skysquiffy

I would not call her stupid. But why was she the only one that hit the tail? She is lucky that she had an AAD, and that it worked. I'm glad that she had an AAD, I am glad it worked, I am glad that she landed in a way that didn't kill her. But she could have prevented the whole thing by a better exit. Or do you not agree? She was fully geared and ready to exit at 2,000 AGL. That's apparently not a statement that you can always make.

[One day I ran to the plane with my rig in my hand...On the climb I started to put my rig on.] Why? Apparently you were still messing with it at 3,000 AGL too. What if there had been an emergency exit required? Why would you board a jump plane without being ready to jump?

I do both. Apparently, I also chatter a lot. I don't ever remember walking or talking, but I VIVIDLY remember the hallucinations. I have phases of both, although the waking nightmares tend to be a lot less frequent. Actually, I think it's why I'm not a "morning person". I'm exhausted when I wake up. Emma.

Where's the harm in trying? It's already apparent that you have some concern for him and the situation so I say be constructive and put the concern to use. Can you be a little more specfic about his "attitude"? Not being funny, but most jumpers have them so his must be a real doozie. Emma STL

Yes, there was indeed a hawk of some sort circling the north end of the landing area, directly over the spot that the small memorial was placed. It seemed particularly low, maybe flying between 50 and 100 feet. This one bird stayed for several minutes during the latter part of Pastor Laurian's service. It was an incredibly beautiful and uplifting sight. Maybe it was just a magnificent coincidence, but it didn't feel that way. STL, Emma.

I appreciate that this thread has settled a little, but I'd like to put my $0.02 in. There is such a thing as tact and compassion. Information can be shared in many different ways, and some "details" CAN wait. Taking a moment to consider the emotion of the situation before posting could make someone change a word or sentence and still make the same point without needlessly offending. I believe what set most people "off" was the discussion of medical care. This is absolutely not the place to acquire this type of knowledge. There is ONLY one way to get that and it's to pursue some formal training. This particular part of the conversation was truly useless and very painful for many people. If a moment had been taken to see the real use of discussing it, a lot of hurt may well have been avoided. If anyone is interested in learning emergency care, please check out this site http://www.cpr-ecc.org/ I really don't think that anyone is disputing the fact that discussing the incident is beneficial. But there are aspects of it that really do not need to be picked apart, serve no purpose and cause undue pain. At the very least, there are details that can wait. I think we tend to get desensitized by the internet medium. If we were discussing an incident in person, with someone that was there, would we have the same attitude? If someone were distressed and had some first hand details, would you stand defiantly in front of them and say “But I’m entitled to discuss this and I want to know right now EVERYTHING that you saw!!!” Could you? Sure. Would you? I hope not, because most of us have a modicum of sensitivity and compassion for people in pain. I wish people would stop using the “saving someone else’s life” as an excuse for ignoring reasonable levels of restraint. There is such a thing as morbid curiosity, and it neither benefits or helps. Spread the Love, Emma.

Oh, what a dream!!! That must have been truly wonderful. Too bad the English weather raised it's ugly head. Princess Squiffy

GET THOSE 10-WAY TEAMS TOGETHER AND FIRED UP! Skydive Chicago is holding it's annual 10-way Iron Man competition on Saturday, September 15th. All teams, of every level, are invited to participate in what should prove to be an exciting and fun competition. The cost for registration is $150 per team, plus the cost of 4 jumps ($19 each). Of course there will be parties and such after the event, and if necessary, we will finish up on Sunday if weather delays occur. Below are the rules for the competition: 1 - No show, single file exit up to the door line (unlike Nationals). The door will be the starting line and any grips are acceptable on exit, but you must break all grips and build the first point with 10 individuals. 2 - Mixed exits. Prior to each jump the exit order will change based on "luck-of-the-draw" numbering. 3 - First score. Speed star. If you don't know what this is, watch "Cutaway" for an extremely accurate representation. 4 - Second score. Sequential jump. You will have 50 seconds of working time. 5 - Third score. Landing accuracy. Two DIFFERENT jumpers will be designated before each round. Remember to look down! The spot is up to you. 6 - Judges decisions are final. 7 - Any additional rules will be voted on by the captains. 8 - T. J. has final vote! Please check out our website at SkydiveChicago.com for general DZ questions that you may have about camping, facilities and location. If you have any questions about the competition, please e/mail T.J. Hine at [email protected] Thank You, Blue skies and Spread the Love! Skydive Chicago

Well, I'm still not sure why you used that terminology, because again, an "incident report" is something created by our community for our community. The fact is, the general media is not aimed at an individual group, it is aimed at the general populous. As such, it will not provide the sport-specific details that we need to understand the hows, whys and whats of a fatality/accident. It just strikes me as odd that you would be surprised or angered when the general media provides only generalities or incorrect interpretations of our sport. They are uninformed about our sport and their reporting is aimed at an uninformed public. Princess Squiffy.

I would imagine that you're post was misunderstood because you chose to write "incident reports" when you were actually refering to a newspaper article. Every jumper I know considers an incident report to be something created within our community, regardless of the actually source. I think it was fairly obvious that this article was written by someone other than a skydiver, as most of them are. Your comment was redundant at best, and certainly unnecessary. Allison, I'm sorry I only got to have a couple of smokes with you from time to time and I didn't get to know you very well. Fly free little one. Princess Squiffy

You obviously should have been taught to PLF. There could be a variety of reasons why you weren't and I'm not going to guess what they may be. The bottom line though, is that you are now second guessing your training, which will probably affect your confidence level, and ultimately, your performance. I know that my mind was rattling full of doubt when I was a student, and what kept me getting on the plane was the faith that I had been given the tools to safely complete the skydive. I would strongly suggest researching the training available at other DZ's. Go hang out, talk to the students and JM's, ask to see their training progression. I jump in the Midwest too and there are many DZ's in the area to choose from. Uncertainty is not a good thing in this sport and if you are second guessing yourself, you may take too long to make a critical decision. What's good is that you are questioning on the ground, and at the very least, you should address that with your S&TA. Blue Skyz, Princess Squiffy