Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia competes during luge training ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, B.C., on Feb. 10, 2010. Kumaritashvili was killed after crashing during a training run Feb. 12. (Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters)

In the days after luger Nodar Kumaritashvili's death at the 2010 Winter Olympics, I called up a private accident investigator who had experience in these things.

"Get the rule book," were his first words.

So I did. Both of them. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (FIBT) has a rule book and so does the International Luge Federation (FIL).

It's an interesting and telling read for what is in them, and also what is not.

What it shows is that in attempting to create a challenging, special track in Whistler, the FIBT and FIL — while maybe not breaking their own rules when advising VANOC — certainly stretched them.

Take the very length of the track: The FIL rule book says the length for a luge track must not exceed 1,350 metres, although it's called a general rule. The Whistler track is 1,374 metres for luge.

"Based on the topography of the Whistler track, it became necessary to lengthen the track a little," said Svein Romstad, secretary general of the FIL, in an email to the CBC in the fall.

G-force played a critical role in the Kumaritashvili accident. One G is the force of Earth's gravity and it determines how much we weigh. Five Gs is the force of five times your weight on your body. The FIBT has a limit for this and it is clear: "No centrifugal force in excess of 5G is allowed."

FIL has no rules to limit G-forces.

In its official investigation into Kumaritashvili's accident, the FIL says he was unable to overcome the G-forces he experienced in Curve 16. A technical briefing note obtained by the CBC indicates male lugers could experience a G-force of 5.02 on the Whistler track.

As the saying goes, it's location, location, location. The FIBT has a rule for this, sort of. It says, that "if possible, the track shall be located on the north slope." It doesn't say why, but a reasonable interpretation of that could be so the track is not in the direct sunlight if it were on the south slope. But that is how the Whistler sliding centre is situated, on the south slope.

And that caused some problems.

The FIBT homologation report notes: "To prevent the deterioration of the ice during warm, sunny periods, the finish straight should be shaded or covered. The method of shading should consider the integrity of the competition, safety of the athletes, the requirements of television broadcast, and the requirements of VANOC."

This is the very structure Nodar Kumaritashvili hit after flying out of the track.