ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997               TAG: 9701280014
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-8  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: NEW YORK

BUNGEE HOIST CALLED LIKELY CAUSE OF DEATH

Evidence that a broken or improperly used hoist may have caused the accident that killed a bungee jumper rehearsing for today's Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans did not surprise bungee experts Saturday.

Laura Patterson had completed a second practice jump Thursday when her cord snapped her back, in normal fashion, toward the Superdome's ceiling. She bounced a second time and was to have been lowered to the floor on the third when the cord unwound and she fell, investigators believe.

``In theory, bungee jumping is incredibly safe, and the equipment very reliable,'' said Jerry Elkins, former owner of a company that offered jumps from hot-air balloons.

``But improperly attached [bungees] are generally the biggest problem, especially if you are setting up in some place new, as these people were.''

- The New York Daily News

LENGTH: Short :   28 lines
KEYWORDS: FATALITY