Did anyone see

[cloud9 0]

I was watchin the tube late last night, something like amazing video's or such. Anyway they had a first jump student who went out at like 11,000 with two instructors. (Being just recently back to skydiving I'm not familiar with this method.) The jump was going well with an instructor on each side of the dumb ass (student) the instructor signaled for the student to pull the rip cord which he didn't do so the instructor pulled for him. Just as the instructor was pulling DA reached down and pulled the cutaway handle. Neither instructor saw this. As the bag left the DA's back the instructors let go. Of course as soon as line strech started DA risor's went with the bag. He then flipped on his back and fell that way for some time. One of the JM's tried to catch him but couldn't the JM kept signaling for the DA to pull his reserve. I don't know if he pulled or an AAD fired but a reserve did deploy. He then failed to steer his square reserve and landed in power lines where he recieved 2nd and 3rd degree burns. But he did live.
What really bugs me is they did not interview the instructors and kept calling this a malfuntion. The DA called it a malfuction several times. Thank God he said he would never jump again. But I'm sure for any whuffo's watching it sure made skydiving look like a really dangerous sport. Hell it looked dangerous to me... We can't idiot proof the world so what do you do with people like that? maybe sterilize so they don't produce any more like em?
To bad the truth wasn't told....
Some fun eh!

[Deleted 0]

This reminds me of a SL student that I saw on a similar show (AXN tv - I think it was) where he was hangin off the strut, but wouldn't let go. When he finally did, he panicked and grabbed for the wheel. So, hangin' on the friggen wheel, with the poor C-182 pilot looking at the ground rushing up on him thanks to the excess drag, the JM sticks his foot out the door and kicks the students hands. He lets go of the wheel...BUT grabs on the friggin SL, so it won't deploy the bag. Again, thanks to the excess drag the student is causing the plane to head in when it hits the JM (I seem to recall now, he was only a JM-in training and this was the students second SL, so it wasn't supposed to be a big deal), "I'm gonna have to go out and get him".
So, in a spectacular display of bravery (and responsibility) he shimmies down the SL, yells to the student that he will cut the SL and then deploy the student's main for him (AFF style), and uses his hook knife to cut the SL.
In the end, the JM was under a canopy by like 700ft(or something disgustingly close to that) and managed to get both down ALIVE.
One week later, he became and official JM and I believed received some sort of commendation for his efforts.
I say, "GOOD ON HIM!!!"
Some students just shouldn't take this sport up. I believe the SL student went on to make 80 jumps in total, before realising that he was meant for better things.
Thank goodness!!!!
Arohanui,
B
NZPF A-2584

[tigra 0]

I didn't see that, but a few years ago, there was a guy who on his AFF level one cutaway a perfectly good parachute at around 100'. He landed in the trees and walked away with only scratches and bruises. Thing is, it was probably a failed suicide attempt that got caught on video, and since he survived, it got a lot of media coverage. So he made the talk show rounds talking about his escape from death and his parachute malfunction. It was pretty obvious to even a novice skydiver that the guy cut away a perfectly good parachute for no apparant reason, but no one ever mentioned that on the talk shows. That wouldn't have been anywhere near as interesting!

[Grogs 0]

My DZO has a good skydiving saying: "Skydiving is not a spectator sport!" Oh yeah, my whuffo friends at work also say: "If at first you don't succeed... skydiving is not for you!"

[SpeedRacer 1]

I had one AFF jumpmaster tell me about a first jump student who panicked just as they exited & grabbed onto him, wrapping his arms & legs around the jumpamster. I don't know why the student thought that would help! Well I don't know all the details, but apparently they were able to unwrap him & pull his chute for him & everyone got down safely. But they took the student aside and talked to him & it was agreed that skydiving just wasn't for him.
Speed Racer
"Blue Skies, Red eyes, Sore thighs!"

[Aviatrr 0]

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I didn't see that, but a few years ago, there was a guy who on his AFF level one cutaway a perfectly good parachute at around 100'. He landed in the trees and walked away with only scratches and bruises.

At my old home DZ a while back a girl cutaway a good main.. When asked why she cut it away, she responded that "the lines were too short, and the canopy was too close".. She realized what she did as soon as the reserve came out and wasn't any further away.. Mike

[Pammi 0]

We had someone cutaway from his main because the slider 'was too loud'. They told him they must have forgot the slider 'muffler' on that one. Not nice, but funny! And the rigger got a bottle of Parrot Bay outta the deal. LOL!
Pammi

[Hellian 0]

Ok, now i'm getting really worried about AFF!!!
Heh, that student in the AFF, omg, did he want to die or something? jeeeees.
But yes, i think it's awful how they portray it in a light to make skydiving look dangerous and bad...
Ed

[Deleted 0]

Atually, the JM pointed for the idiot to pull his ripcord but, he went for his cutaway handle instead. The JM grabbed his wrist and was trying to pull the guys hand away from it but couldn't. The only reasons I can think of to explain the instructor pulling the ripcord himself are either he was unable to see that the student had successfully pulled the cutaway handle since he was practically on the guys back trying to push his hand away from it or he did see and was hoping the rsl would activate the main. Either way, the "student" was a complete F**king idiot.
From the video of his landing it looks like he was flying his reserve along the path of the powerlines even though there was a largwe empty field right across the road.
During the interview he said that when he pulled the ripcord he looked up and saw that his canopy was "full and round". On the video, he never looks up.
When he said he would never jump again, the truth would probably be more likely that they told him never to come back.

[denaga 0]

A few years ago on one of canadian dropzones a girl(first timer) cut away her main and fell to her death right in front of everyone in main landing area!!! Really FREAKY!!!!

[Hellian 0]

what happened?

[Craig 0]

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a girl(first timer) cut away her main and fell to her death right in front of everyone in main landing area!!! Really FREAKY!!!!

On that TLC show last night they showed two jumpers in a wrap and one cutaway and hit the ground at linestretch. Needless to say he/she died and it was kind of chilling to watch cause you could hear the imapct and everything. Hope I never have to witness something like this for real.
Craig

[FallnAngel 0]

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On that TLC show last night they showed two jumpers in a wrap and one cutaway and hit the ground at linestretch. Needless to say he/she died and it was kind
of chilling to watch cause you could hear the imapct and everything. Hope I never have to witness something like this for real.

I have a video (I think it's called McGowan's Greatest Hits or something like that). Anyways, the clip that you mentioned is in that video. I first saw the vid at my dz on a crappy weather day, and my JM, before he popped the tape in said that there's some pretty hairy stuff in it, but that *no one* dies. So, I really hope that that is true and the guy that cutaway so low did survive.
Another interesting thing in that portion of the clip is that there is another skydiver on the ground in the foreground, but close & within view of the camera. When the low man in the wrap cuts away, the guy on the ground sees whats going to happen and turns away from it. There is an expression on his face, I think maybe it's anguish because he knows it's going to bad. Very disturbing clip to watch.
On a happier note...the video really is mostly upbeat with alot of humor. It's become my pre-skydiving, getting ready in the morning for a great day of jumping, video-watching routine! Blue skies,
Karen