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YouTube personality Adam from Ballistic High-Speed suffered a catastrophic accident during a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launch demonstration, resulting in serious injuries.
The incident occurred on November 14th at 3:00 PM and has left Adam hospitalized with a long road to recovery ahead.
Adam and his team were showcasing the functionalities of RPG-7 and Carl Gustaf M2 rocket launchers in a series of demonstrations aimed at understanding the mechanics and impact of these weapons.
During the filming, they utilized inert and precision-machined metal-bodied high explosive RPG rounds.
Todd Kern, an expert on the subject, accompanied Adam in the demonstrations. They explained the technical differences between the RPG-7 and Carl Gustaf M2, emphasizing the unique features of the latter as a recoilless rifle.
The demonstration included detailed explanations of the loading procedures and the potential dangers associated with the back blast of these weapons.
Unfortunately, despite rigorous safety precautions, an unforeseen malfunction occurred during the firing of an RPG.
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The failure resulted in Adam sustaining third-degree burns, broken bones, and lacerations on his face and other areas.
His colleague, who was present during the incident, confirmed that while Adam’s life was not in danger, the recovery process would be lengthy and challenging.
Adam has been praised for his stringent safety measures in past videos, and his colleague emphasized that there was no negligence involved in this incident.
The accident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent risks associated with handling explosives, even in controlled and safety-conscious environments.
Supporters and viewers have been asked to send positive thoughts and inspirational messages to Adam during his recovery.
Despite the severity of the incident, Adam has expressed his desire to return to the channel and share his experience with his audience, turning this unfortunate event into a learning opportunity for all.
We extend our heartfelt wishes to Adam for a swift and full recovery. Adam, we look forward to seeing you back in action, sharing your experiences and insights with your audience. Get well soon!
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Watching the videos, I was wondering why the loader would kneel down beside the shooter, seemed like a dangerous place to be in case something failed in the main tube. Looked like a terrible blast when this thing let go. I’d like to see what was left of the launcher. I hope this poor guy recovers with his senses intact, looks like he’s lucky to be alive.
Adam, here’s to wishing you a faster & more complete recovery than expected. Kudos for your enthusiasm in your willingness to return. I have been well rewarded for ‘getting back on the horse’ and hope the same for you. I pray that your spirits remain high and recover quickly from the inevitable lows on your journey ahead. Those of us who have had to travel this route will tell you that getting on the other side is a very sweet victory. May God embrace you.
It’s not a deflected “Back Blast” problem. We don’t get to see the RPG Launcher after the “incident”. I’m no RPG expert but upon firing: fireball exits the back and also follows the rocket out the front. Look at ALL the prior shots shown in Slow Motion: substantial smoke (pressurized gas) is escaping from above/rear of the forward grip around the barrel/receiver!!!! I venture to guess the launcher developed fractures/cracks during previous shots and then finally totally failed. You can view other slow motion RPG7 shots on the web and there’s no smoke venting from this area between the hand grips. If people only have limited exposure to a single example, than that becomes their “normal operation”. All the front blast could easily conceal the possible middle venting and fracture. An in progress review of the slow motion might have tipped them off to the problem if they could have recognized it.
I wish Adam a fast and complete recovery.
I watched that video. At the end of it they were using ballistic dummy labs gel ‘body parts’ to see how destructive the backblast was. First, they placed a gel hand behind the backblast area. It got pretty messed up. Next (the thing that caused the injury) they placed a gel head near the backblast area. In spite of whatever safety precautions they and the expert thought they were taking, this was completely unsafe. You don’t yell “Backblast area clear!!” right before firing one of these types of weapons for no reason. Quite simply, the backblast area contained a gel head and was not clear at all. The exploding gas had nowhere to go but back towards Adam.
Nope! Watch the previous Slow Motion shots. See the gas/smoke leak above the front grip. That’s not a desiged “vent”, that’s a fracture about to become catastrophic!
I watched some of the video and it looks to me like the back blast reached the dummy head before there is the failure. Even if the flame was short of the obstacle, the back blast was still slowed down and unintened “vent” is likely to be a result of the safety violations. Of course there maybe a legal argument that would involve experts on internal and external operation of the RPG and I would like to hear the arguments in a court case, if it ever got to that point.
It would have been nice to read what went wrong, rather than assurances that all safety protocols were followed. If the backblast caused the problem, then not all safety protocols were followed.
The safety protocols were indeed violated. The back blast area is shaped like a cone and depending on the weapon this area consists of a danger zone that might be about 30 meters and a caution zone another additional 20 meters. Every military manual for each type of weapon system would cover the back blast dangers and these gents did NOT read the complete manual.
I have seen safety films of weapon systems and the dangers in the back blast area these gents are like what Paul said on setting up too close.
Hang in there Adam! My prayers are with you hoping for a speedy recovery. God is with you.
Beware on so called experts.
You do understand a malfunction can happen to anyone, even experts, right?
They redirected the back blast onto the gunner. If you deploy a weapon like this you should always avoid walls and any large items in the back blast area, most especially buildings and walls, et cetera. I guess these gents did not know that it does NOT take much to prevent the safe and proper operation of these weapons. I have fired several live M47 Dragons and would never had dared to place an obstacle so close in the weapons back blast area, and thus there are crucial limitations to you firing positions.
Hope he gets better soon and keep in mind that he has suffered enough, so treat him with understanding and well wishes.
put the dummy head a bit too close maybe…………..