When Fun turns to Fear on TLC

[Jimbo 0]

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If it was a total mal - (nothing out) then why pull the main? Not just that...but if the JM saw him pull the cutaway and KNEW that the main was going to release, why not just go for the reserve and skip the main ?

After the reserve is out the container will change its shape and it's possible for the main to wiggle out regardless of pin placement. Do you want a bag, lines, risers and possibly even main floating around after the reserve has already inflated? Get rid of the main and all that goes with it and you eliminate another possible problem.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[johnny1488 1]

here is my letter if anyone cares to see how pissed I was

I am writing about the episode of "When Fun turns to Fear" that I just watched. I am a somewhat expierenced skydiver with 330 jumps to my credit and I was shocked at how you described the sport of skydiving and scotts accident. From the video it is clear that everything that happened wrong on that jump stemmed from scott pulling the wrong handle to begin the opening sequence. He pulls the cutaway handle that releases the main chute in case of a malfunction even with the instructors handle pulling him towards the main handle. After the chute deploys and releases he abandonds his training and begins to think about dying as he puts it. Every other sentence out of the instructors mouth in the begining of a first jump course is about the danger and making sure the person knows what they are getting into. That they are there to skydive not to go on a rollercoaster. He talks as if he had no idea anything could go wrong yet he said he had done 5 static line jumps previously. The powerline incedent was his own error also. You are also told repeatedly that the radio is a backup only and it should not be relied on at all! He said people rarely survive parachute malfunctions? Thats an out and out lie. Most people in the sport today that get hurt or killed do so with fully functioning parachutes over their heads. I wonder if he saved his own life as he so boldly put it or if the AAD (automatic activation device) that opens your reserve should you fail to do so did. Did he even pay attention diring his 2 first jump courses and the training he recieved on the previous 5 jumps or did he just daydream of the next adreniline rush? He says there should be stricter rules on how we are regulated? I think there should be an aptitude test to see a person is mentally ready to get involved in our sport. The equipment he used functioned perfectly. The only malfunction was his own. If you run a red light in your car and crash into traffic you dont say you had a brake malfunction. It was strictly pilot/driver error. I was at the Ranch in New York when you sent Ice T to tape an episode of Beyond Tough for your network. It apears our sport isn't to reckless and dangerous for you to try and sell some advertising spots so you can line your pockets and give the general public misconceptions about a sport that so many of us take part in and arrive home without a scratch. If you are going to show our sport on your network do so accomponied with the truth not some sensationalist lies of death plunges, equipment malfuntions and improper training and regulations.

John Kieran
USPA member # 166354
D license holder 24353

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[Jimbo 0]

Rule number one about writing letters to the media, calm down first.

Ugh.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[quatorze 1]

Did anyone catch the "You Gotta See This" episode in which they showed a video of a guy "freaking out" he was "scared and looked to one jumpmaster for help, and then the other and neither were helping." Through out the skydive the jumper reaches for his "rip cord" again and again but to no avail. Finally at about 5500ft the sky diver finds the "ripcord and deploys his parachute"

Does any one know what this was???? AFF level 1, and the TV show made it seem like he was in a terrible situation and his JM's were unconcerned about his welfare.
The vid goes on to show the student realizing he was going to land off and instead off walking back he chopped his main really low...like 300 ft kind of low, dude has a horse shoe stuck some where...walked/limped away with something like a broke ankle. Now which part of the video would have been the really scary part?

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[billvon 3,111]

>If it was a total mal - (nothing out) then why pull the main?

It was not a total mal. Nothing had been pulled but the cutaway handle.

> Not just that...but if the JM saw him pull the cutaway and KNEW that
> the main was going to release, why not just go for the reserve and
> skip the main ?

Because the proper response by the student to getting to pull altitude is to pull the main ripcord. If he decides to do that just after the main side JM pulls the reserve handle, then he will have two out - a worse situation than having just a reserve out.

>And, it appears that there was no RSL, and I would assume that the
> JM knew this, so why did he go for the main?

He had an RSL; the release tab snagged the riser and disconnected itself. This is visible in the video (if this is the same incident, that is.)

[hooked 0]

I just watched this show and I have a question.....I hope it isn't a stupid question, but then how will I learn if I don't ask, right? After this guy's chute released, it seemed as though he spent a lot of time in an unstable position before he could pull his reserve. If he had "arched" sooner instead of 'flailing around', would that have put him stable and then able to pull the reserve sooner?

J

--------------------------------------
Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

[billvon 3,111]

>here is my letter if anyone cares to see how pissed I was . . .

I have a feeling they get a lot of letters like this, and file them all in the same place. Rants don't usually get read.

[billvon 3,111]

> If he had "arched" sooner instead of 'flailing around', would that
>have put him stable and then able to pull the reserve sooner?

You do not need to be stable to be able to pull your reserve handle. As is taught in most FJC's, you should never trade altitude for stability - although being stable certainly is a good idea.

[hooked 0]

I guess what I meant to ask is, if you arch will it put you belly to earth? Or is it hard to get into an arch under those circumstances?

J

--------------------------------------
Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

[quatorze 1]

If you have the altitude...it has been my experience that a good hard arch will fix almost any thing body position wise...there is also the "get out of bed" roll

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[wlie 0]

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It was just on again on the east coast. I guess he took all of his jump money & cashed it in for a porche...

Looks like he's in your neighborhood? Maybe he can take you to the DZ.

My other ride is the relative wind.

[wlie 0]

I'm pretty sure President Bush Sr. did that, but I may be wrong. Yuare absoltely right about Richard Branson though; there's a scene in "Freefall Extreme" (Dicovery Channel) with him doing that.

My other ride is the relative wind.

[wlie 0]

I saw it like about 2 hours ago. I couldn't beleive that jackass calls for more federal regulation for the sport. The gov't should regulate his arrogance.

My other ride is the relative wind.

[Michele 1]

And my letter to them this morning...
************
Dear Sirs:

Recently, I have noticed that your programming has included skydiving and skydiving accidents/success stories. While I may not agree with most of it (i.e. the "Fun/Fear" episode...too many problems with that jumper to detail), I do appreciate your interest in getting information out there. As a skydiver, I see many things in the media which are inaccurate, and it saddens me.

As you are in the "documentary/educational" aspect rather than the "news" aspect of the media, I thought I would mention that there is a huge event happening in the near future which you may be interested in filming, documenting and airing...and yes, of course it's on skydiving!

In early October, "Jump For The Cause" will occur. This is a skydiving
fundraiser to raise money to research a cure for breast cancer, and it is a
week long event which will culminate in a Woman's World's Record attempt of 140+ women in the air, designing and performing a formation (all connected in one way or another to each other). All the participants are exceptional, world class jumpers, and this record is a difficult goal - but for a great cause. This year's recipient of funds raised is The City of Hope.

Not only have these participants demonstrated great skill and dedication, they will be coming from all over the world from all walks of life, and have raised significant money for JFTC. They are coming together for a common goal - to raise money to research a cure for breast cancer. Skydiving is exhilarating, and to do it in conjunction with raising money for Jump For The Cause is an amazing way to contribute, don't you think?

If you are interested in seeing what skydiving really is, rather than various death plunges (which makes for great tv but are not terribly accurate), please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be able to put you in touch with the right people for more information on JFTC, and skydiving in general.

I do appreciate your interest in this, and hope you have a great day!

Best regards,
Michele Lesser
********************

Doubt I'll hear from them, but it was worth a try!

Ciels and Pinks-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Now there is a letter.......hopefully you will hear back form them.

I hereby appoint you........dz.com official skydive ambassador

[kingbunky 3]

eloquent as usual!

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[FallinWoman 1]

Michele,
Nicely done and a fabulous idea....I hope someone takes you up on that offer.

Anne

~Anne

I'm a Doll!!!!

[Sebazz1 2]

I f someone esle responded with this info sorry:

I saw that TLC episode last night. I remember that video from the AFF instructor course. Basicaly all their reasons for what went wrong where to say the least... Wrong

Ther student pulled his cutaway at pull time. The JM imediately pulled his main rip cord. The RSL broke. The student kept looking for his cutaway handle before pulling the reserve handle. The JM has able to tap his own reserve handle while pursuing the student. He (the student) finally realized he had no cutaway and pulled his reserve. The RSL broke The JM's did the right thing for the most part except for chasing down the student so low. Then the part about where he ran into the power lines? Human error there. And the student blamed the JM's for talking him into the power lines. The first rule of obstacles is to avoid......

It was so frustrating to hear the reasons the show was giving for the problems he had. They where so bogus I kind of blanked it out. Oh well.

[jraf 0]

Well I definitely did. Plunge my ass, I say. Here's what I sent them:
Dear Sirs:
In your episode describing an interesting sky diving incident, you describe the skydivers malfunction as a plunge to death. I would like to share an experience, and perhaps enlighten you as to the plunges skydivers experience every time they exit a plane.
Skydiving is a very precise and elegant sport. It requires inteligence and reflexes. It has it's motions, which if ignored may lead to fatalities. It is not unlike diving, where you have an spare mouthpiece in case the main one malfunctions. If you obey the reality of skydiving you can expect a long and most satisfying participation in this wonderful sport. It is a sport where you do not have to quit at a certain age. I have many times seen fellow skydivers, who reached their 75 year, participate and excell in formation jumps. Their freedom and grace in the sky helped them forget of their age. Their experience is a shining example for their younger collegues.
Regulation will not solve anything in skydiving. Communism has regulated the lives of millions for years, yet we were lucky to experience it's demise. Skydiving is not about regulation. It is about friendship and cameraderie. It is about caring for each other. That is how we stay safe, that is how we make sure that others are safe too.
Sincerely,
J. Raf Saykiewicz
USPA member 180349
A-41328

jraf

Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui.
Muff #3275

[jimmytavino 16]

I did happen to see the show, and was a bit upset by the lack of the proper explanation for what happened,,, namely a semi-competent student,
who certainly pulled the WRONG handle, then continued his poor performance, by losing altitude awareness, and failing to pull his reserve. I
believe that this was an AOD save,,, but THAT was never conclusively pointed out....maybe the AFF instructor and video person took it a little too low,
but the instructor was valiant in his effort, and the video was pretty good as well.....Now Porsche Boy
who is finally under an open canopy, further demonstrates his ineptitude, by driving it into
a set of power lines..... Apparently some people don't listen during their instruction, and perhaps some people sign away their right to THINK when they fill out a waiver...As we see all to frequently,
our sport has again been maligned, by the media
and portrayed in a way which unfairly casts a negative light on it.........maybe it will encourage
those who "are afraid" of things,,,,,, to stay on the ground...
"I have a fear of....... People who have a fear of heights"...may they remain glued to this planet
for the entirety of their lives...........

[christoofar 0]

The media will always portray skydiving as a "renegade" sport that only freaks and junkies engage in. The folks producing the clips are whuffos themselves. Let whuffos talk to other whuffos, they're not going to influence USPA or the FFA.

At least for the skydiving community, a big bonus gained from the local media was in Rantoul, where it counts. They were very good during WFFC and gave an accurate depiction of skydiving's good and bad sides. The good reporting in Rantoul also turned the locals there to our side and got a positive reaction, despite the fact that we were contantly running planes over their houses and causing noise pollution.

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

[freeflir29 0]

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The media will always portray skydiving as a "renegade" sport that only freaks and junkies engage in

Uuummm...yeah man...I can Uhhh...quit anytime I want. Yeah....sure I can...anytime.... I mean...I don't need it....I just Uuuhhh .....like it....yeah...that's it....