Whuffos Calling 911 for a "Skydiver Who Bounced"

[iluvtofly 0]

Well, Sunday had at least one memorable moment at the DZ.

Picture to help clarify where everyone was. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=496+Old+Ash+Rd,+Mercer,+PA+16137&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=61.153041,108.28125&ie=UTF8&ll=41.143372,-80.164962&spn=0.014446,0.026436&t=k&z=15

The DZ is at the NW end of the runway (upper left of picture). Runway is just short of a mile long.
The outlet mall is at the lower right of the picture.

So, now for the story. So, a lady at the outlet mall sees what she thinks is a skydiver "GOING 100 MPH TOWARDS THE GROUND...I THINK HE JUST DIED" at least that's what she told 911 when she called them. The truth was it was a jumper with 6000+ jumps setting up for a swoop landing.

As you can see from the picture, with the distance between the mall and DZ, and all the trees in the way there was no way in hell she saw him land. She just saw him setting up for the swoop and immediately called 911.

So she comes over to the DZ to see what's going on. She asks where the dead guy is and we point out to her that everyone is up and walking around. She then proceeds to tell us that she called 911 and wasn't going to cancell it because she thinks we're just trying to cover our own asses. Next thing you know there is a state trooper and 2 fire trucks pulling in.

Fortunately they believed us and just went on their merry way.

Gotta love them whuffo's.

[GaryRay 0]

so show me on the map where you stuffed the body =)

JewBag.
www.jewbag.wordpress.com

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

skydiver "GOING 100 MPG TOWARDS THE GROUND...

[singing]"I want my MPG!"[/laughing]

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[DrewEckhardt 0]

That's disgusting. Looks like the mall covers more acreage than the airport.

[virgin-burner 1]

did the whuffo the proceed to book a tandemride!?

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[McDuck 0]

I think a "Children of the Corn" approach with her would have made for some excellent Beer-Light stories later:

"We eat our own when they bounce. Join us..."

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[iluvtofly 0]

wish i would've thought of that

[StreetScooby 5]

Quote

"We eat our own when they bounce. Join us..."

I gotta remember this one...
LOL

We are all engines of karma

[jtval 0]

A couple of years ago when I was jumping in Jean, Nv we were having a regular day at the dz when this rescue helicopter lands and medics come running out.

where all looking around like WTF is going on. they ask if anyone had died.

OF course we're all dumbfounded but we do a head count just to be sure and "we're all here."


after the rescue guy tells us someone called in about a spinning canopy etc.


there was a tandem cutaway that day (VERY SHORTLY before the rescue) someone thought it was a guy going in.



It was wierd but comforting that the rescue bird got there so quickly.

My photos

My Videos

[bigway 4]

On my first cutaway over a city dropzone my freebag made someone call the emergency services. I landed off, before i got back to the dropzone the reporters and ambulance had already been and gone.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[skymama 35]

When I was in Sebastian a few weeks ago an ambulance showed up. It was the same thing as with you, someone had a cutaway so a whuffo called 911.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[wildfan75 1]

We had a tandem cutaway too, and an 80ish year old man called 911 after seeing the canopy that was cutaway trickle to the earch. He later showed up at the dropzone and asked if the skydiver "made it". We explained to him that it was just a cutaway canopy and when he started to explain how he thought he was watching someone wrapped up in their canopy die he started crying.

He got a well versed lesson in three rings that day.

[ryoder 1,384]

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When I was in Sebastian a few weeks ago an ambulance showed up. It was the same thing as with you, someone had a cutaway so a whuffo called 911.

A guy told me the story of hiking off to a nearby road to retrieve a cutaway that had landed in the ditch. When he got there, a car was parked close by. As he picked up the canopy, a little old lady jumped out of the car and proceeded to verbally rip him a new one for scaring her poor husband half to death. Then he noticed the old geezer in the car, eyes bugged out, clutching his chest, gasping for air. There wasn't anything medically wrong with him; just fright.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[labrys 0]

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A guy told me the story of hiking off to a nearby road to retrieve a cutaway that had landed in the ditch. When he got there, a car was parked close by. As he picked up the canopy, a little old lady jumped out of the car and proceeded to verbally rip him a new one for scaring her poor husband half to death. Then he noticed the old geezer in the car, eyes bugged out, clutching his chest, gasping for air. There wasn't anything medically wrong with him; just fright.

A friend who followed my main down said that he watched a car pull up to the field it landed in then 2 old folks got out and proceded to poke gingerly at the canopy with their toes.

He scared 'em speachless when he landed next to them.

Owned by Remi #?

[ryoder 1,384]

Quote

A friend who followed my main down said that he watched a car pull up to the field it landed in then 2 old folks got out and proceded to poke gingerly at the canopy with their toes. Laugh

He scared 'em speachless when he landed next to them.

Another story: A guy had a really bad spot and found himself descending under a round into a lake. As he got low he saw two fisherman in a boat, one standing at the bow, and one seated at the stern. He wanted to alert them to his plight so they could pull him out ASAP before he started to drown. So he yelled at them:

"Hey!"

Guy in front of boat turns around and looks at guy in stern, who shrugs as if to say "wasn't me".

"Hey!"

Guy in front of boat looks at guy in back again; other guy shrugs again.

"Hey! Up here!"

Guy in boat looks up at parachute; Jaw drops; Falls out of boat backward.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Superfletch 1]

Our Dropzone borders I-44 in missouri... from time to time the ambulance shows up wondering where the dead guy is. People see me swooping while they are driving down the highway and get scared and dial 911. My record is 4 times in one day that the ambulance showed up looking for my body.

We keep telling them to call us if they get a report but they never do. It's awesome. Hahahhahahaah

Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher
D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I
Videographer/Photographer

[Shawndiver 0]

There is a hill close to my house just off of highway 101 that I like to soar from time to time with my paraglider when the winds are right. One day I had been soaring for about 45 minutes when I saw two sheriffs cars pull up to the field at the bottom where I land. As I saw them watching me, (and having no other landing field options!) I came down and landed. They came up to me and told me that someone had called in a report of an aircraft crashing, and that the pilot had bailed out and was under a parachute close to the highway!!! They we very cordial about it, asked a bunch of questions about paragliding, and went on their way.

_________________

[downwardspiral 0]

The landing area at Skydive Santa Barbara happens to be about 15-20 feet lower in elevation to the rest of the city. On this one particular jump one of the jumpers with a bright orange canopy swooped as he always does which apparently caught someone's attention. As we're all standing there in the landing area smiling, laughing, just having a good ole time this sheriff comes storming down the dirt road in his squad car and does a nice four wheel skid to come to a stop with his drivers side window nearest us. We all look at him dumbfounded when he asks in a panick,"where's the guy with the orange parachute?!" Well out of the 10 of us standing there only one of us had an orange parachute so all of us turn and look at him only to see him looking sheepish and quickly hide his very small orange canopy behind his back. Of course we all bust out laughing and turn back towards the sheriff who was looking at us like we were all freaks which only made us laugh all the harder.

good times

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[davedlg 0]

A few years back, we did a ballon jump, landed a field, and were standing around waiting for the van to show up when an old guy drives up in a car.

He said that we had scared the hell out of him and he was making sure everything was okay. Apparently he had been sitting around chatting on the phone and watching this balloon floating peacefully along when, "Peope started falling out of the balloon!"

Considering we were at about 7k AGL, we took some pretty long delays. So, for about 20 - 25 secs he was sure he was watching someone die. I think we're lucky he didn't have a heart attack before we deployed

[ladydyver 0]

that is too funny.....that happened at our DZ last summer too - they called the sheriff and drove over to the dropzone because they said the canopy wasn't inflated. Our guy had several thousand jumps and was spiraling down and lining up for a swoop landing as well.

DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!

[DJL 232]

Quote

skydiver "GOING 100 MPG TOWARDS THE GROUND...

Was he swooping a Hybrid?

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[Fast 0]

Happens at our DZ every now and then as well. Though, we have a policy worked out with the local police at our dropzone. If there is a cutaway, our office notifies the police department so that they know everyone is ok. Saves them the trouble of driving out.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[RALFFERS 0]

Ok, there a bunch of you on here; more stories need to be posted - I'm getting a week's worth of laughter reading this thread!

Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

[virgin-burner 1]

sometimes, but only sometimes, you just cant help yourself but laugh at a whuffo, knowing, that they wont know, what you know, what they dont know..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[JohnMitchell 14]

I had a tandem cutaway on the 4th of July, over a field right next to a small town party. By the time I landed, a fire truck and ambulance had responded, lights flashing, to where my main landed, digging in the blackberry bushes for the jumper underneath all that tangeled parachute.