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Joellercoaster

Silly skydiving injuries

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Skydiving is known for its ability to ding people up.

Obviously we all know about the twisted ankles, the busted femurs and even the folks getting knocked out in freefall.

But it also presents a wide variety of ways to do weird and sort of amusing-in-retrospect things to oneself... I had a couple within 48 hours this month and I was wondering what else people had.

1. Deployed pilot chute... felt weirdness and looked up, reaching hands for risers. Suddenly *crunch*, instant fully formed canopy. My arms whipped downwards along with the rest of me, hyperextending both elbows. That one hurt for a few days afterwards but I kinda had to laugh.

2. Running from the bus to a waiting Dornier, around the tail... looked up just as the props kicked up a bunch of dust and gravel. I only had my visor open about an inch and somehow still managed to swallow a rock.

Tell me stories!
--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

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Jumped on a very cold winter day with high winds and not enough experience to know better. Landed almost two miles from DZ in a really sketchy farm field with power lines, tractors, and all sorts of farm equipment around me. PLF'd like crazy. l landed fine albeit with some adrenaline flowing.

Had to jump about three feet from the field to the road below. Face planted that "jump." Fortunately I was still wearing my helmet.
Chance favors the prepared mind.

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On a crosswind landing, I ended up with my legs in front of my and a very, very soft sliding butt landing. Shorts slid up, and bare ass went right over a sticker patch. Lost the skin right at the crease where the thigh and ass meet.


Let's see - I had a buddy slice his finger open on a turned piece of sheet metal on the jump door...
=========Shaun ==========


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Cracked a rib on a bare-ass jump when my cutaway handle got stuck under the harness (I think).
Got bruises on my legs that lasted almost a year from a no-jumpsuit terminal opening on a 4-lined reserve.

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)

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Got a ride back from the landing on a golf/gardening cart. Sitting on the end of the back bed when I discovered that the tilt bed was loosely latched. Got dumped flat on my back with the tandem reserve creating a nice fulcrum for a good back cracking! I also got a good view of the bad spot trucks bumper that was following us in but he managed to stop before running me over. Managed to start jumping again in 3 weeks but my back tells me now that might not have been a good idea

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Worst injury ever. 150ish jumps.

Bad spot. Trying to make it back close to the DZ on my rears.
Oh no...look at those power lines. I think I can make it over. Yup. Focus on those power lines. Focus. Yup, going to make it over....whew!

Oh Shit, now where will I land, look at all of those big tumbleweeds! Shit. There's a clearing. Got it! Flare. Oh no...zero wind. Hot as hell day. Look at me swoop this big Sabre right into the 8 foot tall tumbleweed!!!

Ouch!!! Stickers everywhere as I crash land on my hands and knees into the bush. Stickers in my hands, my shins, my knees. Hundreds of them.

That really f'ing sucked for about a week of hot baths and tweezers.:P

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I was at a boogie a few months back. and rolled my ankle pretty badly .while I was.fishing in the swoop pond.:$

i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .


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Fractured a bone in my left hand after slipping while trying to hang from the leading edge by my feet :S

Hand hit the metal step over the wheel of the Cessna as I fell and I learned a lesson, keep jumping and pretend like noting happened. The pilot knew better

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what about all the fully sik cunts that skydive while they have a cold even after being warned about busting eardrums...then bust there eardrum...ok me but i know theres many others that have done it lol
FTMC

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Oooh! I have another one.

A friend of mine bent over in a crowded plane before exit and had the excess Teflon cable from (IIRC) a tandem drogue go straight up her nose. Filmed the jump with blood pouring out over her goggles. I can only imagine what the student must have thought.
--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

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After a day of jumping a friend of mine stumbled over a beer crate, that he had emptied nearly all by himself. Broke his femur in 3 places.

After a party another one of my friends drunkenly "stole" an old motorcycle from our DZO and drove up and down the grass runway.
Didn't see the drainage and literally got his balls smashed by the gas tank. After his crown jewels reached the size of ostrich eggs we took him to the hospital. Was not jumping for about 2 1/2 month.

A good story never ever started with someone eating a salad, right? :)

-------------------------------------------------------

To absent friends

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Nope. Borrowed Racer that was a little big, so I couldn't pull the pud because I could barely reach it. 'Twas the leg strap buckles digging in.

My next rig had FOL throw-out :)
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)

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I've owned a couple of Racers and others with pull outs. Luckily I have big long monkey arms. :D

Dumbest skydiving injury. Trying to make a dive out the door but the lineup slowed. I still dove from my original point but didn't have the speed I wanted. Smacked my right thigh on the bottom of the door so hard I did 4 front flips before I could get stable. Took a month for that bruise to go away. :S

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The common student bruises that look like domestic abuse bruises: on the forearm from hanging on the strut, on shoulders or neck "hickeys" from risers on opening from ill fitting student or rental rigs. I had a series of bruises on my biceps that looked like someone grabbed me.

I sprained an ankle trying to force my first stand up landing as a student, and have seen similar (and worse) when a PLF could have saved it.

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I got the inner lobe of my bicep tore off at the elbow from a botched 6-way launch a few years ago. I didn't think it was too bad until I landed and the adrenaline flow stopped. Holy geez did it hurt. The 6-way ended up being pretty good after the rebuild though so it wasn't a total loss.
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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sammielu


I sprained an ankle trying to force my first stand up landing as a student, and have seen similar (and worse) when a PLF could have saved it.

Boy, ain't that the truth/ Those of us that had the misfortune to learn on round parachutes tended to get pretty proficient at PLFs. I've notice people who have jumped only squares don't tend to PLF very well or when they should, leading to a lot of needless injuries. [:/]

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Boy, ain't that the truth/ Those of us that had the misfortune to learn on round parachutes tended to get pretty proficient at PLFs. I've notice people who have jumped only squares don't tend to PLF very well or when they should, leading to a lot of needless injuries.



Back in 2006(ish) I was radioing a student down on her 4th or 5th jump. She was on minimal radio help, and I just helped her know when to turn onto final. Straight in landing, excellent flair, and absolutely soft landing she could have easily stood up, but she rolled with a very soft PLF. I turned away and started working on the next student. A few second later I turned back and saw she wasn't getting up. We went over to her and sure enough, broken ankle. To this day I can't figure out how that happened, her canopy came to a dead stop less than a foot off the ground and she had a dainty and soft PLF. :S
=========Shaun ==========


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I had a hard opening a few years ago that taught me the dangers of pitching with your mouth open.

The opening shock slammed my jaw shut with enough force that the molars in the back of my mouth carved nice deep slices into my tongue.

Ever since, my procedure is: wave, reach, close mouth/tongue check, pull

:P:SB|

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