I'm part of his core group that he jumps with every weekend and as for clarity to what has happened to him and how he is doing I will try to shed some light. First of all, He is pretty new to the sport. Dec. 1st Tandem. Since then he is around 230 jumps, consistantly 15-20 on the weekend. He has progressed fast because he is very aggressive and also very competant and coordinated and has been patted on the back by more people at the DZ then anyone else out there. He has been a natural at picking up headown and sit and all around freeflying as well as canopy flight. As for canopy work, he has been down sizing at a rapid pace and has been warned about going small. He understood the risk and made decisions. He flew his canopy well from the time that he started until now and has nice landings 99%of the time. Just like anyone, we all have a few unplanned landings (Meaning that it wasn't in the grass, or having to make adjustments due to others in the air space or obstacles on the ground). This particular jump was no different except that he made a bad decision too low. I think that anyone making a comment about his abilities or lack of abilities has NO PLACE TO OPEN THERE MOUTH now and especially if you weren't there to see it. It should have been said before and now that something has happened we should try to learn from that. As for keeping up with his group, we did not push him to fly smaller canopies! The four people that he jumps with on a regular basis that he is trying to keep up with do not do hook turns. We do not do hook turns. None of us. The only keeping up we wanted from him was in the sky where the fun is. Reasons for pushing him - safety, currency, safety, awareness, experience. Pushing is a strong term for someone that is successful and loves the sport and wants to progress. We love him and want nothing but the best for him. It was a bad decision, we all make them. sometimes it just has worse consequences. Hindsight is always 20/20 As for our friend, he is doing better. fractured pelvis. That seems to be all. As for the eye, it is still to early to tell but also signs look positive. I wanted to post this because another friend on here also posted and made him sound less educated than is true. He is not dangerous, he is a good skydiver, and is learning a sport as we all are. He is also a great friend to me and to all that are around him. I think we all need to evaluate what we do in this sport jump by jump and proceed from there. Be careful out there and your jump is not over until you are off the landing area and in the packing area. Best wishes to all that know him and all who will know him -he will be back!
