Thousands of inflatable “tube-kites” are being pulled off store shelves and recalled.
The ten-foot-wide circular yellow device allows a rider being pulled behind a boat to take flight — and sometimes fall to their death. Mark Ross, spokesman for the U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission, says the Wego Tube Kites are made by Sportsstuff in Omaha. Ross says they can go 35-miles an hour and 40-feet up in the air and they’re very hard to control and people can fall from them, they can dive into the water and get hurt and there have been two deaths. There have also been about 40 reported injuries from the tube kites, including some as severe as broken necks and punctured lungs.
Ross says if you have a tube kite, you can’t get your money back, but you can get something else. Contact SportsStuff toll-free at 866-831-5524 and they’ll be able to get free replacement products from the company or go to the company’s website at www.sportsstuff.com for more details. The original price for the tube kites was between $500 and $600.
Ross isn’t sure if there are any lawsuits filed against the company. The recall was voluntary. Ross says his agency’s goal is to get the product off the market to prevent further injuries and deaths. Some 19,000 of the items are being recalled. The deaths from tube kites were reported in Texas and in Wisconsin.
Related web sites:
SportStuff website