Perris minor incident May 9 - pattern error

[billvon 2,384]

On Saturday there was a landing area collision between a jumper under canopy and a jumper in the experienced landing area at Perris. A jumper had landed, moved to the side and was facing landing traffic when a jumper landed in the opposite direction and hit him. At first it looked like it was going to require an ambulance ride, but after a few minutes the jumper who hit the stationary jumper recovered enough to stagger off the field. The other jumper was sore but uninjured; fortunately he got hit in his reserve container which cushioned the blow somewhat.

Some lessons here:

1) If you are uncertain of your canopy control do NOT land in the tight/popular/main landing area.

2) It is always the responsibility of the landing jumper to avoid obstacles during his landing. If he cannot do so he must land somewhere else.

3) Expect canopies from any direction, not just the "main" direction, even when you are on the ground and seemingly safe.

4) Never land opposite the pattern. This would have been much, much worse if he had hit one of the several other jumpers who were landing in the (correct) direction.

[brettski74 0]

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4) Never land opposite the pattern. This would have been much, much worse if he had hit one of the several other jumpers who were landing in the (correct) direction.

I agree with the first three points, and while the 4th point is valid, it's not entirely applicable to what happened. The jumper in question thought he was landing with the pattern. The first two canopies down landed in opposite directions. The first one actually landed heading north about 50 feet from the south east corner of the grass. The other one landed heading south on the grass a few seconds later. By Perris rules, the grass should have been considered closed at that point. The injured jumper landed at least 20 seconds or so after the first two canopies down. At the very least he should have had time to adjust his pattern to land off the grass. I saw his turn onto final and the other jumper had been down for some time before that turn.

I think the lesson here is more about observation. Since the tetrahedron and all but two jumpers on the load indicated a south landing direction, he apparently only saw the one jumper who landed to the north and followed. He should have been continually monitoring the traffic and wind indicators and been prepared to adjust his pattern and approach accordingly.

[Reginald 0]

It's worth adding here that the person on the ground that was hit was part of a 100 person formation that had just landed. He was looking in the direction of the landings for the 100 way. The person that he was hit by was from a load that was let out just after the 100 way landed and landing opposite the pattern of the 100 way.

With 100 people in the landing area there were a lot of obstacles. I also understand (please correct me if I’m wrong) the person under canopy had <50 jumps and might have been having difficulty with the crowded landing area given his expierence.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[popsjumper 2]

Oh...first-man down AND chase the sock....

Wonderful ideas. Just wonderful.
You guys are nukin' futs.

Glad everybody's OK.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[The_Don 0]

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Oh...first-man down AND chase the sock....

Wonderful ideas. Just wonderful.
You guys are nukin' futs.

Glad everybody's OK.

Consider the jumper had less than 50 jumps?

What happened to to kind Andy I use to know?

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[grimmie 173]

The biggest lesson here is...

Stop putting other jumpers in the air during a big way!!!!!!!!!

It's stupid AND irresponsible by the organizers and the DZ.

signed,
"almost creamed at Eloy once on a big way by a non participating wrong way noob"

[brettski74 0]

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It's worth adding here that the person on the ground that was hit was part of a 100 person formation that had just landed.

I was part of the 100-way that landed just before them and about 40 feet away when it happened. We were all walking back to the packing area by the flags at the edge of the grass. By that time, we were all well on our way back to the packing area. I'd actually walked quite some way across the dirt by that stage. The jumper that was hit was not anyone I recognized from our group and was still gathering up his canopy.

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The person that he was hit by was from a load that was let out just after the 100 way landed and landing opposite the pattern of the 100 way.

Yes he was landing in the opposite direction to us, but we'd been down for a while. I'm quite sure that the jumper who was hit was from the fun-jumper load and not from our group.

There were only two people on that fun jumper load that landed to the north. One was the first canopy down by perhaps 2-3 seconds, so technically, the landing direction had been set to the north. The second canopy down, being perhaps 30 feet above the grass at this point really couldn't have changed his direction. Everyone else at this point should have been taking note of the opposing landing directions on or near the grass and according to Perris DZ rules, landing away from the grass and being vigilant for dangerous traffic situations. I only saw two canopies from that fun jumper load land to the north, the first one down, and the jumper who was landing when it happened. After it happened, the remaining canopies that I saw were all landing heading south.

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With 100 people in the landing area there were a lot of obstacles.

The jumper who was hit was very near the east edge of the grass. All of the 100-way jumpers by this stage were either waiting at the flag line or walking along the flag line at the west edge of the grass. I was one of the closest to the incident when it happened and one of the first two people to arrive. There was nobody else between us and the incident nor was there anyone on the grass south of us except those walking along the flag line on the opposite side of the grass. There were not lots of obstacles. There was one obstacle and vast amounts of open space. I can only speculate as to what made him hit the one single obstacle he had to avoid, but he wouldn't be the first person to hit an obstacle with plenty of open space around it and there would have been several distractions for him, such as oncoming canopies on final, a downwind landing, 50 or more jumpers along the western edge of the grass waiting to cross the runway, etc.

[brettski74 0]

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Oh...first-man down AND chase the sock....

That's not what I said at all. I said that you should always be aware of all the traffic around you and the wind direction when setting up for your pattern and landing. This is true regardless of how the landing direction is set. The landing direction is dictated by dropzone rules and different dropzones have different rules regarding how landing direction is set. At Perris, it is first man down. At other dropzones, it is based on wind direction. At still others, it is dictated by the DZSO or equivalent using some kind of marker, and maybe people have come across others. Regardless of the local rules, you still should be aware of traffic and wind direction when preparing to land.

[Baksteen 84]

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There were only two people on that fun jumper load that landed to the north. One was the first canopy down by perhaps 2-3 seconds, so technically, the landing direction had been set to the north. The second canopy down, being perhaps 30 feet above the grass at this point really couldn't have changed his direction.

I've experienced first hand why the FMD rule is a good idea at a DZ like Perris. Also the pattern is logical (landing North = left hand, landing south = right hand in order to avoid flying over the runway at low altis).

What I don't understand is why some (judging by canopy size) experienced jumpers insist on landing opposite to what you'd expect.
Say a RW group is setting up to land N, which is the preferred direction in low, variable winds. You adjust accordingly. Then they are overtaken by a freeflyer with a small canopy who lands South.

What you'd get (in my eyes) is confusion with everyone having to adjust their pattern (which can be challenging if you are already on final), land in the big dirt circles or land in that foxtail shit.

Having said that, I've also found that it's very tempting to give in to 'Get-Home-itis'.. it took a potentially very nasty landing to wake me up as to what I was doing.

Disclaimer I'm not saying that freeflyers are unsafe, I just used that in my example because freeflyers get out after the RW jumpers.
Well, and because I was reminded of That One Guy who'd land any old how since he spoke enough English to manifest, but too little for stuff like following/understanding the pattern.
On the plus side, he only jumped for one weekend. Perhaps he got grounded

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[Reginald 0]

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With 100 people in the landing area there were a lot of obstacles.

All of the 100-way jumpers by this stage were either waiting at the flag line or walking along the flag line at the west edge of the grass.

[NWFlyer 2]

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(and again someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm still of the understanding the canopy pilot was <50 jumps - 30 is the number I actually was given).

Didn't Perris change the rule for the main landing area so that it is restricted to B license and above? If this person really had <50 jumps, perhaps the main landing area wasn't the right place to be in the first place ... especially on a bigway weekend.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[steve1 5]

A couple years ago, I was almost hit by a guy doing a hook turn at Lost Prairie. I was walking down the fence line, off the field. I wasn't really watching very close. Out of nowhere this jumper came whistling right in front of a friend and I. A couple steps closer and I'm sure he would have nailed both of us. That jumper never said a word. He just swooped right past us. If I was about to send two people to the hospital I would have at least hollered. This really made me aware of how dangerous this is....

[BikerBabe 0]

Brett's account is pretty accurate, actually. I was one of the jumpers from the 100-way waiting at the flag line for the planes to land when this happened.

true, there may have been some 100-way jumpers out in the dirt, but really the pertinent area for this incident is the grass landing area at Perris and the rules pertaining to it.

The only other thing i might add is the jumper who landed north landed about a second after another jumper landing to the south, though that south-landing jumper was actually pretty close to the west side of the grass, and there was PLENTY of room for the other guy to land.

Either way, the moral of the story is, at Perris if you are in the air and you see two jumpers landing opposite directions on the grass, then the grass is CLOSED and you land out.

As for the jumper that was hit...he was NOT on the 100-ways, he was on the fun-jump load.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[bigbearfng 9]

Reply to no one in particular-
First one on the grass entered mid field-I admit it actually looked like he was going to land south to north at first to me also.
Lesson-set up in an obvious (especially obvious for newbs) manner.
Winds had been light and variable with flags shifting-but typical Perris it can change as your already on approach-I'll take the down winder if need be.
After the first one (on grass) landed to the south I was already setting up approach-looked behind me and saw the newbs set up to land south to north-yes I could of also landed to south, but I also don't expect/want to see a newb attempt a low turn and get hurt.
If I did land to south at that point I saw myself as the one likely getting hit.....
I saw the way clear to the North and went long and landed off the grass to the North wanting to avoid what looked likely......
Absolutely newb with target fixation after talking to him later.
And yes when you're on the ground heads up-which I admit I've been guilty of a lack of also-who hasn't if you're being honest? Don't get complacent!
I like to be my own harshest critic-feel free to join me! I never want to stop learning.

[brettski74 0]

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Hmm, since I was one of the obstacles and was not anywhere near the flag line but was still walking through the dirt

Well then I stand corrected, but if you were still on the dirt south of the grass, then you were likely outside of my field of view and hardly an obstacle for this particular landing approach. I was almost directly opposite where and when it happened. There was nobody else that I saw on the grass south of the collision except those of us walking along the flag line on the opposite side of the grass.

Target fixation may well have played a part. As I said, there were several likely distractions for him to deal with on that landing approach, but I'd be speculating to say exactly what was going through his mind.

[popsjumper 2]

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"he apparently only saw the one jumper who landed to the north and followed.

FMD rule

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He should have been continually monitoring the traffic and wind indicators and been prepared to adjust his pattern and approach accordingly. "

Chase the sock

Now you guys add in the bit about two guys landing opposite closes the area.

Great...all the canopies too low to adjust get hosed. All those still high enough are flying all over the place trying to adjust.
Just great.

You guys are scaring the hell out of me for the sake of all who fly there. The scariest part is you don't seem to see the problem and no amount of explanation, sarcasm, or plain rattle-your-cage affects your thinking.

I'm done. Sometimes you just have to say, "Fuck it".

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[brettski74 0]

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he apparently only saw the one jumper who landed to the north and followed.

FMD rule

The first two jumpers down landed so close together in terms of time, it's likely that many in the air would not have been able to tell who was actually first down. How much time do you spend looking at any single canopy while monitoring the traffic in the pattern?

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He should have been continually monitoring the traffic and wind indicators and been prepared to adjust his pattern and approach accordingly. "

Chase the sock

Adjust your pattern and approach does not necessarily mean do a 180 and go the other way. It could mean something as simple as allowing more space for the flare and run out if you're landing downwind. Whatever the conditions, you're going to have to allow for ground winds in planning your approach. You're also going to have to allow for traffic. I've misread conditions on occasion and had to change my plan. I do so in accordance with the local rules and when I visit any new dropzone, I make a point of knowing what the local rules are.

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Now you guys add in the bit about two guys landing opposite closes the area.

Great...all the canopies too low to adjust get hosed. All those still high enough are flying all over the place trying to adjust.
Just great.

You guys are scaring the hell out of me for the sake of all who fly there. The scariest part is you don't seem to see the problem and no amount of explanation, sarcasm, or plain rattle-your-cage affects your thinking.

I understand what you're saying, but I don't make the rules. I just try to follow them to the best of my ability. I'm sure that the Perris staff and management would love to hear your thoughts on how to run their DZ, though. Why don't you give them a call and rattle their cage?

Or perhaps you're trying to say there's nothing the guy could have done differently? If so, were you there? I was.

[BikerBabe 0]

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The first two jumpers down landed so close together in terms of time, it's likely that many in the air would not have been able to tell who was actually first down. How much time do you spend looking at any single canopy while monitoring the traffic in the pattern?

exactly...and the POLICY at Perris is if you are in the air and this happens, then you land off the grass. the GRASS IS CLOSED. There are acres and acres of dirt fields to land in.

So you have to adjust your pattern (as brett said) in order to land out in the dirt.

The REAL issue here is that everyone had "grass envy" and ignored the pertinent rule. heaven forbid they get their jumpsuits dirty.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[bigbearfng 9]

exactly...and the POLICY at Perris is if you are in the air and this happens, then you land off the grass. the GRASS IS CLOSED. There are acres and acres of dirt fields to land in.

So you have to adjust your pattern (as brett said) in order to land out in the dirt.

The REAL issue here is that everyone had "grass envy" and ignored the pertinent rule. heaven forbid they get their jumpsuits dirty.

[kallend 1,621]

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"he apparently only saw the one jumper who landed to the north and followed.

FMD rule

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He should have been continually monitoring the traffic and wind indicators and been prepared to adjust his pattern and approach accordingly. "

Chase the sock

Now you guys add in the bit about two guys landing opposite closes the area.

Great...all the canopies too low to adjust get hosed. All those still high enough are flying all over the place trying to adjust.
Just great.

You guys are scaring the hell out of me for the sake of all who fly there. The scariest part is you don't seem to see the problem and no amount of explanation, sarcasm, or plain rattle-your-cage affects your thinking.

I'm done. Sometimes you just have to say, "Fuck it".

Which is why, when I'm on a big way at Perris, I generally land in the field behind the ultralights, well away from the madhouse on the grass. Usually it's just me and Melanie there. I figure if the DZO chooses to land there, it must be smart.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[wmw999 2,117]

I don't believe I've ever landed in the grass at Perris (and yes, I have jumped there ). I've pretty much only been there for bigways in the last 5 years. I don't remember anything before that -- I'm too old
Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[phoenixlpr 0]

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I'm also looking back to a mention above about the swooper coming in (or even just a late commitment to direction from anyone-be it "chasing the sock" or whatever) and folk behind him guessing his direction-there has been enough low turns that ended up in injuries; I don't want to see any more.

Wrong. Real swoopers flying recognizable pattern.

[jsaxton 0]

FYI

The BigWays were instructed:

"If you are landing in the state of California, you will land in the same direction as the first man down (usually Dan BC) if you do not, you may be sat down AND banned from ALL future events".

[BikerBabe 0]

yup...and guess what? we STILL had idiots landing the opposite direction! And trust me, the organizers expedited themselves down in order to land much sooner than anyone else...and CERTAINLY soon enough for people to adjust accordingly.

Oh, did i mention we also had someone holding the tetrahedron in place and the organizer would ALWAYS land in that indicated direction?

So not only did you have the FMD rule, you had that FMD following the tetrahedron.

And we STILL had people completely oblivious.

This isn't about the particular rules at any given DZ. this is about paying attention under canopy, plain and simple.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[wmw999 2,117]

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we STILL had idiots landing the opposite direction

Were those people named and/or sat down? It might be time for some actual rather than threatened consequences. At least if there's a repeat offender. There are always realtime situations, but dang. It's not like they say you can't whine about having to land off and in a less-than-perfect direction.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)