How serious was this?

[tbarnes10 0]

Hopefully this is the right place to post this:

Ok I've only been skydiving once, but I had an incident and ever since I've been curious as to just how serious the problem was. I'll try and describe it as best I can, but I apologize for my very limited knowledge.

So me and some friends decided to go skydiving, and this was my first time ever doing it. I was pretty nervous, but was also really excited because I had always wanted to try.

So this is what happened. Since I had never jumped before I was doing a tandem jump with someone who was employed by the company. We jumped out and everything seemed fine. He pulled the first part of the parachute (the small one, I think it's used for balance or stability, but I don't really know) and the line wrapped around my leg. So we are falling and I have part of the parachute wrapped around my leg, I try to get it off, but it's too tight and so eventually he pulls the backup parachute. This loosens the slack enough so that I can untangle myself. The tandem guy seemed worried that I had broken my leg, but other than some bruising I was fine.

Basically I'm just curious as to how serious this problem was. I've told people what happened (who are not skydivers) and they almost seem surprised that I'm still alive.

I stayed calm during all of this because I knew I couldn't do anything and I trusted the trained professional to know what to do. I'm just wondering if all of this is just a really good story to impress friends or if this could have really been something serious.

On a side note because of this incident the company offered to let me go again for free and this was an almost $300 experience. Also the tandem guy (who had done this hundreds of times before) had said this was the first time something like this had ever happened to him. I also paid for some photos and video of the jump that they refused to give to me. All of this leads me to feel like this was more than just a small accident.

Thanks for any advice or help. Despite what happened I really want to try this again. It was one of the most exciting things I've ever done and it gave me a story I'll probably be telling for the rest of my life.

[Deyan 31]

Not serious enough for a lawsuit ....

"My belief is that once the doctor whacks you on the butt, all guarantees are off" Jerry Baumchen

[tbarnes10 0]

I never even considered a lawsuit. Especially since it was in a country I no longer live in. I'm only really curious about the safety aspect of what happened.

During the experience I was terrified, but that's what the backup chute is for. I know there's a backup in case of emergencies, but considering that the first time I've ever jumped I had to use the backup has made me feel really nervous about going again.

I just want to see the opinions of some experienced jumpers and what they would take away from my experience.

[piisfish 135]

It is serious enough, has been well handled, and you trust your pilot which is a good thing.
Video/photo would not be good enough to be sold.
Go jump again and enjoy it.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[megamalfunction 1]

It doesn't sound like your instructor did anything negligent to me. From your account, it appears he handled the situation like a PRO.

[Tetrahedron 13]

He probably pulled the "small one", which is called the drogue chute, while you weren't in a stable, belly to earth position.

It's a minor accident that inexperienced tandem instructors sometimes make.
Hundreds of jumps is relatively inexperienced.

It sounds like he followed his training and went straight for the backup parachute.
If he had deployed the main parachute, it could have gotten a lot more serious.

Take the free jump and just enjoy it.
The chances of anything like that happening again are extremely small.

[BMFin 0]

Unless you know skydiving, its hard to explaning exactly how serious it was. Its not like we can just hand you any percentages of survival. Even experienced skydivers propably see this sort of situation a bit differently, but all would agree that it is a situation that could potentially end up the worst way. It is quite rare, and the tandem master will definetly remember that jump the rest of his life.

The dropzone definetly wouldnt like to have this sort of photos circulating around the internet, so obviously they couldnt let you have them.

Glad it turned out good.

[gowlerk 1,901]

How serious is it? If it is handled correctly, and it was, not very serious. There is potential for this to lead to a very serious incident. Allowing the drogue to entangle with you, or any part of the tandem pair was definitely an error on the part of the instructor. However it is something that is trained for, and his actions in dealing with the problem were perfect.

BTW, give yourself extra points for having the awareness to realize what had happened and trying to get it off. It is almost impossible to actually get it off, that's why the only thing to do in this situation is to use the reserve parachute.

This kind of event is uncommon, but not unheard of. And because of training and preparedness almost always ends well.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[yoink 321]

tbarnes10

I know there's a backup in case of emergencies, but considering that the first time I've ever jumped I had to use the backup has made me feel really nervous about going again.

Just because it happened on the first jump last time has no relevance to the odds of it happening again.

You got unlucky and had a malfunction. The tandem instructor handled it properly so there's no issue. Good job all round, including from the DZ who have offered you a free jump. That's pretty much unheard of in my experience. Great customer relations!

Go again and relax. You can help your instructor by practicing your arch and throwing it solidly when you exit.

[BillyVance 34]

tbarnes10

I also paid for some photos and video of the jump that they refused to give to me. All of this leads me to feel like this was more than just a small accident.

Sometimes tandem jumps doesn't go smoothly, but your tandem instructor did what he had to do to get both of you down safely. That is the most important aspect.

As for the pics and video... well, I don't think they want those images out there in public.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[gowlerk 1,901]

Quote

As for the pics and video... well, I don't think they want those images out there in public.

But you can bet they are in someone's private collection!

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[BillyVance 34]

gowlerk

Quote

As for the pics and video... well, I don't think they want those images out there in public.

But you can bet they are in someone's private collection!

Everybody at the DZ has probably seen the video multiple times.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[riggerrob 558]

gowlerk

Quote

As for the pics and video... well, I don't think they want those images out there in public.

But you can bet they are in someone's private collection!

...............................................................................

That reminds me of a "bloopers" tape that was restricted to Perris Valley Skydiving Staff Only. They used it to educate new staff members, the same way Strong uses the "side spin tape" to educate new TIs.
PVSS management were afraid that a lawyer might use the tape as evidence to launch a lawsuit. Eventually, the statute of limitations must have ran out, because it became public knowledge.

[lyosha 46]

http://iloveskydiving.org/view/videos/throwback-thursday-tandem-skydive-student-surfing-looks-painful/

[BillyVance 34]

lyosha

http://iloveskydiving.org/view/videos/throwback-thursday-tandem-skydive-student-surfing-looks-painful/

Clicky

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[stayhigh 2]

Just sue the fuck out of them.

This post doesn't belong here, no one died, no one went to hospital,
let's move it to general skydiving questions.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[chuckakers 369]

stayhigh

Just sue the fuck out of them.

This post doesn't belong here, no one died, no one went to hospital,
let's move it to general skydiving questions.

Let's see. A drogue bridle gets hopelessly wrapped around a student's ankle, presumably putting the tandem pair in an other-than-stable position and requiring a reserve to be fired (possibly fatally) into the drogue. Bet you'd consider that an incident if it happened to you.

Here's a suggestion for you Stayhigh. If you don't want to participate stop monitoring this thread. Meanwhile the rest of us will continue to read replies hoping to learn something from the myriad of perspectives offered by the many talented skydivers who want to discuss the subject.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[rhanold 0]

This sounds eerily like a tandem I was the instructor on. I had to look at your profile to see that you were not my student.

Like I stated above this almost exact incident happened to me a while back and I have to say it was serious. I nearly stopped doing tandems that jump. My fellow skydivers talked me through it and encouraged me to jump again that same day and it probably kept me from quitting. I have about 800 Tandems and 3500 jumps overall and have not had anything close to that scary in my time in the sport.

You did a good thing keeping calm and your instructor sounds like he addressed the situation by the book. Even though I consider this a serious incident I hope that does not discourage you from the sport... I am still here.

[nigel99 143]

BillyVance

***

Quote

As for the pics and video... well, I don't think they want those images out there in public.

But you can bet they are in someone's private collection!

Everybody at the DZ has probably seen the video multiple times.

Guys please consider the OP in your comments. He signed up for a tandem and is more than a little concerned about his incident.

We aren't all wired the same, and while we tend to pour over every minute detail to learn from them as active jumpers these comments don't come across well.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[gowlerk 1,901]

nigel99

******

Quote

As for the pics and video... well, I don't think they want those images out there in public.

But you can bet they are in someone's private collection!

Everybody at the DZ has probably seen the video multiple times.

Guys please consider the OP in your comments. He signed up for a tandem and is more than a little concerned about his incident.

We aren't all wired the same, and while we tend to pour over every minute detail to learn from them as active jumpers these comments don't come across well.

From the original post:

Quote

Thanks for any advice or help. Despite what happened I really want to try this again. It was one of the most exciting things I've ever done and it gave me a story I'll probably be telling for the rest of my life.

I think he has a good grip on the situation and a real understanding of the matter. And an adult attitude as well. We don't need to treat everyone without at least hundreds of jumps as an outsider who can't cope. He came here looking for perspective on the incident, and that is exactly what he is getting. A true perspective.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[tbarnes10 0]

Yeah that's what I was looking for. I've been trying to have a realistic understanding of what happened from an experienced persons point of view, but since I have no past experience with this I really have no frame of reference for any of this.

I only have 1 jump, and so I know almost nothing about skydiving in general. I want to thank everyone for their responses because it helped me put this experience in perspective. It being my first jump the whole thing would have been exciting and terrifying, regardless of what happened. Seeing how experienced jumpers feel about the situation is interesting and something I can't relate to, but it helps me see the situation for what it really was.

I'm just getting started with this and so I don't really know much. Getting the perspective of someone who has done this more than once has been really informative. From what I've understood it's an unfortunate first experience that would terrify almost any first time jumper, but it probably isn't as serious as I'm making it out to be in my head, and that my instructor knew what he was doing and handled the situation very well, and while I may not have known what was going on, he had the situation under control. It might be a while before I go again, but I guarantee it won't be my last and I hope to one day be able to do a solo jump. Everyone here has helped me move on from my somewhat eventful first experience and for that again I want to say thank you.

(on a side note: my first ever jump was just outside Santiago, Chile, and it was an amazing view. I could see the Pacific Ocean in the west and on the east I could see Argentina. It was amazing and I hope to do it again sometime soon. I may not be able to see across an entire country on my next jump, but I'm still looking forward to it just as much.)

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

lyosha

http://iloveskydiving.org/view/videos/throwback-thursday-tandem-skydive-student-surfing-looks-painful/

See, that's why I'd say no if someone who's working on his TI license ever asks me if I want a free tandem. I can drag my OWN face through the peas, thank you very much!

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[DougH 270]

FlyingRhenquest

***http://iloveskydiving.org/view/videos/throwback-thursday-tandem-skydive-student-surfing-looks-painful/

See, that's why I'd say no if someone who's working on his TI license ever asks me if I want a free tandem. I can drag my OWN face through the peas, thank you very much!

Do you like your DZ, enjoy bigger aircraft?

Guessing you do, so what do you think supports those things?

Instructors get a paycheck, but they also benefit fun jumpers a good deal. Give back, help instructor candidates, help catch for us when it is windy!

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Liemberg 0]

Quote

A drogue bridle gets hopelessly wrapped around a student's ankle, presumably putting the tandem pair in an other-than-stable position and requiring a reserve to be fired (possibly fatally) into the drogue.

Though it doesn't deserve the 'best performance of the month'-prize when you end up with a drogue entanglement, the students ankle seems to be the best 'point of entanglement' - provided the situation is handled professionaly from that moment on.
Yes - drogue entanglements can end up with reserve entanglements, so the potential for a double fatality is there, but when the attachmentpoint is the students ankle, the +45 degree headdown position which will result gives you the best launch direction for your reserve pilotchute. Furthermore the solution is also pretty straight forward. ("Pull silver - NOW!") and reserves work most of the times, while the droplet-shape of the drogue also reduces the problem.

But I do agree that it is an incident (or serious fuckup on the part of the TI if you will) Throwing drogues before you are stable / certain that it will get free of the tandempair will get you there sooner or later. Every TI supposedly learns that in his training but you know how it is: some of us only really learn 'on the job'.

With lots and lots of tandemjumps on youtube nowadays it is not hard to find footage of sketchy drogue throws.

Great educational value for junior TI's

"Whoever in discussion adduces authority uses not intellect but memory." - Leonardo da Vinci
A thousand words...