Not good news, but better then the alternative.

[AndyMan 7]

I did NOT see someone die this weekend.
This is a good thing, because he came closer then anybody would've liked. He landed right in front of a taxiing airplane. The spinning prop missed the skydiver by less then two feet. I've never felt my stomach churn the way it did on Sunday.
For gods sake people, be carefull and DON'T LAND IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING RUNNWAY DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF A MOVING PLANE.
I think one theme for the weekend is this: "Kudos to DZ's who hire good pilots." I never would've thought a plane could turn that quickly.
_Am

[Jimbo 0]

Wow. That's really bad. I take it the DZO gave this guy a health chewing out?

[Albatross 0]

I hate to say this but god I hope that he got grounded. If the guy was not paying enough attention to avoid something as large as an airplane I hate to think what could happen in the landing area.
Blue Skys and Safe Landings
Albatross

[skydognz 0]

Bad calma dude!
Yeah seen it here too in New Zealand. A student landing his canopy on the edge of a runway, just as the jump plane landed! He had to duck to miss the edge of the wing as it passed him. Buggered if I know how it never collected his still inflated canopy! What a rush! Lets take care out there aye??...LOL
Stitch. New Zealand!

[ColdDuck 0]

Just wondering if this guy was a student or a licensed skydiver?

[Hellian 0]

Sounds nasty!
I seem to remember hearing about an instructor who landed ontop of a taking off helicopter in england a few years back....
At my home DZ the landing area is wayyyyyyy away from the runway, like 400metres, do some DZ's have them closer? (i've only ever been to the one)
Ed

[Grogs 0]

Quote

At my home DZ the landing area is wayyyyyyy away from the runway, like 400metres, do some DZ's have them closer? (i've only ever been to the one)

Yeah, a lot of them do. At my DZ the landing area is pretty close to a runway, although the landing area is fairly big so you don't have to land close to it. At Louisa on the other hand, the landing area runs between the runway and the main taxiway, and it's only about 50 feet wide, so you really don't have much choice but to land near the runway. But no matter how far away the actual landing area is from the runway, a bad spot can leave you landing near it. Stay heads up. You can maneuver the parachute a lot better than the pilot on the ground.

[Hellian 0]

Quote

At Louisa on the other hand, the landing area runs between the runway and the main taxiway, and it's only about 50 feet wide, so you really don't have much choice but to land near the runway

Does this not sound just a litttttle bit unsafe? I fully realise some people are awesome canopy pilots, and most skydivers will be very efficient ones, i don't have that much experience to draw on, but surely they should "make" the landing areas be further away?
This may not sound quite as i meant it, it's not a "dig" at that DZ, just a comment.
Ed

[PLFKING 3]

Wow -- close quarters is all I've ever known.......
On my first DZ, the landing area was a strip of grass about 30 ft wide between the runway and a line of trees. The good news was it was about 150 yds long.....
My second DZ has the landing area right beside the runway, but the area is about 200 yds square ( at a guess) so it's not as bad; however, on the downwind leg, you're only about 20 feet to one side of the runway. One of the guys in my student class actually had the plane wheel hit his canopy during an aborted landing (he was at about 500 ft), and shredded the top of his 3 outside cells. He landed it, but didn't get much flare -- to fly it straight, he had one toggle buried and the other all the way up.
I hear the landing areas in Arizona go for MILES, and the one on Perris-Cam looks pretty big too ; can't wait to get out there someday........
The PLF Kaiser

[Grogs 0]

I wouldn't really call it unsafe. You really have to work with what you have on a dropzone. Their LZ is only 50 or so feet wide, but it's a mile long, so as long as you can line the canopy up you're ok. The long part runs east-west, which is the prevailing wind direction. It just means that the DZ has to drill the students a little harder on the dangers of crossing the runway/taxiway, avoiding planes (there really aren't many - it's a tiny airport), not crossing the runway below 1000', etc.

[miked10270 0]

Hi there,
The general tone of this thread has me somewhat confused. What ever happened to the adage "Parachutes descending... No props turning"? The idea is that (generally form run-in) the skydiver can't stop descending - he's committed to coming down (!!) wheras an aircraft engine can be stopped & later re-started. In short a descending parachutist (an unpowered aircraft) has an absolute right of way over powered aircraft.
As for the "helicopter incident - it happened a good few years ago & if I remember correctly it was a student under a round canopy.
IMHO it should be the pilots of the aircraft involved in the near miss that should be "spoken to", not the skydivers.
Mike D10270.

[Jessica 0]

Quote

IMHO it should be the pilots of the aircraft involved in the near miss that should be "spoken to", not the skydivers.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense.
On one of my AFF jumps, many moons ago, we were jammed into the Caravan, about to take off, when someone swooped terrifyingly close to the propeller. I was just starting out, and asked what the hell was going on (all the skydivers were peering out the window and saying, "That jackass!!")
"That guy almost ate the prop," my instructor told me. He was apparently a very experienced skydiver and "knew better than that."
Huh.

[SkySlut 0]

Propellers hurt skydiver...Bad skydiver!!!
"I'll jump anything!"

[Aviatrr 0]

Quote

The general tone of this thread has me somewhat confused. What ever happened to the adage "Parachutes descending... No props turning"? The idea is that (generally form run-in) the skydiver can't stop descending - he's committed to coming down (!!) wheras an aircraft engine can be stopped & later re-started. In short a descending parachutist (an unpowered aircraft) has an absolute right of way over powered aircraft.
As for the "helicopter incident - it happened a good few years ago & if I remember correctly it was a student under a round canopy.
IMHO it should be the pilots of the aircraft involved in the near miss that should be "spoken to", not the skydivers.

Do you honestly believe this Mike? An experienced skydiver lands on a runway while an airplane is attempting to takeoff or land, and it's the pilot's fault for a near miss? I don't know about you, but I was taught to AVOID runways under canopy..
Keep in mind that most airports that have skydiving operations on the field are public airports.. The aircraft flying in may not know there are canopies coming down.. Most skydiving ops are at uncontrolled fields.. I fly into uncontrolled fields all the time.. When I am monitoring CTAF, I hear the calls made by traffic in the area, including the 'jumpers away' calls.. What about when I am flying an airplane without an electrical system/radios? Totally legal..
Plain and simple.. DON'T LAND ON THE DAMN RUNWAY! How hard is it?
Mike

[FallDown 0]

Hellian, you'll love empurias landing area. its about 20m maybe 30metres wide in some places and 150ish long, next to and parralel to the runway which you have to cross(once on the ground) to get back to the club house/packing hanger.