Misjudging your hook (video)

[Antidote 0]

I'm sharing this so others can learn from my stupidity.

Scenario is: me under my old canopy (a Safire-149 @ 1.15), jump #430, sunset load, a simple 90 degree hookturn.

Somehow I've turned the windsocket around (maybe I was used to the big red arrow they used in Russia?) and make a downwind landing in about 3-4m/s winds. I only realize this in the last few seconds; yet my judgement is that the speed will bleed off before I reach any obstacles, so I do not flare turn. Not that I had much energy left to do so. Up to that point, the swoop had been most enjoyable after all.

If we hadn't built that swoop pond, the earth wall wouldn't have been there, and I'd cruise right in between the trees! Never mind them snagging my canopy. That's my excuse, anyway

Result was one broken rib and two that had been pushed in a bit. I've had lots of discussions about this incident with more experienced people and have identified the cascade of events that led up to it, but perhaps there is more to be learned.

Earned me a nickname, too. Not a very flattering one, I'm afraid .

Right click, save as to download.

Edited fer speelink.

[MarkM 0]

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Earned me a nickname, too. Not a very flattering one, I'm afraid .

Heh, Thumper?

Glad you weren't hurt worse.

[Buried 0]

not as bad i as i was expecting.

Yeah from time to time at certain dzs in certain conditions that i worry that the swoop could be too long. so far no issues like that. I like to stay far away from trees unless i'm going parallel to them

Where is my fizzy-lifting drink?

[Hooknswoop 19]

To prevent that from happening in the future, dirt dive your landings. Literally walk across the ground where you will be flying over, picturing your altitude, airspeed, and outs.

Whenever I went to new DZ, I would walk the landing area, dirt diving my landings in 4 different directions, thinking about altitude, airspeed, and outs. I would look for obstacles and study the ground for holes, debris, etc. Planning a hp landing in the air over unfamilar ground adds risk. If you can walk the landing area and reduce your risk, why not?

Oh ya, never hook towards an obstacle.

Derek

[jdfreefly 1]

Also, learn to carve. It will save your life.

Methane Freefly - got stink?

[Scrumpot 1]

Hmmm.... The laughter by the videographer just as you were approaching a certain "impact", to me, was probably the most painful aspect of viewing this.

That was a bit more than just a minor "obsticle" I'd say too... an entire tree-lined Berm!

One POSITIVE feed-back observation I will give you, in case it hasn't already been communicated by others... THANK YOU for also having NOT "Panic turned" the moment you obviously KNEW you were going to hit. Although as best as I can see from the 3rd-party video, it does appear as if a flat turn STILL would have been possible ...It does also APPEAR as if you at least kept your "wits" about you, and flew-out your canopy, probably as best as you KNEW HOW at the moment, and for that situation.

So in that respect, and aspect ...good job!
How's THAT folks... coming from ME?

In retrospect do you feel, or do you now, knowing presumably a little more; or at least than you did at the time, agree that you probably still could have done a flat turn as you clearly passed the "target", but as you were still approaching the berm? Or do you really even now still think you did not even have that as an option? It did look to me as though the canopy was still "flying" ...and as long as it was, (ie: had not already been flared to the very brink of stall and had indeed "nothing left"), probably could have been successfully flat/flare turned. -No? Of course that is a SKILL you would have wanted to already have been proficient in, and well practiced too. You WOULD NOT WANT THIS TO HAVE BEEN EVEN YOUR 1ST TIME EVER TRYING IT (just for others out there who may be reading). So, under "the circumstances", after you had already gotten yourself there (which you probably understand now too, you COULD HAVE avoided), you probably did about as well as you could.

Good learning tool!
Thank you for posting it.
NOT a "funny" landing at all, and COULD HAVE also been MUCH WORSE. Hopefully the dude shooting video has since realized that as well, and maybe even LEARNED himself!

Blue Skies,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[Hooknswoop 19]

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Also, learn to carve.

The turn in the video looked like a carve to me.......

Derek

[Scrumpot 1]

Indeed. This was no "hook" really at all, by any real stretch. That's also why I am wondering now, from the original poster, after some retrospect (and as he himself says, some "learning" since) if he also even realizes (and can share with us) from his perspective, even more?

I also don't think that he truly realized (at the time) how much FLIGHT his canopy really had left.

Exactly the kind of stuff I am looking to extract from him on this. I know he even may have "thought" this was a "hook" (although you & I recognize it was not ) ...but from the experience level reference point, and for others who may be right along that same relative level -I kinda agree with him. ...Is there still (probably) even more to be learned (even by him) from this?

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[BillyVance 35]

I remember jumping at a boogie at my home DZ one day several years ago, and executed a 180 front riser dive turn, then as I'm starting to plane out, I realized I'd just turned onto final DOWNWIND with about a 5 to 10 mph tailwind!!! FUCK ME!!! I flare just a bit to hold my vertical position steady while zooming across the field some 40 yards before I dared touch down and then I was stumbling and running it out... Phew... And get this, I was the first one down, everybody else on the King Air load followed my pattern! They were all experienced jumpers... no incidents... Whew!!!

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[JeepDiver 0]

I thought you were going to be the poster of this video.

http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1979

Is this a low turn or a misjudgement in the swoop or both?

As a student my approaches are.. well.. student-like.. I however do not want to find myself in a place like this so my reason for posting this vid clip is not to derail your thread but to learn by what I don't quite understand went wrong.

[Scrumpot 1]

Sorry, but your file-link clicky does NOT seem to bring me (anyway) to a valid file. ....???

...Oops, SCRATCH that. -I've got it now. I'll view and comment if you like, if I get the moment from here at work!

-Grant
___________________
Okay, here you go:

#1. Extremely hard to "judge", but clearly a "misjudgement" (pilot error) just by virtue of the outcome -eh?

#2. Freeze-framing on the last 9/10's of the approach with the ground-shadow visible indicates to me:

- Apparently "smaller" HP canopy
- Approach "path choices" may have put this jumper in a "box" (ie: could have "bailed out" of this approach much sooner, but somehow ...again only supposition... seems to "fixate"/commit on ONE spot/path)
- Based on shadow, ...and again this is tough to accurately "judge", so ALL is supposition without maybe the vid poster himself probably commenting), it looks as though this pilot expected a natural "recovery arc" (again an apparent mis-judgement) to occur on this one SOMETHING ABOVE impact, and a natural "plane-out" and probably smooth ground swoop to otherwise occur. I say this only based upon the apparent hand/toggle position evident in these frames, where if he had "properly" percieved his more correct "natural" path, he probably would have been seen trying to "dig this out" a bit more in these frames.

Looked "recoverable" at several intervals, and therefore, I suppose just by THAT virtue could be said, yes ...to have been misperception, error in judgement, pilot error or what-have-you. Whatever you would want to call it.

All it takes on an approach like this is a misperception by mere "inches", making the difference between skimming gracefully above the grass blades, and instead what you see here. And that is, quite simply, what APPEARS to have happened here. ...Maybe the vid owner might actually see this himself and be able to further comment?

coitus non circum - Moab Stone