U.S. Corps bans kite tubing on Arkansas, Missouri lakes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The U.S. Corps of Engineers has banned kite tubing, a new extreme water sport, on its lakes in Arkansas and Missouri.

Kite tubing has caused at least two deaths on other lakes in Texas and Wisconsin, the Corps said.

A kite tube is an inflatable platform towed by a boat. As speed increases, the entire tube is lifted into the air like a kite with the rider on top. The tubes often overturn or throw the rider, according to the Corps.

"This product is described by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as 'extremely dangerous' and has already caused two deaths and numerous injuries," Col. Wally Walters said. "Until this product can be better designed for control and stability, and until proper training can be established, it is my judgment that the hazards and potential liabilities of allowing kite tubing on public waters outweigh the benefits of unrestricted use."

The Corps' Tulsa, Okla., district banned kite tubing last week.

The National Park Service has said that injuries caused by kite tubing include internal trauma.

"Victims have reported coughing up blood, torn muscles, whiplash-type injuries, broken ribs, punctured lungs and cervical fractures," according to a safety alert from the park service.

Lakes in Arkansas and Missouri where the ban is now in effect include Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork, Clearwater, Greers Ferry, Nimrod, Blue Mountain, Millwood, Dierks, De Queen and Gillham, as well as the Arkansas River in Arkansas.