British Kitesports Association

Private and voluntary organisations · Company limited by guarantee

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First report 9 Jun 2021•Latest report 9 Jun 2021

Reports, concerns and published responses

Reports over time

Reports naming this recipient by issue year.

* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.

Reports
1

Naming this recipient

Published responses
0%

Found for named reports

Concerns addressed
0

Across all linked responses

Stated actions
0

Described in responses

Concerns and recipient responses

Statements from British Kitesports Association linked to the concerns in each report. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

  1. Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton

    AI-generated summary

    Nicholas James O'BRIEN · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Nicholas James O'BRIEN died in hospital on 30 June 2020 after suffering traumatic head and neck injuries while kite-surfing. The report raised concern that a radio intercom device attached to his helmet remained in place when kite rigging became entangled around it, preventing the kite from being depowered and dragging him through the water and across ground; it noted that similar helmet-mounted devices may present the same concern.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to British Kitesports Association; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to secure helmet-attached devices so that they detach under entangling forces

    Wider context from the report

    “The deceased was under kite-surfing instruction on 28th June 2020. A radio intercom device used to assist with instructing the deceased had been attached to the helmet worn by the deceased using an adhesive pad provided by the United States based manufacturers of the device. The kite rigging became entangled around the device preventing the deceased from depowering the kite and causing the deceased to be dragged through the water by his helmet. The device remained in situ. The device was not secured in such manner that it was pulled off when the kite rigging became entangled around the device and exerted forces upon it. This concern could apply to devices similarly affixed to helmets, for example, action cameras and awareness of such concern should be addressed. ”
    Open source report
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026