1 Matches (out of a total of 833 incidents)
  1. Date Location Category Age # Jumps AAD?/RSL? Dropzone.com Report Dropzone.com Discussion
    31/12/2003 Gold Cost Skydivers, MS LOWT,EXC 34 1334 ?/?    
    Description: This experienced, respected skydiver and drop zone staff member was attempting a high-performance landing at night. He miscalculated and hit the ground at high speed, suffering a severe head trauma. He was rushed to hospital where he died from his injuries a short time later.
    Lessons:A high-performance landing under an extreme wing loading is difficult at the best of times. Attempting the same at night with less visual reference greatly increases the risk.
    USPA Description: After an uneventful exit and initial canopy descent from 4,000 feet during a night jump, this jumper initiated a 180-degree turn at a low altitude and struck the ground hard while the canopy was still in a dive. He received immediate medical attention, but he died from the hard impact and the resulting head injuries.
    USPA Conclusions:The jump was made using a high-performance cross-braced canopy at a wing loading estimated to be 2.1:1. At 1,334 total jumps, this jumper had made a very aggressive choice for canopy design and wing loading, particularly for a night jump. His experience under this canopy was not reported.

    The jump took place late in the evening during a drop zone celebration of a major holiday. Toxicology reports indicated he was drunk and under the influence of cocaine. His blood-alcohol level was .30 percent, which is nearly four times the .08 legal limit to operate a motor vehicle in most states. As a result of this incident, USPA expelled the USPA-member pilot of the plane and another senior jumper who participated in the jump and disciplined less harshly the other jumpers on board the aircraft. All were determined to have knowledge of the intoxicated condition of the jumper who was killed.

    Obviously, drugs and alcohol adversely affect overall awareness, judgment and motor skills and have no place in skydiving, much less the highly technical skill of making a high-performance landing at night under a heavily loaded competition-model canopy. Alcohol can also interact with other drugs with unpredictable results. Judging distances at night while in freefall and under canopy can be difficult and requires a clear mind and the ability to concentrate on the task. Federal Aviation Regulation 105.7—and, therefore, SIM Section 2-1.B.1 (BSRs)—prohibits jumping under the influence of alcohol or drugs. FAR 91.17 prohibits a pilot from carrying a person who appears to be intoxicated.

    The jumper was not wearing a helmet, which might have reduced the severity of his head injury; however, he was reported to have struck the ground so hard that it may not have mattered.

    Ultimately, all turns must be completed with enough altitude for the canopy to return to straight and level flight for the landing flare.