0
AndyMan

One reason why I don't like Skydive Chicago.

Recommended Posts

I showed up at SDC about 12:30, hooked up with Skymedic, and we went for our first jump.
I was surprised to find a large amount of turbulence at about 70-80 feet when I was landing. Despite this, my landing was fine. I can't explain the turbluence. I was not downwind of any objects.
As I'm collecting my canopy, a I see a guy hit the taxiway. Hard. He's under student gear. Anyways, he must've hit a downdraft in the same turblence. He flares, but he doesn' plane out. He just hits hard. He landed on hit butt, bounces up, lands on his feet, then falls over.
I start running. Nobody else does.
He's lieing on the taxiway. Strangely, no one else is running. I shout and wave to a bunch of jumpers near manifest, I keep running.
I reach him. He's hurting. He thinks he's fine, but hurting. Not getting up, either. I help him out of his gear. Strangely, I'm still the only one out there.
Shortly after the otter landed, Long haired manifest dude rolls up in the golf-cart. The words out of his mouth are not "are you ok?" or "can you walk?" or "there's an abulance on the way". His first words (and I think only words) "Gotta get up, the plane needs to pick up the next load". He proceeds to help up injured dude, puts him in the back of the golfcart, and brings him back to manifest.
Injured dude later drives himself to the hospital, where he's informed he has a cracked vertibrae.
Am I the only one that thinks there's something wrong here?
_Am
ICQ: 5578907
MSN Messenger: andrewdmetcalfe at hotmail dot com
Yahoo IM: ametcalf_1999

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Geez. Well, I hope he's ok. You know the one time that I had an *interesting* landing, people ran over to make sure I was ok, even though I had given a thumbs-ups, though was still laying there, just letting everything settle before I got up.
Every DZ I've been to goes nutz if someone has a bad landing and goes out of their way to make sure that that jumper was OK. Hopefully that was an isolated instance...
"And who are you?"
"I'm...Batman..."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
wow. I find that to be somewhat scary. I have really wanted to go to other dz's, but perhaps I am nieve in thinking that most are as "person concious" as mine. I would think that the concern would not be about the next load, but about a person who may have really hurt themselves. I know that we all should be conscious that we take risks when when we jump, but I have held solid that if I ever did hurt myself, there would be people there that would at least be concerned.
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
my last post maybe sounded like i didnt care. i didnt mean it that way sorry. i just hope this was an isolated incident but safety day is coming up(in march ,right?) maybe they can hit on this topic andy. bring it up
getting high is fun, but coming down is the best part
JT

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
yeah.....and then when I saw this guy on the ground with Andy around him....I dropped my stuff ran over there and this dude is shooing me away.....ME....The skymedic.....I said if the dude is hurt he shouldn't be moved....well....pretty fucked up if ya ask me....
BUT other than that...I had a great time out at skydive chicago..met some cool peeps....and all I can say....its fucking cold skydiving in the winter......
marc
"...a mind stretched with new idea's will never regain its shape"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Every DZ I've been to goes nutz if someone has a bad landing and goes out of their way to make sure that that jumper was OK. Hopefully that was an isolated instance...

Dave, you've been very lucky and (I'm guessing here) not been to a lot of large DZ's when they were busy. Unless the DZ has specfically designated someone to watch each load, this same thing will probably happen again. Even at small DZ's that get busy, I've seen it happen. It's not intentional or planned. People in general want to do the best they can. Sometimes they get OBE (overcome by events) and certain tasks don't happen. We are all human, even if some of our dates aren't.
I think the DZO's should set a policy that whoever LO's is also responsible to account for everyone or make every jumper or group accountable to him/her. If you have an 8-way, have the lead jumper report to the LO. Solo Jumpers, each one, to the LO. The jump shouldn't be over till everyone is back in the packing area pointing fingers. I know, I know, and there should be world peace, and no world hunger, and everyone should have access to digital cable. Probably not going to happen, but I'm a dreamer.
Just take it one day at a time, like the drunks do.
flyhi
B|

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

They put them out on Sabre-2's don't they?

Yes, they do. And they rent out their gear to non-students too. Are you sure this was a student who piled in? And if he piled in on a taxiway then he is too close to the buildings. There are 250 acres to land in out there. "Land safe, not close" comes to mind right now.
Oh, and I saw a girl bust a femur on a Genesis 300 (that's 300 square feet) so I guess people can get hurt on any type canopy.
Chris Schindler
D-19012
ATP/CFII

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That sucks Andy. I jump at Perris, also a very large dz, and guaranteed there would have been someone there within minutes to check on him if he wasn't getting up. I've seen 10+ people surrounding a jumper who broke his ankle, making him comfortable, getting his gear off,etc. Shoot, if you land fine but off the grass area at Perris there's usually a truck there to pick you up before you can even get your canopy gathered up.
Thanks for the warning. If I'm ever in Chicago I'll be sure to jump at the other dz...
pull and flare,
lisa
--
What would Scooby Doo?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
He was licensed, jumping solo, using rented student gear. I was talking to him beforehand in ActiveWear - discussing carpooling from Madison. It his, mine, and anyone elses decision to go up on those loads.
Got back into the hanger and one of the guys mentioned, "Yeah someone had a bad landing, got the wind knocked out of him.". By the time I got my stuff off and went looking for him, he was already gone (I guess to the hospital).
If that was the reaction from manifest staff to an injury, that is really quite odd - everytime I've seen someone crash and not get up right away, the were several people running over to check on them, find someone with FA or IFA training, call an ambulance, etc.
The winds were really weird yesterday - the Otter bounced a few times on the climb up, like the wind couldn't make up it's mind which way it wanted to come from - it was S on the ground, SE just before landing, S again at like 1000, then SW above that.
As to he 'long haired guy' - sadly there are a few (a very small minority) who work there who don't have the greatest people skills - why they are working in one of the customer service aspects - be it manifest, tandem instructor, etc - I guess should be taken up with mngt? At the very least - it should be regular DZ policy to put the staff through First Aid training - the dividends in preventing bad-PR such as this, would cover the cost easily (not to mention save lives and prevent further injury). I now make it policy to bring my cell phone with me on every load and have SDC manifest on speed dial in case I land in the next county and no one notices I'm gone (been there, did that). Also, the suggestion to buddy up with some one if you solo jumping to check on one another after landing in a very good one indeed, at the least - you will make a new freind, and the solo jump might even turn into a 2-way.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
WOW! I must say that I have been fortunate to jump in DZ's that are people concious. EVERY skydiver is accounted for off the load or someone goes looking for them. I have seen DZO's hold the hands of an injured skydiver, folks who attend to them with great concern. I have also seen the opposite. Recently we had 5 seasoned jumpers (3,000 jumps or better) land off. I went to retreive them and came upon an injured jumper. I did what I would hope any person in the same situation would have done....rendered aid. I later received a wonderful card from said jumper thanking me for my help. My response to that is I can only hope that someone else would do the same for me. Indeed if the afore mentioned is not an isolated incidence, I certainly would entertain the idea of taking my business elsewhere, and expressing my concern to the DZO as well as the owner. If the behavior continues, perhaps folks will quit patronizing that DZ. Idealistic perhaps....but at some point we need to hold people accountable. Just my own opinion.
It only takes a little pixie dust......

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I was there, saw the whole thing.
He was an experienced jumper and Jeff is his name, a big kid at that.
He didn't setup his final properly and frapped in on the main taxiway coming off the runway. Eric from manifest jumped on a golf cart and was heading out there before anybody else. Contrary to what was said here, the only person who had their gear off was Jeff. Jeff told Eric that he was sore and wanted to get up, so he helped him up and onto the golf cart.
Also Skymedic...
The shooing away was not to keep you from helping, it was to keep you from running right in front of the Otter with an open canopy, which was idling on the runway. That we could plain as day from where I was at.
They would have been calling an ambulance for you if not the coroner.
In situations like these, people get tunnel vision just like first time jumpers and they don't get the full view of what's happening.
I was standing outside by the hanger and saw MOST of what happened along with Eric heading out to check on Jeff, so there was no need to crowd the situation. Not to mention the danger of where it was taking place, on the taxiway.
I have friends and jump at all 3 Chicago area DZs. Each DZ has their own personality, but I choose to make Skydive Chicago my home and it certainly isn’t because I don’t feel safe there.
I said my peace.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
smurf,
its good to offer first aid training but in todays world of suing everybody you cant made it policy to train staff in first aid because some people wont take that responsibility. (geeze, Run on sentance anyone?)
just wanted to add that one in...
http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Ahh, welcome to America...run by lobbiests and ambulance chasers.
Hmm, maybe the option of having a first aid seminar for the staff, at least allowing them to quickly identify the potential for a more serious injury than at first glance, especially if they say, "My back/neck hurts." And make sure if the plane is going up, always have someone on the ground with FA if not IFA training on site - considering the number of people who get killed/hurt in our sport each year, I finding it frightening that we don't take medical training for staff more seriously - especially at larger DZ's. *shrug*

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I saw it from a quite different perspective. I was in my plane, on final approach to runway 21 at SDC as the load was landing. The winds were really gusty, but licensed skydivers are supposed to know when to say "no", right? I chose not to jump.
Jeff must have landed at almost the same instant I did, on the taxiway right adjacent to the runway, in the lee of the big hangar. So much for 200+ acres of canopy landing area and don't land behind obstacles.
I think the "long haired dude" did exactly the right thing - had a gust of wind caught Jeff's canopy he could have easily been dragged onto the active runway in front of a landing aircraft. After I landed I was talking on the radio to the Otter pilot and he was clearly in no hurry and he let me taxi in first, so I don't believe the story about hurrying to pick up the next load. It's not like they're overwhelmed with business in February in Chicago.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Back in July we had a mid air collision under canpoy at about 200ft. The lower jumper had his main blown in two and burned in. We all saw it happen and people were yelling call 911 and already running to Rick before he even hit the ground. I was the first to him. He was still concous but fucked up. I'd like to add Rick three weeks ago and last week made his first jumps back. Rick broke all his right side ribs, a couple of left ribs, pelvis, not sure if any vertibra, and punctured a lung. he's luckey to be alive:)Boys have a penis:P Girls have a vagina:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The otter was spooling on the grass runway, a good 80 yards away, as I would've expected. There was no immediate danger to anyone from the otter. The otter was not downwind, directly crosswind.
I had my gear off, I was kneeling beside him encouraging him not to get up. He was complaining of back pain. I'm only trained in basic first aid, but my gut reaction was that this guy needed a spinal board - not being helped into the back of a golf cart.
Again, I want to stress this - I was there. I was sitting beside him with my gear on the ground. I have the gravel stains all over it to show for it. I heard what Eric said when he showed up.
As for Eric "rushing out", I had time to run a few hundred feet, talk to him for a few minutes before I even saw Eric on his way.
I never said he was a student. Only that he was under student gear. I never complained about the canopy choice. He was a big boy, and he had a big canopy.
I jump occaisionally at SDC. I was there this weekend, I'll be there next.
I've had some bad experiences at SDC. I'll add this one to the list. I'm not "anti SDC". There's a bunch of them over in wreck dot. I'm not one of them.
I do think there's something majorly wrong when a guy that just slams in is helped into a golf cart because the otter needed to pick up the next load.
_Am
ICQ: 5578907
MSN Messenger: andrewdmetcalfe at hotmail dot com
Yahoo IM: ametcalf_1999

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Not sure if it's worth adding my two cents or not on this but I will anyway -
Last summer I was on a two-way jump with my girlfriend. I landed ~ 50 yards in front of her about the same time. She flared high and broke her wrist. By the time I had collapsed my canopy, two people were at her side. Within minutes the DZO, other staff, and fun jumpers had stopped by to help / make sure she was OK. This was on a fairly busy early summer day.
I wasn't at SDC today and don't know what happened but I wouldn't say it's typical of the dropzone.
Matt

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0