Sydney skydiver hits ground

[penash]

Sydney skydiver hits ground

09nov03

AMBULANCE crews were attending a skydiver who was knocked unconscious after hitting the ground south of Sydney today.

A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said the female skydiver aged in her 30s hit the ground near Picton Road, Picton, this morning.
The spokeswoman said ambulance received the call about 9.30am (AEDT) to attend the scene where the woman lay unconscious.

"We have a skydiver who has hit the ground at approximately 30kph and she is unconscious at the moment," the spokeswoman said.

"It sounds quite serious.

"We don't have crews on scene as yet but we have activated a rescue helicopter."

No further details about the accident were known at this stage, the spokeswoman said.


aap:ouch:

[EPIRB]

Why do they do it? When I was meatbombing, I knew five skydivers who bounced. Fortunately none out of my plane.

[Islander Jock]

Picton is a great DZ but with proximity reasonably close to the motorway, it only takes a bad spot coupled with an inexperienced jumper to get themselves into a no win situation pretty quick. Perhaps trying to creep back to the DZ into or accross a wind and deciding too late that she wasn't going to make it, then for any number of reasons landing and what sounds like a "screaming down winder". I wasn't there so cannot say that this is what occurred, merely suggesting a possible scenario.

Saw it all too often in my skydiving/instructing career

That's why I gave up jumping and concentrated on flying. After they leapt out, they were someone elses problem. ;)


Hope the lady concerned recovers ok.

[the wizard of auz]

I flew a few sorties up here last weekend, and I remembered why I gave it up.
saw a couple of bad landings, gotta make you wonder why they do it.

[Di_Vosh]

I still jump with the army, and enjoy every it every time (barring the last metre before landing - which is "less fun")

If any of you need convincing (not to jump), go to Husbands DZ (near Nowra NAS) and watch the army Basic Parachuting Course.

A medics life there is never dull.

[criticalmass]

I get very fed up with hearing of skydivers pushing their ultra high-performance canopies beyond their ability to control them, particularly near the ground. I jumped cheapo's (surplus 28-ft flat circular canopies modified for sports use), Paracommanders and the first generation square canopies back in the early 1970s and they were lethal compared to today's gear. We treated them with great respect, especially at landing time.

The Silver Cloud Paraplane (my first square canopy, in 1974) was 220 square feet in area and for its time it was a very tractable canopy. The Para-Sled was far less tractable, and much smaller. Already we were learning something about canopy-size and handling qualities.

Back in the early days we lost friends who went "thud" with nothing over their heads. The gear was basically a "malfunction in a bag", waiting for a chance to kill you. Now, the gear is so reliable it is extremely difficult to stop a ram-air parachute from opening. But the canopies are far smaller now and their handling is now far less forgiving than it was, even a decade ago.

Where a 220 square foot canopy was still considered normal in the early 1990s, now a 150 square foot canopy is considered normal. The wing-loading has increased, and the handling qualities have become less forgiving as a result. High performance canopies now dive steeply as they turn, building up considerable speed in the process. Ten years ago this was nowhere near as radical as it is today.

So now we lose friends who go "thud" with something out there, but it is anywhere except over their heads. It is out to one side of them, in front of them or behind them, but it isn't over their heads where it should be. They just have to make that last-second "hook-turn" to look impressive...and we watch them bounce out of the ground and fall back, limp and broken. Some survive, but too many are either dead moments after impact, or don't survive "the golden hour" after their accident.

I don't know how many times we have to re-learn this lesson, so painfully learned over the last two decades. I don't know how many articles on canopy-control have to be written by experienced skydivers before novices and those with relatively low experience will take the lessons to heart. I don't know how many more unnecessary accidents due to mishandling small canopies near the ground it will take before skydivers realise ultra-reliable equipment still is no guarantee that you won't be seriously injured or killed if you misjudge a final turn.

I'm retired from skydiving now, so the names of those who die and are injured don't mean so much to me as they did when friends and people I knew were killed or maimed for life. But I still get very annoyed when someone takes it upon themselves to add to the statistics which all forms of sport aviation can well do without. I know they don't mean to do it, but sometimes you have to judge by the result of an action, rather than the intent.

My comments are general by design because I have none but a very brief outline of the circumstances of the accident referred to in this title of the thread. But I believe the comments above are particularly relevant to this - and other similar - incidents.

[Woomera]

criticalmass

I'm not a jumper and I must confess that I could never pluck up sufficient courage to jump out of perfectly serviceable aircraft.

However your wise words do resonate and perhaps we should all stop before we go flying, whether it is in an ultralight, real aircraft:} or under a canopy and just contemplate for a moment the old saw.

That says, "aviation" is in itself inherently safe, but like the sea, is totally unforgiving of any carelessness, incompetence or neglect.

[bush mechanics]

Critical Mass.
The magic word,HOOK TURN!!!!!!
Ive witnessed a lady jumper with a 190 main turn low and try to plant her self into the ground,Full foward somersault thru the risers and splat.She was lucky only bruised and sore.

Ive been looking to buy my first rig and cant find much with a main canopy around the 190 size.Most are around the 90 size.
which as you would now are for the brave.I have a couple of mates who jump very small canopys and both of them have suffered brocken bones due to a missed timed HOOK turns.
With the Extreme games the latest is pond swooping.Some of these guys reach speeds of upto 120 km pulling out of the dive and then skimming along the water.

The lady in question is a very experienced jumper.Phil Onis from Skydive Sydney said she caried out a steep turn too low.(hook turn?)and impacted the ground at speed.When I learnt the instuctors where always drumming into us,Dont Turn LOW!!!All canopys can Bite!!!!
Hope she is doing well and haves a speedy recovery

Di Vosh,
Do you jump roundys?
I actually enjoy most of my landings ,step on most times with a nicely executed flair.I find my aircraft flying experience very help full when im under canopy.

[Di_Vosh]

Bush Mechanics...

I jump round canopies (static line) from either the ramp or side doors of a Herc' (or ramp of a Caribou - if the RAAF can get one flying for more than 15 minutes). The army does jump squares, but I've not got around to learning them.

Generally we jump at around 1000' AGL, and my preferance is over water (better landings than on land).

We're trained to a very high standard on how to land safely (Descent rate is about 6m/sec) but you know that if you do it long enough, you'll break or bruise something.

Injury rates of 5% are not uncommon. (So for a herc' load of about 60 paractroops, it is very likely 3 wont walk off the DZ). Most people are okay with this (Goes with the territory) but the inside of a Herc on a windy day is a quiet place.

Cheers.

[the wizard of auz]

I jumped a 165 once.................... then decided to remain driver of the jump plane. if I'm going to get all rolled up, I want some ally around me.

[QNIM]

Gday Bushy
"Instuctors drum in to us DON'T TURN LOW"
From what I see around the drop zones is do what I say not what I do.
It would equate to me bashing rules into students then taking off and as soon as clear of the ground steep turn and a beat up. What do you think the students would do as soon as my back was turned. We all know the result don't we, Barwon Heads a little over twelve months ago.
Cheers Q :{