From the Star-News of Wilmington, Sept. 28

It is unfortunate that two women had to die in a recent parasailing accident before serious consideration has been given to regulating on an industry that has largely been unregulated. But if the Coast Guard takes action to set some safety rules for parasailing businesses, perhaps other deaths may be avoided.

Weather was a factor in the Aug. 28 accident off Ocean Isle Beach that took the lives of Cynthia Woodcock and Lorrie Shoup. But National Weather Service forecasters testified at a hearing recently that ample warning about rough conditions and strong winds were given well ahead of time.

The weather service issued a small-craft advisory — meaning that weather conditions could be dangerous for small boats. Not long after the Tied High pulled the two women out to sea, the weather service sent out an alert about strong thunderstorms not far offshore.

The two tourists died after a line that tethered them to the boat Tied High came loose.

The wind blew their parachute around, and they came crashing down into the water, the boat and a nearby pier.

The captain told investigators he wasn’t aware of the weather service advisories.

He should have been aware, and if the Coast Guard sees fit to establish regulations, one of those should be to check weather service reports religiously, and to keep an eye out for changing weather conditions.

Any competent recreational sailor knows that. Even passengers on the boat, who were waiting their turn for a ride, were concerned about conditions.

While a parasailing industry group has strong guidelines for its members, it is not an enforcement agency. That group should be part of any discussion on new regulations, which should focus on training and safety precautions.

The idea isn’t to make it more difficult for the businesses to operate — many people have safely experienced the exhilaration of parasailing — but to make it safer for the people who expect to live to tell about their high-flying adventure.

Questions that also must be explored in this case include why the line detached from the tow boat and how much training the crew for N.C. Watersports received before hoisting thrill-seeking tourists into the air behind a boat. The company’s parasailing operation has been drydocked since the accident.

No one meant for this terrible accident to occur. But it was preventable.