KPup 0 #1 January 21, 2015 A whuffo asked me recently how many people die skydiving. My response this time, which just came out of the blue from my head without thinking about it, was; "I know more skydivers who have died of cancer, then I do skydivers who have died from skydiving." Whatcha think - true or false for you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CSpenceFLY 1 #2 January 22, 2015 Too many personal variables for this poll to have any meaning. How old someone is,how long they have been in the sport, how many friends or family they have. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #3 January 22, 2015 Hmm. Wolfram alpha says 5.95 people in 100000 die of cancer every year. The 6th person was apparently only mostly dead. In skydiving roughly 1 in 100000 jumps results in a fatality (Actually those stats are a bit old IIRC, I think it's closer to 1 in 150K right now) Now if everyone would very nicely just do one jump a year while I'm doing my statistics, this would be easy! Hey! I see you trying to do another jump! Quit it! Ahem. Anywhoo, most people don't seem to get through AFF before quitting -- of 13 people in my class, I'm the only one who seems to have stuck with it. On average if you do go on to get your license you're going to get bored of it and quit within around 200 jumps. The skydivers with 10000 jumps are pretty rare. If one skydive is all it takes for you to be a "skydiver", I'd still go with "Cancer." It also depends on what you consider "Skydiving." BASE seems to be significantly more risky. Seems like every time someone's telling me about some guy they knew who died, it's usually "Yeah, he decided to give BASE a try..."I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stayhigh 2 #4 January 22, 2015 I don't know any skydiver who died from cancer. I know one skydiver who beat cancer. I've known hand full of skydivers who died from skydiving, also known hand full of skydivers who had life changing accident from skydiving. I've seen 3 or 4 fatalities from skydiving, and I've also seen too many to count numbers of life changing accident from skydiving. I've never seen anyone going bald from chemo/radiation therapy.Bernie Sanders for President 2016 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyBabeAU 3 #5 January 26, 2015 OK so I'm new to my DZ and skydiving, but from talking to people there who have had or are currently sporting injuries ranging from minor problems to major ones, I know an awful lot more people who have died from cancer or lost their partner to it, or who are currently undergoing treatment right now. l also know of several who continue to kick cancer's ass on a daily basis. Even just considering common cancers that affect only women, something like 1 in 3 will get breast cancer in their life and approximately 1 in 10 will get ovarian cancer. Least in my country. If there was a rate of death of women (who probably make up a fairly small percentage of the skydivers out there) anywhere near as high as these figures from skydiving, surely the sport would be closed down by governing bodies if it claimed so many lives? Guessing there would be a similar story there for cancers common to men. We know the rate of fatalities from skydiving is something like 1 in 100, 000 jumps and possibly much lower in very well regulated DZs from what I've read. Some are claiming 1 in 600, 000 jumps. Had to look into it because I had family asking about the rate of fatalities. I do know of a few who have sadly lost friends to skydiving elsewhere or lost friends to plane accidents, not at my DZ though. I know of a lot of families who have been torn apart by cancer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #6 January 26, 2015 If I count up the skydivers I've known who have died, the number who have died from skydiving is significantly higher than those who've died from other causes (cancer, other illnesses, traffic accidents, etc.) You add in "related" deaths (skydiving aircraft crashes, speed flying, BASE jumping) and it's an even higher proportion from aviation-related stuff. For the untimely deaths of people I know who aren't skydivers (or in any related sport) I'd say it's probably about an even mix of accidents vs. illnesses."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stayhigh 2 #7 January 26, 2015 Quote If there was a rate of death of women (who probably make up a fairly small percentage of the skydivers out there) anywhere near as high as these figures from skydiving, surely the sport would be closed down by governing bodies if it claimed so many lives? By that logic, they should've stopped selling cigarettes, long long time ago. Yes, more number of people die from cancer, more number of people die from driving a car but if all those number started to jump out of airplanes I'll bet more people will die from skydiving itself. People wrap themselves around when there is freaking 20 canopies in the air. Throw in whole world's population and have them all jump regularly? People will be dying on daily basis. Just from canopy collision. However you want to decipher the rate of danger, it is all up to you. If it was so safe would you have skydived in first place?Bernie Sanders for President 2016 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cambalectri 0 #8 January 27, 2015 KPupA whuffo asked me recently how many people die skydiving. My response this time, which just came out of the blue from my head without thinking about it, was; "I know more skydivers who have died of cancer, then I do skydivers who have died from skydiving." Whatcha think - true or false for you? Cancer is now the leading cause of death in the world ! I believe, in North America, heart diseases is slightly higher at the moment, mainly because of poor diet and lack of exercice ! Cancer has been with humanity since the Pharaohs and the Egyptians .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyBabeAU 3 #9 January 27, 2015 Never said skydiving was without risk or that people don't die from it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #10 January 27, 2015 Younger skydivers who die will tend to die from skydiving or other non-natural causes that are either higher-risk or are done in a higher-risk fashion. Older skydivers who live long enough will tend to die more of natural causes. When I was younger, I knew a lot of people who died of non-natural causes. Now that I'm middle-aged, more people I know who die, especially age contemporaries, do so of natural causes. I'm not sure this reveals anything all that ground-breaking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,254 #11 January 27, 2015 FlyBabeAUEven just considering common cancers that affect only women, something like 1 in 3 will get breast cancer in their life and approximately 1 in 10 will get ovarian cancer. Least in my country. Not in any country. Not even close. You need to redo your research on that one!Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
