Sometimes there is someone up there looking after you.....

[NutLoose]

Parachute man dies in tandem jump


Parachute man dies in tandem jump
A learner skydiver escaped his first parachute jump unharmed despite being strapped to an instructor who died of a heart attack on the way down.
US soldier Daniel Pharr said his military training helped him land safely after the pair left the plane together at 13,500 feet over South Carolina.
He said he knew something was wrong when George Steele stopped answering his questions after their parachute deployed.



From
Parachute man dies in tandem jump - , - Odd news stories, updates & weather - MSN News UK (http://news.uk.msn.com/odd-news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13641961)

[Airborne Aircrew]

I'm not sure this can be considered proof of the existence of a supreme being... The parachute was already open when the instructor died so the lad was coming down "arrested" regardless...

Now, had the instructor died prior to deployment you might have had an argument... But then there is the AOD, (Automatic Opening Device), which, while it might appear to be the benevolent act of a supreme being is, in fact, purely science...

Good story though... and shows that instructors are not always necessary... :E

[RB877]

Maybe natured way of hinting not to jump out of perfectly good aircraft though!

[GreenKnight121]

His girlfriend had given him the jump as a Christmas present.

Can't say she was trying to get rid of him, though... she also jumped (strapped to another instructor) on the same flight.


Regards to the family of the non-survivor, George C. "Chip" Steele of Sumter, South Carolina. A veteran of over 8,000 jumps, Steele had jumped with another student earlier in the day.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

...But then there is the AOD, (Automatic Opening Device)...


Called an AAD - Automatic Activation Device. The word "opening" was dropped as it implies a guarantee of the parachute deploying and operating faultlessly in the then litigation crazed USA. As this had nothing to do with the operation of the device, the name was changed. The irony is parachutes are so reliable these days a system was devised to retard the opening to prevent people biting off their tongues.:}

[Airborne Aircrew]

Called an AAD

Guess I'm just getting old... :{

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Yup, caught me the same way. The youth of today don't even know what a Kap3 is any more.....:(