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......Roman.....Watch out next time... :(

Well, it isn't exactly surprising to see that someone dies during a jump. What I don't understand though are the circumstances of the incident. Did he hit the plane or did the plane hit him during his descent ?
All you can do is to minimize the risk by preparing your parachute properly. And I'm almost certain that every skydiver does that. Some risk will always remain.
 
Yeah, anytime you jump out of a plane there's always a risk. That's just the chance you have to take if you like the rush. Overall, I think skydiving looks really fun, but I think I'd be too chicken to actually do it.
 
I saw the video he made, he got out but his parachute deployed instantly and he got thrown out and hit the plane's tailwing.
 
Huh, you know something we don't know. The article states that the camera hasn't been found yet and that they're not entirely sure if he was filming while the accident took place. Not that I want to see such a horrible thing.
 
Well I saw a video that stated that that was "Gus".

I saw it accidentally, I'm not gonna post it here, don't worry.
 
Did you know that the worl champion in freestyle skydiving died when his parachute didn't open? He probably got careless after all those jumps and didn't fold his parachute properly. :/
 
Yeah ... Gus was under a normally open canopy (parachute) when it happened. The twin otter pilot, an experimented one and a friend of Gus, was coming in for landing. The same plane Gus had jumped out of.

It happens very frequently that planes land on the runway at the same time as the last skydivers who jumped out from it. We freefall fast but come down slowly once under canopy, whereas the plane "powers" all the way down.

Gus was at about 600 feet and preparing to land. The otter came to him from behind and Gus never saw it coming. The pilot, from what we know, investigation is under way, never saw him or tried to avoid him. What we know for sure: The plane's wing hit him in the legs, he was still alive after the hit and managed to land before being taken to the hospital where he died later the same day.

The news went 'round the world in minutes, this is a relatively small community and technology now makes it possible to know what is going on fast.
Teh accident happened Saturday morning and the news was on our forum by dinner time the same day. AtmosphAir forum: Gus Wing's accident (in French).
Dropzone.com is all about Gus these days, rightfully so too. DZ.com forum

Pics from the damaged plane are available here:
NBC6 sideshow

It's a fun sport.
But all of us in it or considering it must remember:
You can do everything right and still die.


Josty, the video you are referring to is a different one from Gus' accident. No vid from Gus' accident has been released as of yet and I doubt will ever be, if it exists at all. I'll try to find the one you are referring to. Scary. Very clear reminder to check your gear before going out the door ! We normally make three equipment checks per jump. On the ground, prior to dressing up. At the boarding area, before getting on the plane (usually done by a friend as we are wearing the equipment by now). In the plane before the door opens at altitude ( also done by a peer).

Wooptidoop, are you referring to Patrick De Gayardon ? Or Rob Harris ? If not, who then ? Please be specific when stating stuff like that.

Swek, you are right, risks remain no matter what we do. It is still climbing out and letting go of a plane from 4?km up (!) with only fabric and lines(ropes) to get you to land safely.

Ren, don't worry. I plan on being around a long time. ;)


I am a bit sorry the news got to you here. Skydiving is always in the news when something goes wrong. It is spectacular so the news jump on what is normally a celebration of life amongst friends who participate. I guess you have to have made at least one to understand.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up Josty.
 
Would be nice if there was some sort of parachuter to plane collision avoidance system similar to plane to plane collision avoidance systems.
Of course that would probably be rather expensive.
 
ESPNSTI, It's called: avoiding the runway under canopy and looking out for the plane. ;)
Some people get so focused on approach and landing, they forget about that. :?

And yes, everything is expensive in this sport.

As an example:
Head gear alone can run up to 2000$ in a hurry.
  • helmet: 400
  • audible altimeter: 200
  • camera: 1200
  • ringsight & remote switch: 200

And Ren, the song on that page is the same one played every morning at the World FreeFall Convention over the PA system as a wake up call. It is an event I attend every year now.
I guess it'll never sound the same to me and a lot of people again.
 
Damn.

And Roman, if you skip the camera, it costs less than half the price... ;)
 
Now I wish I had checked this thread sooner...

I go to school at ERAU in Daytona, so Deland is pretty close by. I heard a couple of guys talking about a skydiver getting hit by his plane, but it sounded like they were talking about a drunk or something. Didn't hear enough of the conversation to really care, I guess...
 
Renesis said:
damn! what happened afterwards? :shock:
Click to expand...
The other jumpers made an emergency exit (bail out) as you can see from the cameraman's point of view,
the one skydiver with his canopy drapped over the tail cut away and landed under his reserve canopy
and the pilot landed the plane without much any problems.

This was told to me the night I got at the WFFC as it had happened in the same afternoon.

The part I am missing is: was the canopy ruined from having been drapped over the tail and the jumper hanging from it behind the airplane ? :dunno:
 
That's very sad to hear, but if you consider how many jumps happen, compared with the people who do die, it's probably similar to other "extreme" sports. And think about it - passenger jets crash, trains derail, thousands of accidents occur on the roads - yet you take no second thought about using any one of these modes of transportation. Risk is everywhere in life, and it's just a matter of being aware of it and doing what you can to minimize it.

Like Roman said, some divers get so engrossed in their approach and landing they don't pay attention to where they're landing - unfortunately, in this case, someone died because of it.

Risk is something you just have to accept and deal with...
 
SiR_dude said:
Like Roman said, some divers get so engrossed in their approach and landing they don't pay attention to where they're landing - unfortunately, in this case, someone died because of it.
Click to expand...
Careful now. I did not say it was the case for this particular accident.
Investigation is still under way, no conclusions have been issued yet, we do not even know if the skydiver was over or near the runway.

Please think of the family, friends and people who knew the victim and who know the pilot and be careful with comments.

Thank you.
 
^ Sorry...overstatement on my part. But the point remains, as you said, it's important (for rather obvious reasons) that divers steer clear of the runway when landing. One can just imagine that failing to do so MAY have fatal results.

I wasn't trying to point the blame at anyone - I think everyone realizes what the pilot must be going through now, as well as the deceased's family. I was just trying to point out the fact that skydiving IS risky, but so is everything else in life. It's just a matter of knowing the risk, and what you can do to minimize it.
 
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