Timing's everything.

He could file suit but . . .

Somewhere in Florida there's a pair of severed legs lying in someone's backyard.




Ick.

I thought about you when I read that story this morning, Chute.
My question is, how does one hit the plane one jumped out of?

We could ask the OTHER guy who died this year with that company . . .

Being serious for a minute:

Deland is one of the very largest skydiving operations in the country. With enough activity in a risky sport, fatalities are essentially inevitable at a busy dropzone, even if all regulations are followed.

As to hitting the plane you jumped out of, it is unlikely, but possible. If you freefall down to a low altitude and then open, you'll beat the plane every time. However, if you deploy your parachute higher up, a plane that is diving downward (to decrease turnaround times) can get to the ground first.

In this particular incident, I don't know that the plane he jumped out of is the one with which he collided. Large dropzones can have multiple aircraft in the air at the same time. Sometimes they'll be on the same schedule, dropping big loads of people simultaneously, but far more often, they will be staggered. It is common to have aircraft taking off and landing at the same time as skydivers. At the convention, you can have a xitload of aircraft flying around.

There are bulletin boards for skydiving that include active, moderated forums on incidents. The purpose is to find out what happened and avoid it in the future.

In one way, skydiving and absinthe are very similar. The media doesn't have a clue about either. In a skydiving incident, the media will often report something like "his parachute didn't open", when actually, it did. It could be that it did, but that it entangled, or he cut it away to correct a malfunction. For accurate information, you often have to read between the lines, get information from people at that dropzone, and wait for the final FAA incident report.

Going full circle and bringing this back to boozing, I'll give you a toast you'll only hear from skydivers:

Blue skies, black death.

I'll drink one for Gus.

They could have it wrong, I suppose, but that's why I asked that question.

So basically, you're saying that the plane takes off, gets to a certain altitude, drops everyone off and then makes a rapid descent so that they can decrease turnaround time and do it all over again?

That seems a dangerous practice to me.

Aside from the deeply disturbing irony that this guy's name is "Wing", I find it notable that in this story they keep saying he hit the plane when clearly the plane hit him.

It is actually very common practice.

Look at it this way...

How long is the increment between landings at Chicago O'Hare? 30-60 seconds, per runway, with multiple runways operating simultaneously? And those are big jets that aren't very maneuverable, compared to either a skydiving jumpship or a person under parachute.

It isn't so much a matter of the plane diving downward creating a problem, or with a skydiver being in the same general proximity as the runway. It is about proper procedures and airspace management. For example:

One place I jump, the planes don't go through the area where the jumpers are descending in freefall, after they let them out. The jumpers know not to be over the landing strip at altitudes below 1000 feet. The jumpers can cross over the runway over that altitude, because the planes don't enter that space until they are on final approach (low altitude) to land. So you can have a plane directly below you. It can be disconcerting, but it works.

The question this particular incident brings up is, "What went wrong with the system today?" Was the jumper in the wrong place? Was the plane in the wrong place? Did something else unexpected happen that put them into proximity of each other? All I could do at this point is guess, which I don't want to do. The answers will come out in the course of the (mandatory) FAA investigation.

It can actually happen either way. But you are correct in that the very great likelihood is that the plane hit the skydiver.

Considering this guy's name,
and given that we call you Chute Head,
please be careful next time you're out.

Some years back I was practicing landings at a small airport that had a jump school, and while in the traffic pattern, a jumper drifted into the traffic area, passing crossway's slightly above my Cessna 150.

I saw him, and was able to push the wheel forward, and increase the distance between propeller and jumper, and avoid turning the dolt into hamburger.

Had he come in contact with my prop, he would have been killed instantly, and likely would have caused the little puddle jumper C-150 I was in to crash as well.

I know the jump school had to have heard all the swearing over the airport unicom, from the all three aircraft.

That was the last time went to that airport.

Are you some sort of drug runner?

If he is, maybe we can get a discount.

No I just dress like one and hang around their bars.

Bitch.

Black death.

Even though I haven't jumped in a while...I still consider myself a skydiver.

Sorry Al. (who's Gus?)

The good thing is, even without legs, he'll still be able to jump. I got my "A" license at a drop zone where one of the regulars had only one leg, and it didn't stop him.

And being dead might not stop him either. They can always throw him out of the plane.

Ha!

Here's hoping the ashes don't get sucked into a passing jet.

Or flock of seagulls.

That would be truly horrific.

'zactly.