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virgin-burner

Watching out for newbies [was - hard impact at Nats]

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Welcoming our newest member to the Heavy Metal Skydiving Club.

Being a member has no direct benefits but it beats the alternative, although there might be times you come to question that construct.

I hope you heal well and remember the lessons.

BS
"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

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Looking at that picture of the before, were there any additional rotations before impacting? I wouldn't think it possible, and if not, holy shit, you went almost straight down and are really lucky to have missed the really unforgiving gray stuff.

I'd recommend reading the book Deep Survival (http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival-Who-Lives-Dies/dp/0393326152), since from what you're saying you froze at a critical moment and trusted the world to "right itself". This book goes into detail about those types of situations and examines the relationship between why some people "make it through" and some people don't. It is VERY interesting.

Heal fast, don't skimp on rehab, and get back on the horse.

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since from what you're saying you froze at a critical moment and trusted the world to "right itself"



I've too read what he's said:
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it wasn't enough height for the canopy to recover on it's own...
I probably thought it will still recover during the last seconds


What goes around, comes later.

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I don't know why I didn't hit the brakes



This, to me, is the major thing to focus on during your recovery.

"I don't know why I didn't do the one thing that would have possibly saved me from breaking myself" translates to "I don't have enough experience for the right thing to do to be automatic."

This is exactly why you were being cautioned to put in more jumps, more time, more effort, more patience on larger and more forgiving wings. It's so that "what to do" becomes almost automatic.

I think back to when I first learned to drive. Situations that wouldn't cause me to blink an eye now were overwhelming in their sensory overload. I got into (relatively minor) accidents then because I didn't have the experience behind the wheel to be able to anticipate, to think ahead, and to react instinctively (in the correct way) that I have now. That's not to say that I believe I'm invincible now, after 25 years of driving, but I do have instincts that will both keep me out of the close calls and get me out of them as safely as possible. But like you, at 16 it took my first accident for me to realize that my parents were wise in trying to limit my driving to relatively controlled situations, so that I could take the time to build up that instinct that is born from experience.
"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

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I'm glad you're here to discuss this with us Sangi.
I'm very impressed with the way you "manned up" to the community here on dizzie.

Best wishes on a speedy recovery and a safe return and progression back into the sky you clearly love so much.

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Thank you all again. I fucked up and there's no one else to blame but myself, I was warned numerous times by dz.com and my own real skydiving friends.. Coming to think of it, this incident was only a matter of time, I just wanted to look cool fast disregarding everything and hoping that the shit will never happen to me or I'll luck out of it every time.. If only I would've realized how wrong I was back then, but this crash changed my mindset about allot of thing completely..

The gray area was pavement and I missed it by a meter or so, looking at my impact during the vid, if I would've hit the pavement I'd be dead instantly, I got very very lucky.
"Dream as you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." James Dean

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This post, along with the photo of your broken femur, should be made a sticky.
Good stuff for young and old jumpers alike. Listen to advice.

Nice job manning up with this post. I have seen some jumpers wreck themselves and still blame everyone/thing else.

I hope you heal well and truly wish you the best.

You're in luck. Chics dig swoopers, but they dig scars even more.;)

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I really am glad you will recover. I had a friend who wasn't as lucky. Similar story to you but he wasn't quite as cocky. Unfortunately I don't think he had as many people looking out for him as you did and he was flying a crossfire with a wing-loading over 1.5.

The problem is nobody was actively telling him to slow down (at least not as far as I saw) and at around 500 jumps he fucked up a swoop, injured his C5 and is now paralyzed from the chest down. His problem was he was always the guy who picked u things quicker than anybody else. Best Climber/ Snowboarder ect in our group. So when he was progressing faster than others nobody said anything. Not sure if it would have matterd but I wish I hadknown more as I would have said something. VB saved you. and you got lucky by a few feet. Lots to consider.

Hope the healing goes well. Keeps us updated, you are very famous now.

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Thank you all again. I fucked up and there's no one else to blame but myself, I was warned numerous times by dz.com and my own real skydiving friends.. Coming to think of it, this incident was only a matter of time, I just wanted to look cool fast disregarding everything and hoping that the shit will never happen to me or I'll luck out of it every time.. If only I would've realized how wrong I was back then, but this crash changed my mindset about allot of thing completely..

The gray area was pavement and I missed it by a meter or so, looking at my impact during the vid, if I would've hit the pavement I'd be dead instantly, I got very very lucky.



Bravo.... I do wish you would have learned this one jump before. But thankfully you were able to learn it.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

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The gray area was pavement and I missed it by a meter or so, looking at my impact during the vid, if I would've hit the pavement I'd be dead instantly, I got very very lucky.



Yeah, that pavement had me nervous from the get go, you are so very lucky you missed it by a couple feet.

Live and learn
The feather butts bounce off ya like raindrops hitting a battle-star when they come in too fast...kinda funny to watch. - airtwardo

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Sangi.... your turnaround in attitude has taken the fun out of a lot of threads here on the DZ.com. ;) Hopefully, it will also translate into less incident reports? Heal fast. :)



Nah, wait for next season to start. We'll have another poster attacking Sangi and Docpop of being canopy nazi's who just don't understand how things work.

I hope he heals quick that video was scary.
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

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Just curious, do you have the toggle in your hand between the risers?



Yes, I always hold my toggles in my hands during HP landings.

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What went through you head the moment you realized you were gonna impact?



Honestly I can't remember that point when the ground was coming at me so I can't say for sure but I believe I wasn't going to impact and that the safire will eventually recover because of it's short arc, I was wrong, because I changed my turn and made that arc much longer than I'm used to, but I didn't realize it then..
"Dream as you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." James Dean

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