AFF student without helmet

[Deyan 36]

Is that normal?
http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=6369&string=veronica

Every jump master which I know,said NO.Only this one said YES

"My belief is that once the doctor whacks you on the butt, all guarantees are off" Jerry Baumchen

[diablopilot 2]

No helmet and in street clothes? Not the norm, that's for sure, and I'd never allow it with a student of mine.

However something is telling me that was no "student".

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[JohanW 0]

What made you think it's not a student? (Apart from the clothes, that is.)

Johan.
I am. I think.

[tombuch 0]

I didn't bother watching the video, 'cause I don't have a password, but based on the description as a student, it's not normal, and in the United States it is a violation of USPA BSR 2-1 (K)(2)(a) which says:

All students are to be equipped with the following equipment until they have obtained a USPA A licence:
(a) a ridged helmet (Except tandem students).

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[labrys 0]

It's not video from the US in this case.

Owned by Remi #?

[tombuch 0]

So now I have watched the video, and the flight performance certainly makes it look like a student skydive in another country (Bulgaria). The absence of a helmet is a significant safety concern for several reasons.

First, the jumper appears to be a student flying with a camera equipped instructor. If the jumper became unstable the instructor might need to do an aggressive dock, and in that case BOTH participants should have helmets to reduce the injury potential. Plus, if the student (or instructor) do not have helmets, the instructor may well become more tentative on his dock, which could become another problem.

Second, and more important, the students freefall ability is somewhat limited, and I would expect the associated canopy control would also be limited. A helmet would absolutely help in the case of a hard landing, which is a more likely result with an inexperienced jumper.

It just doesn't make sense to let somebody of this experience level jump without a helmet. When I make those kinds of decisions as an instructor I assume the worst, and then ask myself if I could defend the decision to the injured jumper, family survivors following a fatality, or a jury in a court of law.

There is a huge downside here, and simply no upside.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy