mdowling 0 #1 March 24, 2003 I got involved in an exciting situation during a jump at Crosskeys on Saturday morning that is worth sharing for whatever educational purposes can be gleaned from it. SETTING THE SCENE: I arrived bright and early an hour before things even started moving at Crosskeys and just hung out to enjoy the beautiful sunshine of a blue sky day. When things finally got rolling, I was the first one manifested on the first load of the day. A guy who I had jumped with a few weeks ago and I decided on a two-way sitfly to get the day started. On the way to the boarding area, we meet up with another friendly guy and invited him along. He was already planning a jump with person so we suddenly had a 4-way sit. THE JUMP: I was jumping my brand new Vector3-Micron (9 jumps) with a PD 126 reserve and my new-to-me Sabre2 135 (8 jumps by me, 58 total). The skydive was rather uneventful. We were the second group out following a 4-way RW with video. A tandem student and jumpmaster were last out. The other three jumpers exited in a train while I was on the camera step facing them (wearing a camera). We really didn’t stay very close together and the freefall was uneventful. We broke at 4,500 and I pulled at 3 grand. Winds that day put us out over the wooded area towards the golf course and to the right of the runway. Under canopy, I played briefly my new Sabre2 before making my way towards the area over the cluster of trees near the swoop pond to start my downwind leg for a left-hand landing pattern. THE INCIDENT: Less than a second after checking my altimeter and seeing I was at 900 feet, I felt a sharp collision as one of the jumpers from our 4-way struck the top right side of my canopy at high speed. I never saw him coming. He later explained that he had made two 360 degree toggle turns just prior to slamming into my canopy. He said he didn’t see me below him while spiraling. The collision induced an immediate spin as my canopy completely wrapped around his body and collapsed. We were spinning under his main (a Sabre2 170). My canopy covered his face and also twisted up on his risers. I estimate that we made one full helicopter-like revolution before I cut away my canopy. I was facing back to earth at the time. I used a two-handed cutaway (one on each handle) and do not have an RSL. People on the ground estimate that I chopped at 600 feet and based on the speed of our decent after colliding at 900 feet, that sounds about right. I had an inflated reserve above my head at roughly 100 feet. I looked down and immediately realized that the force of the collision and subsequent spin tossed me across the runway over the wooded area on the far side in my second freefall of the jump. With the 50 feet of altitude I had until striking the 50-foot trees, I made an immediate right turn with my rear riser in an attempt to clear the trees. I landed in the trees about 40 or 50 feet from the edge of the tree-line. I had no time to unstow my brakes and used my arms and hands to cover my face as I broke through the branches without striking a trunk. The reserve caught a lot of branches along the way and that alone may have saved me from serious injury on landing without any semblance of a flare. I landed in a pretty soft spot feet first, but quickly slid them out in front of me almost like a tandem student and hit on my butt. I stood up and started checking bones while looking around completely in amazement of what had just occurred. The ground crews at Crosskeys including the owner John Eddows arrive within 10 seconds and I reported an immediate "I’m good. I’m okay." You should have seen the look of shock on their faces when they found me standing there working my way out of my harness. THE AFTERMATH: Short of a small scratch on my knee from a tree branch, I escaped this near-disaster unscathed. I wish I could say the same for the other jumper. He landed under his main with mine twisted around his body. The wrap caused line twists that resulted in him landing in reverse. He appears to have torn some ligaments in his ankle. He also had some pretty bad line burns around his neck and may have suffered internal injuries (they found blood in his urine). All in all, however, it could have been far worse - for both of us. Please keep the other jumper in your thoughts. I spent the rest of the day assessing the damage to my main and scavenging in the woods for my gear. I was able to locate my cutaway handle and one of the instructors spotted my reserve freebag and pilot chute. Unfortunately, the freebag/pilot chute was caught in the top of a 50-foot tree. After fruitlessly attempting to knock it loose with an extension pole, I had to cut the tree down with a chainsaw. Naturally, as the tree fell in the woods (yes, it does make a sound) the damn thing got caught about half-way up on another nearby tree. I brought a ladder into the woods and was able to yank on the pilot chute until the whole thing came tumbling down (on my head, of course). A quick damage assessment of my main by the master rigger on site showed roughly $240 in necessary repairs. A few broken lines and a busted seam along one cell top the list. I’m going to send it to PD for a full inspection and repair. While disappointed, I’m much happier dealing with a broken main than a broken skydiver. LIVING AND LEARNING: I’m one very luck sonofabitch to be sure. In trying to draw learning experiences from this brush with mortality, I’m somewhat at a loss. While the result of my cutaway was a success, it’s not a method of recovery recommended for every canopy wrap below 1,000 feet. So don’t add this to your list of things to do when the fit hits the shan. If I had waited 1 second more to chop and pop, I would likely have struck the trees or ground prior to full inflation. Chalk this one up to self-preservation taking over. I didn’t have time to think about altitude vs. inflation. I just acted and I’m lucky it worked. Several people have told me I saved the other jumper’s life in the process, but it still won’t change the recommended procedures for that situation - which is to deploy the reserve without cutting away to increase the drag on our collective mess. The greatest thing that can be drawn from this, I think, is that all that practicing of emergency procedures sure comes in handy when you need it. And I needed it to be instinctive. There was no time for fumbling or feeling around. The fact that we were very close to our discussions at Safety Day is not lost on this incident. Plus, just 6 days before this cutaway, I was practicing my emergency procedures in a training harness recently suspended from the ceiling in the Skydive Jersey Shore hanger. Time and execution on the cutaway/reserve pull saved my life for sure since I jump without an RSL. I also normally practice my emergency procedures on every single jump at least once. Other possible lessons include remaining altitude aware throughout the entire jump from exit until the altimeter reads zero. I was fortunate to have just looked at my altimeter a split second before the collision so I knew the incident started at exactly 900 feet. In addition, training for a tree landing came in very handy. I actually remember having a brief flashback of the lesson about grabbing on to a tree trunk with my arms if that opportunity presented itself. Obviously, that didn’t occur, but I did remember to keep my feet out in front of me to deflect branches and used my arms to protect my face. On the other side of the collision, the obvious lesson is to avoid spiraling down while above the expected landing pattern. Keep your head on a swivel and check your surrounding airspace before executing hard turns. EPILOGUE: I owe many thanks to many people. The folks at Crosskeys were great the rest of the day. From the manifest guy who hooked me up with a chainsaw for my logging excursion to the four or five people (including Jimbo) who spent probably an hour untangling my canopy from the other guy’s, I am grateful. I got a lot of handshakes, a few hugs and a ton of well-wishes throughout the day and even more when I showed up at Jersey Shore the next day. Huge thanks (and a trip to the nudie bar on me) go out to my rigger Jonathan Martins. I’m very thankful that my reserve opened as quickly as it did and without problems. And I’d be remiss not to thank every instructor I’ve had to date including Joe D., who first drilled the emergency procedures into my head during AFF. I woke up Sunday morning (after a few too many beers) a little sore, but no more than I would be after a particularly rigorous trip to the gym after a brief layoff. I was able to put in two jumps before heading to work Sunday night. Anothe jumper was kind enough to lend me his rig for both jumps, which was way cool of him. I’ll be looking to assemble a temporary rig shortly this week so I can take to the skies next weekend while PD fixes my main. FINAL THOUGHTS: I’ve had a few moments of very serious reflection in the past 48 hours about how close this came to being a story told by someone other than me, but I think I’ve categorized it as chance and preparation once again falling in my favor. I’ve been focusing on the result and not the myriad of possible outcomes. And I’ve tried to take light in the ironies that life provides. For example, as I was awaiting the arrival of the loaner chainsaw, I decided to take a short break in my pilot chute recovery effort for lunch. As I walked into the Long Delay Cafe at the dz and surveyed the menu, the choice was obvious. I ordered the Crosskeys Wrap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JumpHog 0 #2 March 24, 2003 I thought I would throw in my point of view of this situation. I had gone out to the landing area to watch the landings and assess the wind conditions(it was pretty bumpy). As I'm watching the first canopies land, I see two jumpers collide under canopy and imeediately go into a wrap/spin. In about the amount of time that I had to say, "Oh SH*T", I watched Matt cutaway. It looked like he cutaway about 500 feet and immediately pulled his reserve. His reserve opened just above treetop level, and then he immediately hooked it into the trees. His canopy was still in a turn as it disapperaed into the woods. I never saw the other jumper land. I immediatly jumped in the truck and was the first one on the scene. I was certain that there was going to be a seriously injured person. Much to my surprise, Matt was standing on the ground and completely calm. His first words were "I'm fine", and then he immediately asked how the other jumper was. Amazingly, the only visible injury to Matt was a scratch on his knee. He got out of his harness and then we tried to work his reserve off of the branch it was caught on, but stopped, so as not to inadvertantely rip it. We walked back out of the woods and drove back to the hangar. The rest of the story, Matt pretty much covered. The other jumper was more seriously injured, but still VERY lucky, nonetheless. He was very shaken up and went to the hospital to be checked out. This situation easily could have turned out A LOT worse, but fortunately luck was on everybody's side. It's impossible to say what the perfect way to handle this emergency would have been. Most of the time, I wouldn't recommend cutting away at 500 feet, but in this case, it looks like that Matt's instincts saved both jumpers lives. Just a reminder to everybody to keep their heads up in freefall and under canopy, and to avoid radical maneuvers in the landing pattern. A 720 degrees spiral can easily disorientate you and cause you to lose sight of other people. Be careful out there and stay safe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,126 #3 March 24, 2003 I almost peed my pants when I read AD's story. It was a different color for this one. Whew, and so glad to see it in this forum instead of incidents. I'm not trying to start anything, because everyone lived, but would an RSL be good or bad in such a situation? It'd help get the reserve out fractionally faster, but maybe fractionally closer to the other jumper too. Wendy W.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) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdowling 0 #4 March 24, 2003 Paul, Thanks again for all your help on Saturday. I can't stress enough how cool everyone at Crosskeys was the rest of the day. I spoke with the other jumper again last night by phone and he does still sound shaken up. Hopefully, he'll recover and we'll be able to jump together again sometime soon. Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanEHdian 0 #5 March 24, 2003 From what I've read, the quicker reserve deployment of the new Skyhook might have given him more time to deal with the landing, possibly steer away from the trees??? Good job Matt. CanEHdianTime's flying, and so am I... (69-way, 108-way and 138/142-way Freefly World Records) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rdutch 0 #6 March 24, 2003 Perfect example of the why people should use a skyhook. Ray Small and fast what every girl dreams of! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin922 0 #7 March 24, 2003 QuotePerfect example of the why people should use a skyhook. Wow awesome save, thanks for sharing. Best wishes for the other jumper. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,129 #8 March 24, 2003 wow, quite the story and awesome save. I understand that we will never know, but I wonder what would have been the outcome if both of you would ahve deployed your reserve without cutting away? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #9 March 24, 2003 How'd it feel to have that horseshoe pulled out of your ass? Congrats dude.... Shoulda bought a lottery ticket on the way home. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,405 #10 March 24, 2003 >Perfect example of the why people should use a skyhook. And perhaps an RSL; if not for his speed at deploying his reserve, it may not have opened in time. Often in a wrap it can be difficult to locate handles, although (fortunately) this was not the case in this one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith 0 #11 March 25, 2003 Excellent post, very well written; thanks for sharing. I'm glad both of you will be OK. I have to say I'm impressed. By the way you have related the story I would have thought you had a couple thousand jumps. I was surprised to find you have just over 400.Keith Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nightjumps 1 #12 March 25, 2003 Wow, that's quite a story. I live in Oklahoma and thought I heard thunder the other day. But, now I'm thinking that might just have been the sound of someone's rear-end slamming shut at 600 feet, huh? Good Job, Bro ...Bigun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hooknswoop 19 #13 March 25, 2003 QuotePerfect example of the why people should use a skyhook. And perhaps an RSL; if not for his speed at deploying his reserve, it may not have opened in time. Often in a wrap it can be difficult to locate handles, although (fortunately) this was not the case in this one. The Skyhook is an addition to the RSL. I thought CReW jumpers don't jump RSL's because of the possibility of canopy wraps? Hook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rdutch 0 #14 March 25, 2003 This wasnt a crew jump. Ray Small and fast what every girl dreams of! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hooknswoop 19 #15 March 25, 2003 Quote This wasnt a crew jump. Right, and CRew jumpers, crazy as they are, don't tend to attempt to dock below 2,000 ft. If I was in a wrap, and decided to cutaway, I wouldn't want an RSL in the event I dropped far enough to activate the reserve, but didn't fall clear. 500 ft in a wrap, I doubt I would cut away, probably deploy the reserve and hope. Hook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikeat10500 9 #16 March 25, 2003 ... 500 ft in a wrap, I doubt I would cut away, probably deploy the reserve and hope ....and hope a round pops out and clears all the...?----------------------------------- Mike Wheadon B-3715,HEMP#1 Higher Expectations for Modern Parachutists. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hooknswoop 19 #17 March 25, 2003 Quote500 ft in a wrap, I doubt I would cut away, probably deploy the reserve and hope ....and hope a round pops out and clears all the...? LOL- no not a round, hope that with two mains, my reserve, and hopefully the other jumper's reserve, that there is enough fabric out that we both walk away from the landing. The round vs. square debate has been done. Hook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikeat10500 9 #18 March 25, 2003 Sorry Hook...could not resist the chance to stir up shit!!! ----------------------------------- Mike Wheadon B-3715,HEMP#1 Higher Expectations for Modern Parachutists. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betzilla 56 #19 March 25, 2003 Sounds like you have really fast reflexes and really good KarmaI'm really glad you both came out of that okay. May we all learn from this story (I learned how happy I am that I have SKyhook coming from RWS for my rig!), and have a safe season. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aneblett 0 #20 March 25, 2003 Glad you are still with us. Thank you very much for sharing! AgeS.E.X. party #2 ..It is far worse to live with fear, than to die confronting it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
floormonkey 0 #21 March 25, 2003 Not to take away from the story or lesson (good job, good lesson), but you cut down a whole tree to get a freebag? Hope the tree was dead... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdowling 0 #22 March 25, 2003 I had an extensive conversation with the tree first to see if it would relinquish my freebag and pilot chute without the need for woodshed, but it just couldn't be reasoned with. I even held the chainsaw in a threatening stance for a while and it still wouldn't let go. I'm a non-violent man by nature, but I had grown up reading a lot of Peanuts comics and still had the vivid memories of that kite eating tree that kept haunting Charlie Brown. Before digging the spinning chain into the tree and drawing first bark, I cried out, "This one is for you Charlie Brown." Charles Schultz would have been proud. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Samurai136 0 #23 March 25, 2003 More wood for the bon-fire. Ken"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian Ken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chief 0 #24 March 25, 2003 Ignorant question #587: what is a skyhook? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdowling 0 #25 March 25, 2003 Considering how new this piece of equipment is, that is not at all an ignorant question. I've been doing a little reading up on the skyhook myself over the last few days. Check out: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=375437;search_string=skyhook;#375437 That post includes a link to the Relative workshop site as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
