WFFC Accident

[Lindsey 0]

Well...I also heard that john is kinda' a ditz....lol...so ya' gotta take what he says with a grain of salt....j/k (that's just kidding, not john kallend).

Peas!
Lindsey

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[WFFC 1]

Quote

The people at the convention will post what they know when they know it. Too many rumors go around at every convention.

Chris-
Thanx...I try to keep everything up as best I can but I'm also here at the convention to have fun. In some cases, the only thing I know is what you'll read in the papers...

Bluez~~~
Michael
Webmaster

Michael@Freefall.com

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~~~Michael

[quade 4]

WFFC Swoop Pond Accident

Story HERE

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Urbana sky diver dies in fall


By TIM MITCHELL
© 2002 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online August 5, 2002



RANTOUL – The World Free Fall Convention claimed its second victim Sunday when an Urbana sky diver was killed while making a landing.

Walter "Skip" Hublein, 45, of 2408 Somerset Drive, U, was pronounced dead at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, at 9:13 p.m., according to Champaign County Coroner Roger Swaney.

Mr. Hublein was jumping in one of the last jumps of the day when he landed in an artificial swoop pond built at the Rantoul Airport, Swaney said. The coroner said Hublein's parachute was working at the time.

According to a Rantoul police report, an ambulance was called at 8:12 p.m. Mr. Hublein was pulled out of the water by bystanders, cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed, and he was taken by ambulance to Carle at 8:42 p.m.

Rantoul Police Chief Paul Dollins said a police officer was approached by a man riding a four-wheeled vehicle that an ambulance was needed at the swoop pond for a sky diver who had crashed, and the officer dispatched the ambulance to the scene.

When the police officer arrived at the scene, he saw three men pulling an unconscious man from the water, Dollins said.

"We have three witnesses who told us the man was trying to maneuver into the swoop pond," Dollins said. "As everybody knows, people who are sky diving and want to do the swoop pond thing usually do a maneuver to give them more speed coming down."

Dollins said Mr. Hublein's parachute was open as he attempted his landing.

"One witness said he observed the sky diver come down with the chute open," Dollins said. "It appeared the sky diver was going over the pond, and the landing would be normal. At the last moment, he banked to the left and struck the pond with the side of his body. He was apparently unable to pull out of the maneuver prior to hitting the water."

Swaney said the death is still being investigated.

He said an autopsy will be performed, toxicology studies will be done, and an inquest will be scheduled.

On Friday, Timothy Kalendek, 32, of Joppa, Md., was killed while videotaping a friend's sky-diving adventure. He got too close to a helicopter when it was taking off and was hit by the helicopter's rotor blades.

According to witnesses, Mr. Kalendek stepped out of an adjacent cornfield into the path of the helicopter as it was taking off.

The helicopter, one of several that takes sky divers up for jumps, was grounded for the duration of the investigation, according to convention spokeswoman Beth Mahlo.

About 11 sky-diving fatalities were associated with the free-fall convention during the 13 years it was held in Quincy, before moving to Rantoul this summer.

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quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

How very unfortunate. In retrospect, it may have been better last year when Reggie was charging $30 for the priveledge of swooping the pond during the convention. At least then, he had some oversite of who was coming over the top. There were still "bandit" jumpers swooping the pond, but the great majority of pond swoopers there were guys who were entering the PPPB meet at the end of the week. I know it's open season this time (no charge), so I am sure that there are more people giving it a try. I have no idea what the victim's swooping experience was, but I can tell you from a competitor's standpoint that swooping a pond, with no vertical visual references around is COMPLETELY different than swooping over land. It takes some time to acclimate to and plenty of very-experienced swoopers get wet working out that new sight picture.

BSBD
My condolences to the family.

Chuck

[chicagoskydiver 0]

Quote

The World Free Fall Convention claimed its second victim Sunday when an Urbana sky diver was killed while making a landing.

Excuse me? Victim? Meaning the convention victimized this jumper? I'm afraid not. I don't mean to be insensitive...it's a tragedy when something like this happens...but for the press to suggest it was anything other than the skydiver's mistake that did him in is ridiculous.

Hackey

[quade 4]

You may not like the choice of wording because of the connotations you've ascribed to it, but it is a proper use of the word.

Please see THIS. Specifically, definition number 4.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[chicagoskydiver 0]

The definition you referred to reads:

A person who suffers injury, loss, or death as a result of a voluntary undertaking: You are a victim of your own scheming.


I agree with that definition.....but under that definition he's a victim of his own poor judgement or lack of experience or whatever it was, not the convention. The convention doesn't have any "victims" under any definition.

Hackey

[quade 4]

Well, this -could- be an interesting lesson in thread-creep if we were to continue this debate, but overall I believe the article is well written and does not mislead anyone as to what happened.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[bbarnhouse 0]

Come on people! Rather than argue semantics, lets all take a moment of silence for our fallen brethren.
Furthermore, I would just as soon quit skydiving than lose compassion for my fellow man.
My deepest condolences to friends and family.

[chicagoskydiver 0]

I agree with you on the whole it's well written and sticks to the facts. I just didn't like the implication that this is somehow the convention's fault or that the convention itself causes fatalities. I can just see some whuffo reading that and saying "You see? Skydiving is crazy! It just claimed another victim! " In all fairness though, the facts were presented in a fair manner. I guess I'm a little hypersensitive because of all the bad press around here about what's going on at Skydive Chicago and all the misinformation and misconceptions that have come from it.

Hackey

[kallend 2,129]

Quote

Please, guys. No more rumors. The people at the convention will post what
they know when they know it.

Apparently they don't. Happened Sunday evening. Story came from the paper and it's not a rumor.

[quade 4]

Today's news from The News-Gazette.

Two skydiving stories.

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Neighbor says sky diver was veteran of sport


By TIM MITCHELL
© 2002 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online August 6, 2002



RANTOUL – Champaign County Deputy Coroner David Stinebaugh said an autopsy would be conducted today in Bloomington to determine the cause of death of an Urbana man who died at the World Free Fall Convention.

Walter "Skip" Hublein Jr., 45, of 2408 Somerset Drive, died during Sunday's final jump at the World Free Fall Convention in Rantoul.

One of Mr. Hublein's neighbors described the Urbana man as a kind gentleman who lived life to the fullest.

"He was a very energetic and very safety-conscious man," Mary Walker said. "Skip was a good person. He was kind to the people that he met, and he liked to do a lot of active activities."

Walker said Mr. Hublein was an experienced sky diver who had been jumping for many years.

"He really loved the sport and had jumped at several places around the Midwest," Walker said. "This was a shock for all of us. It was very unexpected."

Lee Wade, service manager at the Tires Plus store in Champaign that Mr. Hublein owned, said Mr. Hublein's widow, Susan, asked that the tire store's employees not comment on his life until after the autopsy is completed.

"We're kind of like a big family," Wade said.

According to a Rantoul police report, an ambulance was called to an artificial swoop pond built at the Rantoul Airport at 8:12 p.m.

Witnesses said Mr. Hublein's parachute was open as he attempted his landing, but he suddenly banked to the left just before the landing and struck the pond with the side of his body.

Rantoul Police Chief Paul Dollins said Mr. Hublein apparently was unable to pull out of the maneuver before he hit the water.

Three men carried the sky diver out of the pond, according to the police report, and Mr. Hublein was taken by ambulance to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where Champaign County Coroner Roger Swaney pronounced him dead at 9:13 p.m. Sunday.

Beth Mahlo, public relations director for the World Free Fall Convention, said the rest of the festival was continuing on schedule. Mahlo said the swoop pond remained open all day Monday, and she did not anticipate any changes to operating procedures as a result of the Urbana man's death.

"We're asking our sky divers to take the time to reflect on what could have happened to prevent this," Mahlo said. "One of the things that has made the sport of sky diving progressively safer over the years has been the examination of things that have happened."

While Mr. Hublein's death took place at sunset, Mahlo said, convention organizers do not intend to halt the jumps earlier in the evening.

"This is just like NASCAR or the Indy 500 or marathon running," Mahlo said. "We are all in sports that sometimes have accidents. The sport doesn't cease to exist. Sky divers are very much aware that this is a dangerous sport.

"I could sit in a closet and wait for death to come, and it would surely find me. Or I could go out, live life to the fullest, and death would still find me. I'd rather live life to the fullest. We will take the time to examine what happened and go on with it from there."

Steve Byrne, medical director for the World Free Fall Convention, said he was one of the people who ran to the scene after Mr. Hublein crashed into the pond.

"This kind of incident is the No. 1 type of accident to injure a parachutist," Byrne said. "The days in which a parachute did not open are gone. Parachutes are much more reliable now."

Sunday's death marked the second fatality at this year's World Free Fall Convention.

On Friday, Timothy Kalendek, 32, of Joppa, Md., was killed while videotaping a friend's sky-diving adventure. He got too close to a helicopter when it was taking off and was hit by the rotor blades.

According to witnesses, Mr. Kalendek stepped out of an adjacent cornfield into the path of the helicopter as it was taking off.

Rantoul Mayor Neal Williams said he was cutting short a vacation trip to Tennessee to meet with Dollins, Village Administrator Gary Adams and Rantoul Fire Chief Richard Quick to determine the village's response, if any, to the two fatalities.

"I don't know what we could have done to prevent these two tragedies," Williams said. "I would have thought that, after the first accident, people would be making more of an effort to put safety first."

Adams said he met Tuesday morning with representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, which is leaving the investigation to local authorities.

"It's a sad thing to happen," Adams said. "Sky diving is a dangerous sport, but we don't like to see things like this happen. Our biggest concern right now is the psychological impact of having people lose their lives here."

Apart from the two fatalities, Byrne said injuries have been "your typical scrapes and bruises."

Mahlo said convention organizers were offering condolences to Mr. Hublein's friends and family.

"The most important thing that we need to focus on right now is that there are people hurting over this, and we need to take care of them," she said.

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Accidents common at free-fall convention
By PAUL WOOD
News-Gazette Staff Writer

RANTOUL - In the 13 deaths that have occurred in the 13 years of the World Free Fall Convention, there have been almost that many ways to die.

Beth Mahlo, the event's publicity director, said there have been 11 deaths before this year. If anything, she's being too hard on the event, since one of those had nothing to do with sky diving, when 46-year-old Harold Fisher, of Toledo, Ohio, drowned in a 3-foot swimming pool in 1996.

With more than 8,000 jumps on the event's busiest days, many of the freak accidents appear to be just that. Last year, Mauricio Zorzan of Chestnut Hills, Mass., an experienced sky diver with more than 450 jumps to his credit, died when a tube of fabric - purely ornamental - became entangled in his parachute lines at Quincy Regional Airport.

Bob Gough is an assistant news editor at the Quincy Herald-Whig, which compiled a list of fatalities when the convention was held there.

He said that to sky divers, most of whom understand the dangers, a death a year doesn't seem extraordinary.

"If you're a member of that community, you think of it as a fact of life," he said.

Indeed, Champaign police officer Lisa Staples, who has logged hundreds of jumps, knows she could die. "But I'm never afraid," she said.

This year wasn't the first time a videographer died. On Aug. 6, 1996, James Hammock, 47, of Seguin, Texas, was filming four other sky divers when he collided with one, then crashed into the ground.

"Pilot error" at the convention means the jumper. Also on Aug. 6, this time in 1994, Doug Dekker, 38, of Sunnyvale, Calif., died a day after a sky-diving accident in which he had hooked his parachute on backward.

Though some sky divers said problems with parachutes rarely happen anymore, in 1998 Jerry Loftis, 29, of Modesto, Calif., died when his main parachute didn't open.

Proximity to other sky divers can be lethal. John Hastings, 37, of Park Ridge, collided with another diver in an attempted 36-person formation in 1993. Jay Zvorist, 36, of Los Angeles, and Mark Brengman, 25, of Fremont, Calif., fell 150 feet after their parachutes became entangled in 1986.

Other deaths:
1999: Jerry Carmicle, 39, of Carrollton, Texas, died after apparently hitting the ground too hard.

1997: Bob Surles, 58, of Pullman, Wash., died during surgery after he slammed into a camper-trailer.

1997: Luis E. Herrera, 27, of Mexico City, died during surgery after he broke both legs while trying to land near a highway.

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quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[quade 4]

Three stories today from The News-Gazette.

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Sky divers get thrill from bomber jumps


By JULIE WURTH
© 2002 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online August 7, 2002



RANTOUL – The belly of the B-17G Flying Fortress once carried live bombs, then water bombs to help fight forest fires.

This week, the World War II-era bomber is dropping human beings into the wild blue yonder at the World Free Fall Convention in Rantoul.

The B-17 flew into the former Chanute Air Force Base on Sunday evening, wowing spectators and sky divers alike with its tipped-wing salute and graceful landing. Its partner, the only restored B-24 bomber still flying, arrived later that night.

Almost immediately, divers began lining up for the chance to jump out of the bomb bays – and pay $350 for the privilege.

There's nothing like dropping straight down out of a plane's belly, said free-fall sky diver Don Kirlin, founder and organizer of the convention, who's jumped out of the B-17 eight times and the B-24 three times.

Normally, sky divers jump out the side of an airplane. In the bombers, they must straddle the frame atop the bomb bay – or even have just one foot perched on a metal bar, with the other dangling free – until the hatch opens to air below them.

"You bring your feet together, and go straight down. It's more exciting, which is the sky divers' word for scary," said Kirlin, who has 3,000 jumps under his belt.

"What we're looking to do is jump out of as many different aircraft as possible. This is one of the most unique airplanes in the world you can jump from," said Kirlin, a U.S. Air pilot whose hobby is collecting Soviet aircraft. He flew a Soviet jet fighter, an L-39 Albatross, to the convention in Rantoul.

The B-17 and the smaller but faster B-24 were the work horses of World War II, flying thousands of bombing missions over Europe, Africa and the Pacific. Of the 18,000 B-24s and 12,500 B-17s built, just one B-24 and eight B-17s remain flying, said co-pilot Fred Lewis. The rest were scrapped to make coffee pots, car bumpers and other metal-hungry products after the war.

The two bombers in Rantoul, restored and operated by the Collings Foundation in Stow, Mass., fly around the country from January to November each year visiting airports, air shows and other events.

"Every two days it's a different city," said Lewis, one of 14 pilots for the two planes. He volunteers to pilot the flying museums several weeks each year, during time off from his duties as chief flight engineer for the Air Force.

"I take my two daughters with me. This is how we do our vacations," said Lewis, who works at Scott Air Force Base near Belleville.

The girls like to sit up in the nose of the aircraft, where gunners sat 50 years ago.

"It's great. We get to learn a lot about these planes, and World War II," said 14-year-old Amanda Lewis.

Their father, whose love of piloting far exceeds his love of sky diving, has jumped out of the plane – once.

"It's a neat sensation," he said. "It's kind of a rush. You don't get the sensation of falling. Your knees definitely shake when the bomb bay doors open."

Inside, the restored B-17 looks ready for military duty. Ammunition belts hang from the 13 M2 50-inch Browning machine guns. Fiberglass bombs, replicas of the originals, are loaded in the bomb bays.

"It looks like they just came in from a mission," marveled Rantoul Fire Chief Richard Quick during a quick tour Sunday.

The tight quarters always surprise people, Lewis said, giving them new appreciation for the conditions under which World War II airmen operated.

The sky divers aren't the first people to drop out of the planes. Airmen who flew in the B-17s and B-24s during the war occasionally had to use bomb bays – "or any hole in the plane" – to escape when their aircraft were shot out of the sky, Lewis said.

Kirlin said he was the first person in 51 years to jump out of the Collings B-24 a few years ago. "The last time it was on fire because of the war," he said.

Sky divers Jim Wright of Michigan and David Bourne of Utah are awed by the bombers, but the price of the jump deterred them from going up.

Even if they did, they'd rather ride the plane down, to savor the experience.

"It's romance when they fly over," Bourne said.
After several days at the convention, the planes were to head to the Danville Airport today, where they will be available for tours and flights.

Tours cost $7 for adults and $3 for children, and the flights cost $350. All proceeds go toward the planes' restoration and $2,000 per hour operating costs, Lewis said. Tickets are tax-deductible.

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After many years, bombers restored to original glory


RANTOUL - Built in 1944, the world's only fully restored B-24 Liberator was first used by the British Royal Air Force for bombing missions in the Pacific.

After World War II ended, it was abandoned in a bomber graveyard in Khanpur, India, and didn't fly again until 1948, when it was one of 36 B-24s restored by the Indian air force. After 20 years of service, it was retired in 1968.

In 1981, a British aircraft collector bought it, disassembled it and flew it back to England. He sold it to Robert Collings in Stow, Mass., in 1984. Collings originally intended to restore the plane for display only, but a group of former B-24 crew members convinced him to return it to flying status so that millions could see it nationwide.

Preliminary repairs began in 1985 by volunteers, almost all of them associated with B-24s in World War II. The more extensive restoration was then coordinated by Tom Reilly Vintage Aircraft Inc. in Kissimmee, Fla.

Companies across the country donated pulleys, cables, hardware, electronics, batteries and radio equipment. Twenty percent of the plane's skin had to be replaced. But all four engines and all four propellers were overhauled, despite 20 years of inactivity.

About 97,000 man-hours were spent on the restoration, at a cost of $1.3 million - a third covered by donations and the rest by loans from the Collings Foundation.

The silver Collings B-24 was named "All American" in honor of a 15th Air Force B-24 with the same name in World War II, which set a record when its gunners shot down 14 enemy fighters in a single raid over Germany in July 1944. The plane was lost later that year when it was shot down over Yugoslavia.

The Collings B-17 Flying Fortress now in Rantoul was named "Nine-O-Nine" in honor of a 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Squadron plane of the same name that completed 140 missions in Europe without an abort or loss of a single crewman.

It was built in Long Beach, Calif., by Douglas Aircraft Co. and accepted into service on April 7, 1945. Though too late for combat, the plane served as part of the Air/Sea 1st Rescue Squadron and later in the Military Air Transport Service.

It was then subjected to the effects of 13 different nuclear explosions, and later sold as part of a scrap pile. That's when Aircraft Specialties Co. began restoration of the aircraft.

For 20 years, it served as a firebomber, dropping water and borate on forest fires until it was sold in 1986. It was restored back to its wartime configuration by Tom Reilly Vintage Aircraft, but a landing accident in 1987 severely damaged the plane. With donations from individuals and corporations, and thousands of volunteer hours, it was again restored.

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Autopsy: Chest blow killed sky diver

By TIM MITCHELL
News-Gazette Staff Writer

RANTOUL - An Urbana sky diver died Sunday from complications of blunt force trauma to the chest, according to preliminary autopsy reports.

Walter "Skip" Hublein Jr., 45, of 2408 Somerset Drive, died during Sunday's final jump at the World Free Fall Convention in Rantoul.

Champaign County Coroner Roger Swaney said an autopsy was performed on Mr. Hublein Tuesday in Bloomington.

Swaney said a final autopsy report will not be issued until the completion of toxicology and microscopic tissue studies are done.

He said that report will be released at the time of an inquest into Mr. Hublein's death. The inquest will be scheduled at a later date.

According to a Rantoul police report, an ambulance was called to an artificial swoop pond built at the Rantoul Airport at 8:12 p.m. Sunday.

Witnesses said Mr. Hublein's parachute was open as he attempted a landing at the pond, but he suddenly banked to the left just before the landing and struck the pond with the side of his body.

Rantoul Police Chief Paul Dollins said Mr. Hublein apparently was unable to pull out of the maneuver before he hit the water.

The police report said three men carried Mr. Hublein out of the pond.

He was taken by ambulance to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where Swaney pronounced him dead at 9:13 p.m. Sunday.

Mr. Hublein was the owner of the Tires Plus store on Marketview Drive in Champaign.

Sunday's death marked the second fatality at this year's World Free Fall Convention.

Timothy Kalendek, 32, of Joppa, Md., was killed while videotaping a friend's sky-diving adventure. He got too close to a helicopter when it was taking off and was hit by the rotor blades.

Eleven people died during years the convention was held in Quincy.

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quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver