Fatality: Norway 19 July 05

[TomAiello 25]

Press report here now includes the jumpers name.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[cesslon 0]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16002901-29277,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16002901-29277,00.html
that link is better, the link tom posted, asks for ya to be logged in when directly link to it.

[tobiasz 0]

;-(
I remember my first climbing to Kjerag on the begining of june with him and elin.
That was my first jump ;(
I can't beliave.
He jump first and i can watch how he land and what is the condition on the ground.
After my jump he wait for me with beer and congrats me my first jump...
That was the best beer in my live....
He show me so much hints and help me when i was learning packing.

I'm so fu*(& said ;(
Deepest condolence.
I'll miss you.

[freeflysoul 0]

I remember when, on the first stop during our hike (yes, I'm a lazy Italian...) I offered him some water to drink... Well, he replied "Hey man, water is for swimming!!! Only beer for me..."
I'll never forget him and his smile!
I'll never forget the help he gave me after my friend's accident...
A great man, a very friendly guy and a great jumper!
What a loss for all!!!
Fly free forever, bro!
Ciao!!!

3,2,1,C-YA!!!
V.
BASE #1075 / BMI #I-002 / PFI #042 / EGI #104

[dtl 0]

It's true he had the biggest smile and he was allways smilling.

[TomAiello 25]

There is a remembrance page here.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[K763 0]

Only the good die young; Darcy was absolutely the best. Best wishes to his brother and family and his father....

I still can't believe it...

The Silver Bullet is flying free...

my heart,
Karen

[LukeH 0]

Quote

Reliable reports are that the jumper was wearing tracking pants and jacket, and was intentionally very low. He then had trouble with the pitch, and deployed too low.

facts... the media may not care about them but jumpers should.

firstly this incident happened on July 19th not 17th.

secondly "intentionally very low" is not a fact. "very low" is relative, and "intentionally" is impossible to say unless the jumper said he was going to do it before hand.

the eventual deployment was clearly too late, but that is not to say it was intended that way.

[Zennie 0]

Quote

the eventual deployment was clearly too late, but that is not to say it was intended that way.

What about the report of the fumbled pitch? Was that also the case or was it strictly a low pull issue?

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

[LukeH 0]

Quote

Quote

the eventual deployment was clearly too late, but that is not to say it was intended that way.

What about the report of the fumbled pitch? Was that also the case or was it strictly a low pull issue?

i think it is highly unlikely that there was a fumble. this was a very experienced and current jumper. using a rig he was very familiar with.

as i already implied i don't think a low pull was the root cause of the issue.

[base283 0]

Hi Luke,
were you there or is this speculation?
thanks in advance,
space
pm is ok also.

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

firstly this incident happened on July 19th not 17th.

You are correct. My apologies. I think I must have sorted it out wrong in the first place, and then just kept copying the error.

Quote

secondly "intentionally very low" is not a fact. "very low" is relative, and "intentionally" is impossible to say unless the jumper said he was going to do it before hand.

The "intentional" bit was reported to me by jumpers there. I didn't ask about it, but just assumed that it was either (a) because he said something before the jump, or (b) because he was observed not to make a pull attempt until he was very low. I'd guess it was the latter.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[LukeH 0]

hi space,

yes i'm here in lysebotn.
i was on the load and was watching from the landing area.

[LukeH 0]

Quote

The "intentional" bit was reported to me by jumpers there. I didn't ask about it, but just assumed that it was either (a) because he said something before the jump, or (b) because he was observed not to make a pull attempt until he was very low. I'd guess it was the latter.

the consensus from all of the people that were there - was that deployment appeared to have been ititated at a "normal" height. a stability problem may have then occurred. he may have then delayed deployment to deal with this problem.

i'm not saying these are facts, but seems a more reasonable scenario to me.

[base283 0]

Respect from my heart.
take care
space

[op5e 0]

I have linked an article that did not seem too bad.

http://seven.com.au/news/nationalnews/94743

[maretus 0]

Just got back from Norway from otherwise beautiful trip totally darkened by this terrible accident. I had the pleasure to know Darcy for two years and share jumps and just chat with him on that beautiful site in southwestern Norway. He was highly skilled basejumper, an absolutely beautiful personality and most of all a great friend. He was the guy that would give gloves to you if you needed them even if his own hands were freezing, he was the first to volunteer to go first or last, just to make other jumpers feel better. His positive personality and care for his fellow jumpers are things I'll never forget from this person. The sport has truly lost one of it's good guys.

On that sad day from exit 6, he made the track of his life, he really had it going and he was truly enjoying it 'till the end. Fly free big man !

http://www.ufufreefly.com

[vesatoro 0]

Darcy, your track will last forever.

"Fear is the path to the Dark side"
(Master Yoda)

[K763 0]

Hi All-

I'm back from Norway, having attended Darcy's memorial service and other functions to remember Darcy, sharing the pain of his loss and the joy of his life with his brother Tony and his closest friends.

I spoke with many people that were there that day, and I believe a summation of what went wrong with the jump could be helpful to other jumpers getting into the "super-tracker" style of jumping.

Darcy had about 550 BASE jumps and many tracking jumps from Kerag. He was wearing the PF Pants and Jacket, and did have his best track ever. I think he had between 10 and 15 jumps on this new flight suit. After a sweet, long track toward the landing area, Darcy deployed as usual in a skydive, with left arm overhead and right hand to pilot chute. This caused him to rotate in a flat spin, and apparently Darcy tried to regain stability before deployment. Unfortunately, the loss of altitude in that brief span of time was his undoing; the canopy was inflating as he disappeared behind a large rock and fatally impacted.

Many very good jumpers have said that when jumping smoke pants or other tracking pants they initiate the pilot chute pull like a wingsuit flyer: both hands to hips with arms aligned with the torso and elbows bent to allow better stability and body symmetry at the start of deployment. And of course, MOST IMPORTANTLY: DO NOT SACRIFICE ALTITUDE FOR STABILITY. Opening in an unstable position can cause line twists or other problems, but not pulling in time to achieve full canopy inflation will cause serious injury or death.

People are tracking farther and going lower than ever before, and as we push this envelope to the limits we need to remember the bottom line basics that we learned in AFF: 1) Pull on time. 2) Pull stable. Leave yourself time to deal with problems.

I sincerely hope that all jumpers learn from Darcy's experience. One of the best of us is gone, but we can take this lesson with us into our future jumps, and pass this on to other jumpers.

Lysebotn just isn't the same without Darcy's smiling face, infectious laugh, generous nature, and passion for jumping, but you will find pieces of his spirit present and alive in those that knew and loved him.

Fly free, Darcy! You will be forever remembered and missed.

Karen

[DaveO 0]

Great post KT.

DO

"When it comes to BASE, I'll never give advice, only my opinion"

[TVPB 0]

Nice post K763

Thanks for the learnings.

Yes, Darcy was what we call a larrikin. A person who just smiled and enjoyed life. Not too much baggage or complexity. This can be a very liberating existance.

Just want to clarify your wording, I understand what you said as: "He got to pull height, did the standard left arm out front, right hand deploy, started spinning whilst in this position and PRIOR to actually releasing the pilot chute, tried to regain stability, initiated the deployment sequence when he realised he had altitude issues, impacted prior to completion of the canopy opening sequence".

BASE jumpers certainly are tracking further and it is wonderful to have been a witness to the growth of the sport from falling straight down with p/c in hand to all the tracking and suit tech stuff. However, people are not necessarily going lower than before. The ground is a finite limit that cannot be altered without some MAJOR engineering work. Low pull comps / jumps have been around for a long while and it is not an area where we can advance that much (apart from someone trying to land a wingsuit ). I think it would be truer to say that on average, jumpers are going lower much earlier in their jumping career / progression. This has a plethora of issues that need to be managed both by the individual jumper themselves and the person mentoring/guiding/coaching them.

What you have highlighted is VERY IMPORTANT.

1 - Pull.

2 - Pull high.

3 - Pull high and stable.

Is what I remember from early jumping days. Similar to what you are saying.

What does this mean for people PLANNING on going low? You have intentionally put yourself at step 1 above. This means that you do not have the option of 2 and 3. Hence, 1 - Pull - and deal with the issues later.

One thing to be careful of when considering pull heights is that low is a relative term. If, for example, your parachute deployment sequence consumes exactly 300 feet at terminal, and you are at 350 feet - YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO PULL. If you are a beginner at 750 feet, then trying to regain stability might not be the best option as your inexperience may lead to consumption of excessive height whilst correcting your stability. If you are a freefall guru at the same height as the beginner, you may need only 1 second to correct your stability. If . . . .If . . . . .If . . . . . .

Hence, build margins in for each factor that is likely to affect your end result. This is especially relevant to beginners out there who try to push the limits very early in their jump careers. ANd its is relevant to the experienced jumpers who are trying new things or are not feeling 100% or . . . . . .

Remember . . . . . .

Stay Safe
Have Fun Good Luck

Tom

It was a pleasure to have met Darcy.

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[skreamer 1]

Quote

when jumping smoke pants or other tracking pants they initiate the pilot chute pull like a wingsuit flyer: both hands to hips with arms aligned with the torso and elbows bent to allow better stability and body symmetry at the start of deployment.

Good post. I just did my first PF track jumps in the valley. I practiced the deployment you describe above skydiving the outfit first about 12 times. It works great, I also drop my knees just a bit (seems to help prevent going head down and getting spanked). I managed 8 BASE jumps with the outfit and had no problems. I am really happy with the outfit and was getting some nice forward speed. I'm sorry about Darcy, I never met him but from what guys here in the valley were saying he was a good bloke. Hopefully people reading about this will think about testing new gear and configurations in a skydiving environment first.

Will

[K763 0]

Just want to clarify your wording, I understand what you said as: "He got to pull height, did the standard left arm out front, right hand deploy, started spinning whilst in this position and PRIOR to actually releasing the pilot chute, tried to regain stability, initiated the deployment sequence when he realised he had altitude issues, impacted prior to completion of the canopy opening sequence".

Yes Tom, I confirm that you have this stated correctly. He reached to pull, got unstable, regained stability, then pulled his p/c.

Thanks for the excellent post.

Peace,
K