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Darwin Awards
2011 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
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Teen dies flying kite

2011 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

A teenager (17) was electrocuted when the kite he was flying got tangled in a power line, which sent an electrical current down the wire line he was using to fly the kite. He used a thin, plastic-coated aluminum wire that is often used in electrical fencing and tied it to the kite. A piece of steel rebar was the handle. A friend asked him to bring the kite down once it started raining, but he kept flying it and was electrocuted minutes later when the kite got tangled in power lines. The line attached to the kite acted as a conductor.

Submitted on 09/05/2011

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: www.ktbs.com September 5th, 2011

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

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James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
While there isn't much to this story, there is enough evidence to convict! Sometimes kites get tangled on electrical lines, but this fellow was COURTING disaster. I've never SEEN a kite with an aluminum line, much less a steel bar....!

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
When I was kite-flying as a kid, the instructions on the package specifically said NOT to replace the string with metal wire or line -presumably to avoid exactly this situation! Wire line = fail. Steel rebar handle =double fail. Flying a kite (highest point!) during a storm =Darwin-sized fail! Thanks!

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