Exit injuries

[Joellercoaster 6]

Until this year (when I tore a thigh adductor muscle on landing), the only injuries I had sustained in my first thousand jumps were a result of problems getting out of the plane.

I broke a finger on a tube that slid out the door unexpectedly and whacked my hand on the fuselage, and then later I fractured another one in a harness grip on an 8-way exit. I've lost some skin from my leg diving out for a bigway, and once got stuck to the plane by my head when my helmet got wedged in the doorframe. That hurt a bit.

I wonder, is the exit a common source of dings and hurts? I can think of a few friends who might agree... whatcha got, dropzone.com?

--
"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?

[DiverMike 5]

I had my finger pinched in the roll down door of a Cessna Caravan. I was helping close it after a hop and pop. I bled like a stuck pig, jumped anyway (last load of the season last year). Eventually lost the fingernail

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[JeffCa 0]

Guy at our club hit the plane's tail on a wingsuit jump. I guess that's an exit injury.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[pchapman 261]

Sounds like an invitation to tell tales.

Where I jump there were a couple Caravan exit injuries 4-5 years back. Both cases were just simple 2 way RW jumps, one person inside, one outside. In one case, a jumper cracked their elbow (needing hardware), in the other case, an arm was broken. Landings had to be done with one hand in both toggles. In both cases, the exit was poorly coordinated, with the person outside just dropping down, and/or the person inside not pushing out. Either it was two newbies together, or one newbie and one experienced jumper. So there are some basics for new jumpers to learn.

I nearly broke something on a C-182 tandem exit. I tried to overpower a student who grabbed the strut during climbout, while I should have taken more time to smack his hands and have him let go. While I figured he'd just let go when I pushed out, he clung tight, so I barely got out the door and then fell straight back and down, left lower leg still in the plane. Wrenched my leg as it got yanked around the door corner as we tumbled off the plane.

Then there's the general door rash on Caravans and Otters from hitting the back edge of the door - people not diving out enough to the side, or aiming too much for the back corner of the door when following others. I had that once when I was new to the Twin Otter, scraping my ankle badly. (It didn't help that I had metal just under the skin there at the time - metal sandwich of my skin.)

A Cessna step is of course a source of danger, especially for people who slip, or newbies not pushing off right and nearly eating the step. Haven't seen an actual injury from that, but there must be some nasty ones out there.

There are tales of bad grips on Twin Otter flap tracks, by front floaters without a good outside bar. There was a tale going around maybe 20 years ago from the US, of someone catching their glove there. Someone else on the load saw it still in the flap tracks, grabbed it, gripped it with their teeth during the dive, and when returning the glove to its owner on the ground, found his finger still inside.

[mattjw916 2]

I had a Caravan door slammed on my head when I was the last diver on an RW jump.

Lots of bruises and muscle strains from being banged against the back of Otters on big-ways and from launching chunks with new jumpers that can never seem to grasp the concept of presenting to the relative wind.

My thigh has been purple and yellow for a couple weeks from some recent combat RW as well.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[BillyVance 34]

Fucked up my lower legs in a speed star exit where we bullrushed the door and I stumbled and my legs went down through the bottom corner of the door frame. That hurt like a motherfucker. And it was my first jump on a brand new jumpsuit. Tore holes in them at the ankles. Had abrasions all up and down both lower legs.

Years ago doing the NJ 100 ways in the late 90's I broke my left wrist stumbling out the door as a late diver from a left trail otter when I stuck my hand out to keep from whacking my shoulder on the door frame. Still made it to my general area but my slot never materialized.

That's about it for exit injuries.

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

[yoink 321]

I heard a story from one of my old instructors about a guy who grabbed the inside rail by putting his fingers / hand over the top as he was climbing out.

He was wearing a ring.

As he exited the ring jammed between the fuselage and the rail and completely stripped the finger down to the bone.

[jackwallace 3]

Speed 10 ways out of small door Beech. There's not a part of the human body that didn't get broken, twisted, skinned, sprained on those. Guys wore hockey masks, shin guards, etc to try to protect themselves.

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[ridebmxbikes 0]

Know a girl that broke her arm on exit out of an otter. It was just a small fracture. She was doing coach training jumps, she left and the instructor didnt, clipped her arm on the way out. She was a champ too. Still jumped the rest of the weekend! Of course she didnt know it was broken till she went to the doctor monday.

Another friend was doing a 3-way chest strap gripped exit and had his shoulder dislocated on exit. It was his right arm, he still stayed with us through the jump and had to go straight to silver at pull time.

[DSE 3]

I observed a woman break her tib exiting a caravan, driving towards the tail and being pulled by a threeway.
She then broke her femur and wrist on landing due to the pain and fear of the tib.

[pchapman 261]

DSE

I observed a woman break her tib exiting a caravan,

Which reminds me of a jumper who can draw a good duck cartoon. I thought in her case it was a 2 way exit, broken arm, and then a broken femur when the one handed landing didn't work out.
[Ref.: http://tailotherat.blogspot.ca/2012/09/how-i-broke-my-arm-and-leg-part-i-dont.html ]

In any case, trying to figure out how to land one handed, when you just broke something, isn't necessarily easy, especially if you haven't thought it through before.

[jimjumper 25]

On Casa's the fuselage edge where it meets the ramp edge is about 3" wide when the ramp is down, so if you exit backwards off the ramp with your arms spread the point of your elbow clips that ledge on exit. The regulars called it "Casa elbow" and usually you only do it once!

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Most of my skydiving-related injuries happen on the ground. I have a scar on my finger from where I managed to cut myself on the door mockup rig while practicing an exit. I also have a scar on my arm from where I bumped into the lowered flap of a jump plane while it was parked in the hangar. That hardly even broke the flesh, but it left a scar. I currently have a bruise on my shoulder from demonstrating a PLF on a concrete floor. Sounds like I'd much rather have these types of injuries than the alternative.

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

[jimmytavino 16]

jimjumper

On Casa's the fuselage edge where it meets the ramp edge is about 3" wide when the ramp is down, so if you exit backwards off the ramp with your arms spread the point of your elbow clips that ledge on exit. The regulars called it "Casa elbow" and usually you only do it once!

Re : CASA
i was on the left rear floater slot of a pre-gripped launch where one of the out facing jumpers ( the guy gripped to ME ) somehow got his right legstrap "caught" on part of "the static line retrieval system ". and so when WE went.... HE didn't
it tumbled a 6 way base. I dropped My grips but the guy on my right shoulder hung on...and backlooped.. so i dislocated my right shoulder...
good story.. but i have to get out the door, to a bachelor party..twenty minutes AGO !!!

[DSE 3]

pchapman

***I observed a woman break her tib exiting a caravan,

Which reminds me of a jumper who can draw a good duck cartoon. I thought in her case it was a 2 way exit, broken arm, and then a broken femur when the one handed landing didn't work out.
[Ref.: http://tailotherat.blogspot.ca/2012/09/how-i-broke-my-arm-and-leg-part-i-dont.html ]

In any case, trying to figure out how to land one handed, when you just broke something, isn't necessarily easy, especially if you haven't thought it through before.

Yeah, I was there for Jen's incident too. Forgot about that.

[GooniesKid 0]

I once injured my cock on exit once....a chick stepped on it on the way out. j/k

But in all seriousness I've had a hang nail from taking a grip too lose to bruising my shoulder from hitting the side of the twotter on exit.

[jonstark 8]

Dislocated right shoulder leaving a Lodestar just starting to stall. Was able to roll over and catch the flopping arm and got it back into place to throw out my belly-band pilot chute. Still gives me a hard time 35 years later.

jon

[Joellercoaster 6]

GooniesKid

j/k

It's OK, emoticons not necessary - we knew it was a windup as soon as you said someone touched your cock.

--
"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?

[Backintothesky 0]

I watched a guy dislocate his shoulder on a dummy rip cord pull on static line.

He stuck his left arm through the deploying risers as he went for the dummy cord with his right and as they snapped back during inflation it popped his arm out of socket.

I believe he also broke his other arm on landing that same jump.

[mcpep 0]

I've done something similar, twice

1st attempt at dummy pulls went for my dummy pull at the speed of light, bag smashed into my right arm causing a huge bruise. Then about 10 attempts later did the same thing, this time my arm got entangled in the risers causing shoulder cuff tendon damage and a few months off . "Slow down" appears in my log book a few times!!

[fastphil 0]

I was hooking up static lines for a BASE bridge jump when a Texas State Trooper slid his car to a stop and tried his best to stop the proceedings. As he ran towards us from his car he was enthusiastically yelling commands that we had no intentions of following. The four jumpers began exiting quickly, but one at a time, as the incoming trooper continued emotionally instructing us to cease our operation immediately.

The final jumper, launching from a four foot tall concrete railing, got my thumbs up just as the trooper was reaching for the his leg strap. Everything was happening so fast now, but like we’re used to in freefall, it seemed like slow motion, and the motor-driven Nikon I was operating was creating an emotionally driven cop. The trooper was getting a good grip on that leg strap and I was telling him “I wouldn’t do that if I were you” as the BASE jumper looked at him and started his slow, hinging exit.

As you might imagine the cop could not hold up the 160 pound jumper but could also not let go fast enough so was severely pummeled by the concrete railing he was pulled into, bruising (breaking?) ribs and brutally bruising his ego.

That’s my best exit injury story, but I also had a good friend that lost a finger to a small door twin beech because of her wedding ring snagging.