had to fish their soggy chute out of the waves.

Not a nice video. Makes me think of the opening scene from the novel Enduring Love.