On monday, june 7th, 2010, a boating accident occurred on lake norman. operator was on vacation when he took his mother's pwc from the garage at their lake house.  He stated that the pwc had not been out since july 10th of the previous year when he left the lake house from his last vacation.  Before he left on that date, he put gas stabilizer in the fuel tank.  On the date of the accident, he decided to put the pwc on the water.  He had backed the pwc off the trailer and was drifting in the water approximately 10 feet from the shoreline.  He turned the key over approximately 5 times, according to witness.  On the 5th try he held the key while the pwc struggled to crank.  Suddenly, the hull exploded and catapulted Operator into the water.  The hull separated into two halves with the upper portion blown completely from the vessel.  Multiple fragments of the vessel were scattered throughout the lake.  The fuel tank and most of the motor were still in tact with the lower half of the vessel.  The fuel tank hose leading to the filling port was severed, but the tank was still approximately 1/3 full of gas.  The battery cables were very loose and possibly created a spark.  The spark ignited the fuel vapors that were trapped in the hull due to flooding while attempting to crank.  This is believed to be what caused this explosion.  Operator was transported to carolina medical center in charlotte, nc by lifeflight.  Upon my arrival at the hospital, the medical team was preparing Operator for surgery on his right leg.  He had broken his right ankle which included a deep laceration that went to the bone.  He also had a large cut on his left ankle according to a nurse that entered the room.  I could visibly see an approximately 3/4 inch laceration on the outside of his right wrist.  His mother pointed out that he had also chipped his upper right front tooth.  One of the medical personnel stated that a ct scan of his chest and abdomen came back fine.  I spoke with Operator by phone on june 9th and he advised that his surgery went well.  Operator was wearing a type iii pfd, had a fire extinguisher onboard, and the florida registration was valid until may 2011.  The mooresville fd responded to the scene as well.
MOORESVILLE                   