05/08/2026
FROM GLEN FISHER: So many people are aware of the fatal accident that happened at Great Falls last Sunday (5/3/26) where Will Lankford tragically lost his life, and many people are wondering how a fatal drowning could occur at the bottom of Great Falls, after the paddlers had already successfully navigated the “main drops” of the Virginia line.
For people not familiar with the area, Great Falls is a very impressive stretch of class V drops on the Potomac River right outside of Washington DC. There are 4 ways to navigate the series of drops, the Maryland, Center, Virginia, and Fish Ladder lines. All present unique challenges and hazards, but the Virginia lines on the far river right are generally considered one of the “less” hazardous routes through Great Falls due to the lack of the caves found the landing zone of the center lines (Subway where Todd Andrew, and Shannon Christy lost their lives in 2004, and 2013) or the hole on the Maryland side (Charlies Hole where Scott Bristow drowned back in November of 1998) The Virginia lines of Great Falls consist of 3 rapids, U Hole is the top drop, followed by a twisting rapid called S Bend, followed by the finale that is called “The Spout” an 18-22 foot waterfall which is the highest single drop on Great Falls.
The accident last Sunday occurred almost 50 feet below the last major drop, and was the result of a paddler getting washed into a sheer wall of rock that separates the various Great Falls lines, that paddlers use to hike back up for multiple laps. It is called “The Flake,” and is by far the most prominent mass of rocks that separates the various different lines from each other.
Although there is no video of the accident that occurred last Sunday as far as I’m aware, there is another video from around 2 years ago that one of my friends David Crane shot of an almost identical accident that occurred in the exact same spot that Will drowned in. I reached out to David, and have gotten permission to post his video in the hopes that it will allow paddlers to understand how a fatal accident could occur in such a seemingly “easy” stretch of Great Falls, after all the major drops are already over with. So after you drop off the last major drop of the Virginia side of Great Falls (The Spout), there is a large open area that is surrounded by the river right observation decks, and fisherman’s eddy that paddlers use to put into the Mather Gorge directly below Great Falls.
The main current falls 18 feet off The Spout, and around 75% of the river’s volume pushes to the right and into calmer water. However, the other 25% slams directly into a huge rock feature known as “The Flake” and rebounds into the main current at an awkward angle. Paddlers who flip on the landing of The Spout have between 5 and 10 seconds to roll before getting swept into this wall, and even less time at higher water levels. This wall of rock is usually thought of more as an annoyance than a deadly hazard, as it has caused countless swims, but paddlers usually always flush out downstream.
This incident occurred around 2 years ago, but is literally identical to the fatal accident that occurred last Sunday, with the only difference being a water level of 3 feet, versus a water level of 3.2 feet. In this video, you can see David run The Spout, and immediately turn around to watch Sam flip upon landing, successfully roll up, but then get pushed into the rock wall that forms The Flake. She manages to hit a roll, but the current is so strong that it immediately pushes her straight back into the wall, and holds the boat there, making a swim inevitable. Even at this lower water level, you can see Sam immediately start to get sucked underwater as soon as she is out of her boat, but she manages to stabilize herself by using her feet to hold herself in place, and backstroke to fight the current pushing into the wall and keep her head above water. At this lower water level, she managed to keep herself stable until David could climb up The Flake and get her a throw rope to pull her out of the danger zone. This was not the case at the slightly higher water level of 3.2 feet when Will’s accident occurred. From what I heard, Will attempted to use his feet exactly like Sam did to keep himself off of the wall, yet was pulled completely underwater and held there for multiple minutes before John and Spencer heroically risked their own lives in a desperate attempt to pull him clear of the body pin.
I reached out to Charlie Walbridge with the full consent of the paddlers featured in this video in an attempt to show an almost identical accident that occurred years ago, to allow people to understand how dangerous this spot is at higher water levels. The accident in the video I linked luckily turned out okay, but with less than .2 more feet of water, it held an expert and extremely fit paddler underwater for an unsurvivable amount of time. David’s video does an excellent job of showing how an experienced paddler can get into trouble there despite a successful run down The Spout, and how nasty that wall can be even at a lower water level. This video demonstrates how quick things can go wrong, but more importantly, where you need to climb up to with a rope in order to attempt a rescue of a paddler in a similar situation. I really hope David’s excellent video allows people to understand what happened, and raises awareness of just how dangerous seemingly “easy” spots of Great Falls can be depending on water levels and conditions. I am so sorry to everyone involved in the accident on Sunday, Will’s family and friends, and the local paddling community who will have last Sunday’s incident etched into their brains for the rest of their lives.
216 likes, 44 comments. "Great Falls Spout Rescue"
