Company Recalls Kite Tubes; N.C. Warning Remains In Effect

[NCangler]

RALEIGH, N.C. (July 14) - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and a water sports equipment company have announced the voluntary recall of the company's Wego brand of kite tubes.

Kite tubes, also known as flying tubes or tube kites, are inflatable watercraft towed behind a boat and, at speed, become airborne. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission issued a warning on July 7 about potential hazards associated with kite tubing after investigating a spate of injuries on state waters and receiving national reports of two fatalities and numerous injuries.

According to a press release issued July 13 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Sportsstuff, Inc. of Omaha, Neb., has "withdrawn the kite tube from the market and is undertaking this voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution."

Kite tubes, regardless of manufacture or design, are now restricted on several waterways across the nation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers banned kite tubing on its lakes in Arkansas and Missouri; the National Park Service has outlawed it at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which includes popular Lake Powell.

This week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers added B. Everett Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, John H. Kerr Lake and W. Kerr Scott Lake in North Carolina to its reservoirs with a kite tube ban.

The Wego Kite Tube is 10-foot-wide, circular and yellow, with black stripes. The cover bears a skull and crossbones and the statement "Never kite higher than you are willing to fall." Some 19,000 Wego Kite Tubes were sold through marine distributors, mail order catalogs and various retailers from October 2005 until July 11, 2006. Sportsstuff may be contacted at (866) 831-5524 or online at www.sportsstuff.com for more information.