tombuch

It's apparent that in the photo in the ad the tail is much lower than it should have been. The pilot is responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft, including proper configuration. Heck, you don't need to go much further than FAR §91.113 which says: "No person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another." We can go on to look at §91.15, which says: "No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property." Allowing an exit with the tail low could certainly endanger the jumper, any jumpers remaining in the aircraft, and anybody on the ground that might be injured by an aircraft with structural damage. It's just not safe. Configuring the aircraft to reduce the likelihood of a tail strike is a necessary and reasonable precaution. There is simply no excuse not to do so. RiggerPaul, you can search for justification, but there isn't any. USPA is absolutely correct that the pilot is responsible for providing a properly configured aircraft for every exit. And they should say so publicly, and often. There may be a time when it is appropriate to configure or fly the aircraft differently, but those cases are rare, and should be carefully coordinated between a very experienced jumper and pilot, and additional precautions should be taken to avoid creating a hazard. I'm thinking of some unusual stunt jumps, and not a regular drop zone event. Applying this approach to a conventional commercial operation is just wrong, and especially so when other jumpers may be in the aircraft. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I've never heard of that kind of promotion, but it sounds like a great idea. Offering free rentals on Friday gets beginners out to the DZ just as the weekend is starting, and makes it easier to keep them involved. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I double that vote. I'd also show the client the old part without laying blame, but point out it was time for a replacement part. Owners should understand the benefits of an inspection by a quality rigger. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I've probably only seen it a couple of times, at most. It's never happened to me in more than a thousand tandems, and shouldn't happen at all. If a TI teaches well and controls his student the risk can be brought close to zero. Not giving the student access to the handles at all is the lazy persons way out. Learning to teach and fly, and learning to respect the customer as a student, takes a bit more effort but is well worth it. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Not a terrible story for a local TV station. I loved this quote: "He has done a lot of jumps. He has been jumping for a year and he said this was his 26th." Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

This is the way I look at it too. I've seen some good tandem operations, and some really bad ones. Culture is the distinguishing difference. When an accident like this happens I wonder if it was a one time mistake, or a consistent failure over time. That the harness was put on by one instructor without being properly adjusted, and then not fully adjusted by the jumping TI is deeply troubling. That nobody else saw it and mentioned the problem to the jumping TI (other TI's or cameraperson perhaps) is especially troubling. We should all be looking out for each other, and shouldn't tolerate problems like this. I've been at other drop zones where similar problems happened, and even remember a TI that didn't use his own chest strap because he thought it wasn't necessary and wasted time getting the gear on and off (shaving seconds for quick turn-arounds). And there was another TI who didn't bother with the back strap, pretty much for the same reason. The other TI's and management at the DZ were fine with it too. None of this should be tolerated. We all know the rules and manufacturer policies, and should insist on nothing but the best and safest instruction. Always. When an accident happens, we should all feel a bit of shame, and question what we can do to improve procedures. Culture matters. It really does. I wrote about drop zone culture when I was S&TA at The Ranch. The article is still on their web site at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. It's listed as Article 17, A Safety Culture. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

The Google Books page for "JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy" includes a chapter list and text just above the cover photo. see: http://books.google.com/books?id=1VXVMR3OVF0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I'm glad it worked out well. Horses can be spooked by people approaching from the sky...it's new to them, and they could be (have been) injured running from the perceived danger. When I need to land in a horse field I try to make noise to attract their attention when I'm pretty high up so they can figure out what's going on long in advance, then I try to land as far from them as I can, without putting myself at risk. When I was S&TA at The Ranch we did an accident survey and discovered that a disproportionate number of our injuries were from off-field landings. We spent some effort on remedial training, and it made a difference in our accident statistics the next season. I wrote a feature on the S&TA area of our web site that addressed some of the causes, risks, and strategies for dealing with off field landings. It's still available at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php, and is listed as "Article 16, Survival Strategies, Off Field Landings." Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

That's exactly what I was thinking. The simple answer for him is: "Don't fight it, fly it." Flying is safer, looks better on video, and it's even easier. Crap, it takes way to much energy to grab a student and fight so aggressively to try and get stable. Just flying your own body is way easier, and much more effective. Heck, it's even more fun! That should be a simple retrain, and with appropriate oversight should get him flying safer and smiling in just a couple dozen jumps. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Yes. Absolutely. The Tandem Instructor can keep track of anybody that gets out before her, but has no control over what happens after she exits. If you put the slug parachutes and higher opening out before the tandem, the TI simply deals with it by allowing separation, and possibly opening higher, then watching for canopy traffic. That's easy for an experienced instructor to do. The alternative is to put the inexperienced jumpers out after the tandem and hope that they really wait 10 seconds, don't slide all over the sky, are aware of where the tandem is, and aware that the tandem might open higher or lower than planned, and aware that the tandem might have a problem with the drogue and may need to open quickly. That's expecting way too much from an untrained and potentially inexperienced jumper. A tandem pair is a target with no ability to get out of the way. There should be nobody and nothing following that could in any way jeopardize the student safety. The instructor has more than enough to keep track of without wondering what's overhead. That the new tandem instructor in this thread allowed an inexperienced jumper to exit after her raises a red flag even before the freefall problems. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

It sounds like a serious issue. I would start with a conversation with the TI immediately after a bad jump. You could approach him and ask "what happened with that exit," while expressing concern about his overall ability to manage the initial part of the jump. He may not know what he's doing is perceived as an issue. That you fly with other TI's is an advantage because you can clue him into how they handle similar jumps. It's also pretty easy to say something like "When I'm shooting your exits I have to work like heck to fly relative, but that's not true with (list a good TI or two), and offer to show him video, or suggest he chat with those other TI's about the issue. Be positive about the feedback and gauge his reaction. If he accepts the feedback and you think he'll seek assistance to meet a higher standard, then great. Keep in mind that tandem jumping isn't cameraflying, and a TI is going to be more willing to accept feedback from another TI than a cameraperson (the same is true for AFF issues). You shouldn't try to teach him to do the exit, but rather illuminate the problem so he will want to seek assistance from an experienced TI or examiner. If talking to the instructor isn't working, you need to bring it to the DZO or S&TA, or perhaps the manufacturer (last). I'd chat with the S&TA or DZO, and if possible show them a compilation of videos, again focusing on the troubles and making it clear you don't see similar problems with other TI's, and that's why you are concerned. Another option is to show the videos to another TI that the problem TI trusts and respects...that's a voice he may be more willing to listen to. I used to be S&TA at a big DZ with more than a dozen TI's. We had a public viewing area where students would watch their videos after they landed. Occasionally somebody would tell me about a problem TI, and I would then arrange to be nearby the public screens so I could "stumble upon" the problem myself. Likewise we often had an examiner on the DZ so I'd ask him to walk by the video area and take a look at the screens with me. That way I protected the cameraperson from being a snitch. Once I had seen he issue on a public screen it was easy to approach the TI and talk about the specific video I happened to see, and explain that I had been hearing about the issue elsewhere, then offer improvement feedback. There were also a few times where a video person showed me a tape of a problem instructor in the video room, and as soon as the concern was out in the open (still in the privacy of the video production room) the other cameraflyers joined in. It's important that you share the concern with somebody who can fix the problem, and perhaps it would help you if you first discuss it with a couple of other camera people to see if they are experiencing the same thing...there is power in numbers. Finally, you have an obligation to future students and to the sport, to help correct the issue. And you have an obligation to yourself. It really sucks when there is an accident and you knew about the problem well in advance but didn't take action to fix it. Doing the right thing is sometimes hard, but you will sleep better, and as you age you will look back at those challenge points and appreciate how important they were. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

It's a UK magazine, so as long as they are dealing with European airspace and registration the FAR's do not apply. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

When I was the Safety and Training Adviser at The Ranch (New York) I gave that lecture a few times, and prepared a posting for the S&TA part of our web site. Those written posts became my "seminar in a box" outline so I could deliver the content of a variety of topics easily when we hit weather holds, or when jumpers were looking for safety discussions. I gave up the S&TA position a few years ago, but the posts are still available at: http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. The one you are looking for is called "Article 17, A Safety Culture." It doesn't use actual incidents as examples, but rather focuses on a hypothetical where the elements are more obvious. I could then relate the material to specific accidents I had investigated on the DZ. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I'm fine with it, as long as USPA checks the company out to be sure it's on the level. In this case I called to get a quote and was troubled by all the questions. The information mining went on way to long, so I gave up. An insurance quote needs to be based on your driving history, and to some degree your credit history, but this interview dug into many other details of my life. I finally had it when they wanted detail about everybody else living in my shared house. Enough is enough. It's a rotten company that seems more interested in developing a data file than selling insurance, and I encourage folks to ignore the ad. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

You're right, he was obviously fishing and not looking for a thoughtful response. But this site boasts 375,000 monthly visits, and I'm betting most of those folks are looking for thoughtful responses. When I respond to a post here I try to think of everybody that will be reading the thread, and not just the original poster. I think you understand and embrace that approach. Using the original post as a 'jumping off' point makes the site more friendly, and more useful to more people. Thus, when I answer a post by a skydiver I assume a lawyer will probably read it too, and when I answer a post by a lawyer I'm betting skydivers will also be interested. I try to remind myself that lawyers are not always the enemy. Thoughtful lawyers will take the information they find here and use it to help determine if their client has truly been wronged, or if instead that client needs to be let down gently with a dispassioned explanation of why further action is not appropriate. You obviously understand that, and your voice here is certainly helpful. And now I'll step further into the issue and wonder (then answer) why on earth a student would think it appropriate to seek legal help for a broken leg, and what we can do to reduce those kinds of actions. First, obliviously (I hope) is for us to run professional operations that are obviously student centered, and to build a solid reputation for following rules and acting responsibly. Second is to have a solid waiver, drafted by a friendly lawyer, that will help the student (and the student's lawyer) understand the sharing of risk. Third, we need to show empathy when accidents happen. Fourth, our businesses should be covered by legal protection of our own, so that we have the resources to fight a claim against us, and so that an injured party knows we will not surrender our wallets easily. (see http://www.sportsinsurance.com/) And fifth, we need to understand that in addition to pain and suffering that can't be prevented, when an accident happens it can cost the injured person significant money, and can take him out of the labor market for an extended period of time. Those students with quality health insurance will be less likely to seek legal help because the financial harms are more manageable. Students without medical insurance may soon reach the end of their rope, and feel they have no choice but to seek financial support wherever it can be found. At one point USPA offered a third party short term medical policy for our students, and I'm not sure if it still exists. But in any event, when people are reasonably sure their medical and financial needs will be tended to, they will be less likely to sue the drop zone or other entities, regardless of what might have caused the injury. That's my pitch for a universal form of health insurance that would provide substantial societal benefits to us all. We don't often think of the liability impact the uninsured have on our businesses and recreational avocations, but we should, and we should understand that in many ways our propensity for litigation is driven by factors well within our control as individuals, and as a society. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Gosh, what negativity. The original poster may be a lawyer, but so what? The question is a good one that we often hash out on the DZ, and in my opinion it comes down to relative assignment of responsibility. One camp believes the student signs a waiver and should be completely and solely responsible for his own safety. The other camp believes the instructor has an absolute duty to protect the student from injury. And of course there are some people who slip someplace in the middle. That’s my world. I believe the instructor has an obligation to provide thorough training and practice, and to apply his best efforts to keep the jump safe and prevent injury. That means assessing the physical abilities of the student, a complete pre-flight briefing, a proper fitting harness, assuring appropriate weather conditions, plenty of student practice lifting the legs under canopy, a stabilized approach, appropriate generation of lift on landing, and clear commands to lift the legs. Even with all that, the student can still get hurt, but if the instructor takes his time and provides adequate support the probability of injury will be reduced. The student does need to understand that injuries can happen, even under the best of conditions, but the student isn’t an expert, and is not capable of assessing the training or providing a complete informed consent. That’s why it is so important for the instructor to follow industry standards and do everything possible to prevent injuries. I’ve found that adequate training makes a huge difference, and that spending time under canopy practicing the landing is critical. That’s all under the instructor’s control, and not under the control of the student. Sure, I’ve had student’s that did everything right in the air and then spazed out on the landing, but even there, if the approach is well flown the instructor can often roll the student through the butt slide and minimize the probability of injury. It’s not guaranteed to work, but it’s a safe bet that an inattentive or casual instructor is far more likely to cause a student injury, and that’s just not tolerable. So, to answer the question about who is responsible, I’d look at the training and the way the instructor conducted the jump. If the instructor made a significant effort to do everything right, he shouldn’t be held responsible, but if the instructor was slacking off, then the blame rests on his shoulders. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Not true. It is a civil violation of the FAA regulations that can result in enforcement action against the jumper and pilot. The jumper can be fined by the FAA and any certificates he has can be revoked (as well as the pilots). There have also been cases where local police have brought criminal charges like reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct against the jumper. And, if you don't have permission of the landowner, you could also get hit with a trespass charge. For more about FAA authority and regulations, see an article I wrote for The Ranch web site when I was S&TA several years ago. It is "Article 13, FAA Regulations Applied" at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I did one of those many years ago. We started walking the load to the Otter a bit early, but the guy "couldn't find his goggles," so we went back to get a new pair, which gave him a chance to quickly put a tuxedo on under his jumpsuit. The guy and women both made tandems, with the guy going first and opening lower, the women opened just a bit higher. That gave the guy time to get his jumpsuit off right after landing, and be on one knee with the ring when his girl frield landed. It was terrific. The women landed and was so lost in her own world that for about 30 seconds she couldn't make sense of the guy on his knee with an engagement. Then she said yes and started crying. It was very cool. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

None of those questions bother me. I've been jumping for 30 years, and have learned to expect the basic questions, and now I appreciate them as an opportunity to start a conversation and then drive it in the direction I want to go. If a whuffo asks a question, I view it as an opportunity to provide an education and win a new friend/supporter. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

The safer procedure in high winds is to stay on the ground. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I handle seasonal room retals in a ski town, and use Craigsliist all the time. I always expect to get an email like that soon after a post a rental listing. Usually it's from a humanitarian nurse who says she works with small children and the handicapped, and likes to spend quiet time at home without causing any troubles. She is taking a new job and wants to rent the room so she has a place to stay when she arrives in this country. And we need to move quickly because she is anxious to come to America, and just needs the housing sorted out before her already scheduled flight departs. The scam is always the same...her employer (or family member) is ready to send me a check for the rental, sight unseen, and will also include the airfare and a healthy commission. All I need to do is keep the commission and wire the airfare to the humanitarian nurse. It's pretty comical, but there must be some level of success or it wouldn't be such a common and predictable scam. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Bill is right on the money. My lowest BASE jump was 279 feet, and there isn't any time to think at all. Just do your thing, fast. Toggles get released, parachute turns to landing, go full flight for some speed, then flare. It's all over super quick. If you are an experienced jumper opening that low on a normal skydive you will probably be able to pull it off, but coming out of a spin or instability, not much chance. I've watched enough parachutes open at super low altitudes on the DZ, and it's usually a crap shoot whether they walkaway or not. All luck. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Thanks for the kind words about JUMP!. I just checked the Google Books page and had no trouble with IE 8.0.6001, Safari 4.0.3, and FireFox 3.5.3. I didn't have a chance to check Chrome, but I would have expected a Google product could access a Google product, umm, or perhaps not. There may be some glitches with the technology, so I suppose it's worth having a variety of browsers available. Happy reading to all... Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Doesn’t 2003 seem like a long time ago? That was the year my book JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy was published by McGraw-Hill. JUMP! went through two printings, but was finally taken out of print a bit over a year ago, and hasn’t been available for a while. Of course there may still be a few new copies on retailers shelves, and it can be purchased through Amazon as a used book or as a download for their Kindle device. Google Books is cataloging printed material with the hope of making every book ever published available to the public, including those that are out of print. JUMP! has been scanned and is now on the Google Books site as a limited (free) preview. For anybody interested, the book can be viewed at http://books.google.com/books?id=1VXVMR3OVF0C&pg=PP1&dq=jump+skydiving+made+fun+and+easy&ei=heTJSsiBMaPsMK62vb0M#v=onepage&q=&f=false. The main page of the listing has a large image of the cover, and just above that is a dropdown menu of chapters. Each chapter is available in its entirety, although there appears to be a limit to how many pages can be viewed at a time. Lots of new jumpers come to Dropzone.com looking for answers to common questions, many of which are included in JUMP!. The book has a terrific chapter on Psychology that helps beginners learn to relax and use their stress in a positive way. There is a chapter about Risk that includes detailed statistics that were current when the book was published in 2003. And there is a chapter called “Making Your Decision” that helps a prospective student figure out how to choose a drop zone, and includes a series of questions and evaluation points. If you are not familiar with JUMP! it would be worth checking out the contents, and if you encounter beginners are asking questions that are answered in the book, the above link (or a direct link to the online chapter) would probably help them out. I’ve asked Google Books to open the title to full search and download, but that probably won’t happen for several months or longer. In the meantime, enjoy the free access. If there are other books that interest you, the main Google Books site can be reached at: http://books.google.com/books Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

It does seem pretty foolish, and it certainly appears that our government is a bit out of control. However, Plattsburgh is only about 25 miles from the Canadian boarder, and the feds are stupidly suspicious about everything. They probably thought it might be a terrorist attacking critical cornfield infrastructure, or an illegal alien plummeting to a low wage job. There is a lesson here for us all. Police and other authority figures react to anything unusual. If we are going to make demo jumps, or jump off the drop zone, it's usually worth a quick courtesy call to the police, if only to keep them out of our hair. The days of barnstorming freedom are over,sadly. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy