American Couple Returns to Thailand for 50m THB lawsuit against Flight of the Gibbon

  BANKGOK, THAILAND - 06/21/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Americans, Rich and Lisa Sayre are returning to Thailand for the third time in two years seeking justice from Flight of the Gibbon (FOTG), a  Chiang Mai, Thailand based, American/British/S African/Thai operated zip line company.   

After a traumatic collision with another guest at the FOTG large Mae Kam Pong operation outside of Chiang Mai  in July of 2015 Mrs. Sayre spent 28 days in Bumungrad Hospital in Bangkok recovering and ultimately was left completely blind in her right eye, has some diminished brain function and has not been able to work since the collision.

Mrs. Sayre’s additional injuries including broken ribs, spinal fractures and damage to her pelvis were very similar to those of the Israeli mother, Orit Bobrov,  that had the same ‘roll back’ mid- air collision with her  7 year old child attached to her at the same FOTG  location (different line) in December of last year.  These injuries were consistent with injuries of other FOTG guests written about in Outside Magazine in Feb, 2016  https://www.outsideonline.com/2159481/just-how-dangerous-are-ziplines   and on TripAdvisor in 2012   https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293917-d1021770-r136443783-Flight_of_the_Gibbon-Chiang_Mai.html

The Sayre’s are seeking  a large award from Flight of the Gibbon/Tree Top Asia LTD to cover Mrs. Sayre’s loss of income as well as future medical costs in the U.S. as they are 5-10 times as high as in Thailand.   

“While we understand this amount may seem exorbitant by Thai standards our future medical expenses and Lisa’s loss of income in the US are much, much higher than what they would be if we lived in Thailand” said Mr. Sayre.  “Ultimately this is more about holding Flight of the Gibbon accountable for their actions as they have had multiple collisions like this in the last 5 years. If we don’t hold them accountable in court who will?” he said.  Flight of the Gibbon is the most expensive zip line operation in Thailand charging over 4000THB per guest and taking anywhere from 40-200 guests per day on their 2.5 hour zip line tour.

The Sayre’s who lived in Thailand in the 90’s and have two daughters that were born in Thailand and witnessed their mothers collision, have been back twice to meet with police in Chiang Mai/Mae On as well as with representatives of the Minister of Tourism. “We want to see the zip line industry in Thailand made safe for all visitors to the Kingdom” said Mr. Sayre.  The industry has had a number of severe injuries and even a death in the past few years with Ms Rov’s at Flight of the Gibbon being  one of the most recent .   

In October of 2016 two guides, employees of Flight of the Gibbon, pled guilty in Chiang Mai court to negligence in the Sayre case. The Sayre’s returned to Thailand for that trial and asked the court for leniency in the guides sentencing.  “We feel very strongly that the companies’  high ‘through-put’ process and communication system they use on the longer lines along with some other practices are the main root causes of these collisions, not just negligence by the guides” said Mr. Sayre.