Have you ever been on a jump ship when something went wrong?

[patworks 5]

About 12 times.
All radial jump ships.
Except once in a T=otter. R. Engine blew on take off.
~ 60 feet. POW! Stuff flies.
Pucker factor high.
V.Nam Pilot took it around and landed.
... the ME part was seat belts wer miss-matched. All had one except me. I ask for a link-with. "NO!"
(share a seatbelt via leg-strap) NO!
. . . . . . . .. Hum? that puzzles me....
Whatever, I sit on the floor and grab as many legs as my arms allow. (I did thunk that my unbelted self could be messy for all... but I harbor dark thoughts sometimes. Silently)
Good Pilot. Good landing.

In the 'Old days' (40-50 years ago) the notion of jumping out of "a perfectly good airplane" was an oxymorn. Sometines we had weak planes and weaker pilots. Thus the rest of the 'emergency bail-outs' were usually above 3,000 feet and a radial goes akpow and you get a pass over the DZ at n-100 feet and select your canopy of choice. {NOBODY NEVER EVER selects the reserve} Yuk.
.... one time interests me. The guy in the door was last out. He had foot-prints on his jump suit. Giggle.
Remarkably, CG once lost an oil line at about 6000 AGL. Oil covered the windshield. It was a bit smokey. Da pilot, plants Both feets on the C-196 Dash, turns it on its side, open door-down, jacks the stick back-and-forth like al salt-shaker whilst screaming, "OUT, OUT, OUT, everybody OUT, Now!!! " etc. So, we 5 exit in a Flash and trach like with the Mother of all tracks towards the Horizon..... At some point, we severally realize that we've been ejected above the forest that are now Houston International Airport. Me thinks, "I am lost. Where ARE we? WHY AM I TRACKING towards whatever???? Boy scout like, I find a fire road below and deploy. Genius.
Still, the emergency exits over Pope Valley were just as attention getting. The word "valley" can give you a clue.
Whatever, the WORST is to be ground bound and watch your mates take off in a sputtering AC that loses power at about 500 feet. At that point, due to one of Newton's laws, the earth sucks.
Today I bask in the certain knowledge that driving to the DZ is WAY more dangerous than flight.

Blue Sky
Black death, etc. etc.

8-0

Pat Works nee Madden Travis Works, Jr .B1575, C1798, D1813, Star Crest Solo#1, USPA#189,

[yarpos 4]

I didnt have a happy relationship with aircraft in the early days.

Jump 2 - C172 engine stopped as we lifted off. We bounced back onto the thankfully wrong runway. Water in fuel.

Years later visiting the US, two emergency exits from twin beeches in Lousiana and Coolidge, both thankfully at reasonable hieght and near the DZ. Both the planes got down OK.

Shortly after back in Oz, student pulled through the rear door frame of an Islander when his front mounted reserve popped in the door. Student damaged but lived, plane damaged (looked like it had been attacked with a giant can opener). Everyone got down OK.

Got to watch a few others from the ground which I found to be a far superior vantage point.

regards, Steve
the older I get...the better I was

[Adriandavies 0]

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The cockpit escape hatch flew open on take off of a skyvan at Lost Prairie a few years back. It made one hell of a noise and everyone about crapped in their jumpsuits! We couldn't get it closed and did a go around to a nice landing.

...How could you tell over the noise of the engines

[fastphil 0]

At the Z-hills Turkey meet in '76 or '77 our DC-3, loaded with 4 ten way teams, lost an engine just at liftoff. We got a treetop arial tour of Zepherhills and a smooth landing out of it back at the airfield. Funny, I was near the door, and first looked out at the right engine and saw there was a little smoke, that didn't seem too serious; then I looked left, and that prop was static. After a quick glance to see how close the rooftops were I moved forward and sat quietly in the crowd...

[billeisele 122]

C182 - oil stick loose, oil covered the wind screen, got out before it seized

DC3 - broke left engine at 10K, those that didn't have oil on the front of their jumpsuit were "retrained" on exit technique

Beech 18 - too many times to count, always high enough to jump out

Beech 18 - flying out of a certain dirt strip, remember clipping the trees and having to remove twigs and leaves from the landing gear - more than once

Loadstar - uhhh, LoadSTALL, never broke one but always got scared at exit time

Queen Air - one broke at 300', now that was scary

Twin Otter - broke one but no problem

CASA - rolling down the runway, a loooong way down the runway, pilot decides it won't fly and decides to stop, as I watch certain runway markings go by I'm thinking - How far are those trees off the end of the runway??

Great pilots are nice to have

Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

[chuckakers 369]

Ft. Hood, Texas circa 1987.

Riding in the Huey to altitude when at about 9k I thought I heard someone say "get out". As the load of 8 of us sat up to see what was going on, we heard - quite loudly - "GET OUT!!!"

We did - hops and pops in the middle of freakin' nowhere.

Walked the tank trails to the nearest road. Caught a ride back to the DZ from a passing military vehicle.

Come to find out, the "master caution" light had come on in the cockpit. The pilot later told us that the master caution system monitors numerous critical systems and requires the crew to initiate an emergency landing if the light comes on - hence the bailout.

What he didn't know at the time was that the light had come on because the bird's crypto gear (communications encryption equipment) had dumped it's encryption code, something that had nothing to do with the actual flight.

Good practice, though.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[SARLDO 0]

Not jumping it but, lost tail rotor drive in a Huey while searching for some lost folks in the mountains near lake Tahoe. That wasn't a fun day

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest" ~Samuel Clemens

MB#4300
Dudeist Skydiver #68

[mircan 0]

10 years ago lost one engine at 1000ft in Mi-8. My first landing with plane. Ever. 20ish jump.

This year AN-2 engine crapped out at ~6000ft. 2 tandems and myself on board. We went out calm, but fast. I even managed to do video . Now that tandem passenger was happy when we landed (in a wheat field, couple of miles out).

dudeist skydiver #42

[rehmwa 2]

1 - Airplane (like a CASA) crashed on takeoff in Jakarta. That sucked, it was totaled and a lot of serious injuries. Something like 8-10 years ago

2 - SDAZ (when in Coolidge) in ~1990? 20 way practice out of the turbine Westwind (before it crashed later that year). (I know, it was only able to hold 17 divers - so 16 plus video). Left wing stalled on climbout. We all buit a big round. I was a dive floater and recall exiting and turning and THE PLANE WAS STILL NEXT TO ME - very cool - there was a guy named Mark Taylor (I believe) on the load I'm in freefall looking at him standing on the wing (fr-fr-front float) and he was just holding on as we we were all falling/exiting. I asked him, "Mark, why didn't you get away at first?" his reply "Bill, I'm at 13000 feet, looking straight down at the ground through a propeller. It had to get a lot better, or a lot worse, before I let go". Got the video - Larry bought the next load.

3 - We did have a Cessna shut down on us at 6K. One guy got really nervous and tried to open the door before the pilot allowed it (we stopped him), until we reminded him we were in a (essentially) glider and we were all wearing parachutes. Even got a good spot.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Andy9o8 0]

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sure...
Kingers 1000th jump... mid 70's DeHavilland beaver.. radial engine... had some kinda problem... engine oil,,,,, all over the windshield @ 3000 feet.... no real big deal....
we all just Got Out. pretty orderly. didn't land with it. Only time that i was ever in an "aircraft emergency".... not bad.... considering all the lifts i've been on over the years... ONLY saw two other emergencies from the ground, while at the DZ... Hmmm They both,,,, ALSO were with deHavilland beavers....Loooong time ago...
Must be ... NEWER planes,,,, are SAFER jt

Hey, Jimmy, my first one was not on that jump, but outta that same Beaver at SF in 1976. Loss of oil pressure at 1,800 ft, pilot said "get out or ride it down", most of us got out. A couple of newbies chose to ride it down, only to have Howie give them shit about "taking an airplane ride." Thems were the days.

[CDRINF 1]

Cessna 182 at Skydive Waycross in Georgia in the mid-90's. Lost the engine on climb out at around 1000 feet. Lots of noise and then all of a sudden a very uncomfortable silence. Jerry Hoekstra, the DZO and pilot racked it around and made it back to the aiport.

USPA Safety Day 2007 at Skydive Atlanta, King Air. Trey says if we attend all of the classses we get a free jump! One of the classes was engine out emergency exits. At the end of the day we go up for our free jump, quite pleased with ourselves for showing up early and hanging around all day. Around 5000' I see the eyes of Katie Drennan who is sitting on the potty seat facing forward get as big as saucers. I ask what's up and she points and says in a hoarse whisper "the prop just stopped!" Trey says "exit on your mains" and we all get up and exit to a hop and pop as we had been taught in class. During opening I see jumpers streaming out and the plane chug along merrily in stable flight. It occurs to me that we had just been had and I remember shouting "You cheap mother-fucker!" We all had a good laugh at our own expense and got the benifit of a live engine out exit rehearsal.

CDR

[JohnDeere 0]

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Cessna 182 at Skydive Waycross in Georgia in the mid-90's. Lost the engine on climb out at around 1000 feet. Lots of noise and then all of a sudden a very uncomfortable silence. Jerry Hoekstra, the DZO and pilot racked it around and made it back to the aiport.

USPA Safety Day 2007 at Skydive Atlanta, King Air. Trey says if we attend all of the classses we get a free jump! One of the classes was engine out emergency exits. At the end of the day we go up for our free jump, quite pleased with ourselves for showing up early and hanging around all day. Around 5000' I see the eyes of Katie Drennan who is sitting on the potty seat facing forward get as big as saucers. I ask what's up and she points and says in a hoarse whisper "the prop just stopped!" Trey says "exit on your mains" and we all get up and exit to a hop and pop as we had been taught in class. During opening I see jumpers streaming out and the plane chug along merrily in stable flight. It occurs to me that we had just been had and I remember shouting "You cheap mother-fucker!" We all had a good laugh at our own expense and got the benifit of a live engine out exit rehearsal.

CDR

That is great

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[skyjumpenfool 2]

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I can remember landing with Mr. Douglas a time or two.

Yep, Mr. D had it's issues.

How about Sugar Alfa at the Freak Brothers Convention (1979 or 80). Lost an engine just after takeoff, couldn't feather the other prop, so we started exiting one jumper every 3 seconds at about 2,500 feet.

I don't recall all the details, but I remember by the time I got out... it was a very short canopy ride. After some repairs, they were flying loads again later that day.

I remember hearing a rumor about the plane going in a short time after.

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[livendive 8]

Nothing too serious. Took a gal up on a tandem in a U206 with a friend diving after to sting her. When I got in the door (student hanging outside), my friend yelled my name, and I grabbed my reserve pilot chute as it was headed out the door. Got back in the plane, landed, grabbed another rig, and took off again with the same gal. At about 100' there was a loud BANG!! and we were suddenly in a high-angle turn back towards the runway...I asked the (new at the time) pilot if we were landing or crashing, but he was a bit too busy doing the former to answer me. That poor girl actually came out again the following weekend and we finally did her tandem jump...she did FJC the next weekend and got her A-license before getting preggers & leaving the sport. Still, I give her credit for doing what most people probably wouldn't...tempting the whole "third time's a charm" thing.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[airtwardo 6]

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Ever lost an engine or had to go back and land because of a mechanical problem?

Bailed out twice because on an emergency, crash landed and walked away four other times from aircraft that were so balled up they were shit-canned....

~ shoot down one more and I'm an 'ACE'

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Tuna-Salad 0]

Some of these are pretty creepy to read. Glad everyone made it back safely though.

Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night.

[skybill 18]

Hi Charlie,
N157U Port engine spit a blade on TO---FIRE!!! VIDEO!!! See Scary Stories thread by Steve1 in hist and trivia forum for details.
Also in a DC-3 at Elsinore '77-'78 era blew a jug at 6K or so one pass over the DZ still got some RW in.

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[lippy 764]

In a C-182 at 10,5 on a night jump. We were on jump run and we're all on our knees checking our shit and turning on alti lights, all of a sudden shite gets real quiet, then real loud.

In less time than I could imagine, the pilot stalled and we were sitting on the tail and descending FAST. I could see the stars spinning through the windshield and I was trying to get my hand to the door to open it, but the G's wouldn't let me.

Luckily the pilot kept his cool and got us back under control around 5K. Once we'd all had a chance to check our shorts I asked him for a pass over the DZ: 'I'd kinda like to get out now'. The other 3 guys went back up to altitude with him.

I got nuthin

[AggieDave 6]

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crash landed and walked away four other times from aircraft that were so balled up they were shit-canned...

Damn son, you need 182 silhouettes panted on your helmet!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

Hi Tuna,

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Glad everyone made it back safely though.

Some didn't, but they cannot tell you about it here.

I've been in one that balled-up real bad; do not want to experience that again.

I've lost more jumper friends from airplane crashes than due to jumping.

JerryBaumchen

[Skydivesg 6]

A couple of early exits due to engine trouble on DC-3s in the eighties. Reasonable altitudes not much pucker factor.

Engine out on an Otter. Enough altitude to get out over the DZ.

Skyvan aborted take off on a 300 way attempt at Skydive Chicago. We ran off the end of the runway into corn. Sheared off the nose wheel. No injuries. We grabbed our O2 hoses and got on other planes and did the attempt.

Westwind crashed on take off in Eloy in '92.
The pilot forced the plane off the gound before it was ready to fly. He took turns slapping the wings on the gound then sheard off the gear which came up through the floor. We then skidded off into the desert with the engines running full power. Man did those props kick up a lot of dirt. Several injuries. No fatalities. Airplane was totalled.
I really thought we were going to cartwheel as the fourth wing strike was about to happen but thankfully that is when we hit the gear and took off for the desert.

Yahoo........... you haven't experienced our sport til you've lived through an airplane crash.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

[JSBIRD 1]

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How about Sugar Alfa at the Freak Brothers Convention (1979 or 80). .... clip .... I remember hearing a rumor about the plane going in a short time after.

Sugar Alpha, aka The Firestone 3, was still flying when it owner, Steve Moran, was killed in 1983.

BASE359

"Now I've settled down,
in a quiet little town,
and forgot about everything"

[jdunbar 0]

Just to point out the obvious, how amazing are the vast majority of the pilots flying us "meat missiles" up and down all day, calm, collected and amazingly professional. On the ground of course they are all crude glorified bus drivers. ;-)

[hcsvader 1]

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The other memorable one was when the landing gear gave way as we turned onto the runway from the taxiway.

Would that have been in one of these?

My dad was flyin when the landing gear fell off. I think the other was a pilot who didnt have much experience with a tail dragger.

I don't remeber which happened first but I think they happened pretty close to each other.

Cheers

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[chaoskitty 0]

Twice in the same weekend, same drop zone, different airplanes. We didn't have another airplane to break after the second one, so I went home.