5 ms·

I jumped from a plane, my parachute failed, I hurtled towards earth feeling calm

22 points by NaOH 2y ago

eschneider 2y ago
Parachutes don't help in any case: https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5094 https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5094
- tdeck 2y ago
  > RWY had the original idea but was reluctant to say it out loud for years. In a moment of weakness, he shared it with MWY and BKN, both of whom immediately recognized this as the best idea RWY will ever have. RWY and LRV wrote the first draft. CS, DBK, JBS, EAS, and JLH provided critical review. RMD provided subject matter expertise. DSK took this work to another satirical level. All authors suffered substantial abdominal discomfort from laughter. RWY worried that BKN would not keep his mouth shut until the Christmas issue was published. Somehow I am not convinced this is a real study.
  - SamBam 2y ago
    I believe it is a real, satirical study that was performed to address a real, serious issue with the way some studies are performed. My understanding of the target of the satire is studies that compare a treatment to a placebo only in "low risk" populations, and then find that they're is no significant difference between the treatment and the placebo.
- weikju 2y ago
  hmm... > they jumped from an average altitude of 0.6 m (SD 0.1) on aircraft moving at an average of 0 km/h > The study also has several limitations. First and most importantly, our findings might not be generalizable to the use of parachutes in aircraft traveling at a higher altitude or velocity. Consideration could be made to conduct additional randomized clinical trials in these higher risk settings. However, previous theoretical work supporting the use of parachutes could reduce the feasibility of enrolling participants in such studies
  - chatmasta 2y ago
    It seems this is a study about randomized controlled trials, not about parachutes :)
    - tripletao 2y ago
      I believe that deplorable paucity of RCT evidence was first noted in 2003, in "Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC300808/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC300808/ I'm glad to see that's finally been addressed! Though for the counterpoint, also see "Most medical practices are not parachutes: a citation analysis of practices felt by biomedical authors to be analogous to parachutes" https://www.cmajopen.ca/content/cmajo/6/1/E31.full.pdf https://www.cmajopen.ca/content/cmajo/6/1/E31.full.pdf
- SapporoChris 2y ago
  Are you joking? Conclusion from the article: "Conclusions Parachute use did not reduce death or major traumatic injury when jumping from aircraft in the first randomized evaluation of this intervention. However, the trial was only able to enroll participants on small stationary aircraft on the ground, suggesting cautious extrapolation to high altitude jumps. When beliefs regarding the effectiveness of an intervention exist in the community, randomized trials might selectively enroll individuals with a lower perceived likelihood of benefit, thus diminishing the applicability of the results to clinical practice." For emphasis: "... the trial was only able to enroll participants on small stationary aircraft on the ground, suggesting cautious extrapolation to high altitude jumps." Okay, parachutes don't help when jumping from stationary aircraft that are on the ground. I will not leap to the conclusion that parachutes do not help with high altitude jumps.
  - ncallaway 2y ago
    It’s satire
    - cpfohl 2y ago
      And delightful satire at that.
  - zeagle 2y ago
    The BMJ Christmas edition is a bit of humour. It's making fun of how everything needs to be a randomized controlled trial and observational evidence is considered inferior ignoring all common sense. I would have linked the older version of this joke study: https://www.bmj.com/content/327/7429/1459 https://www.bmj.com/content/327/7429/1459
- Arrath 2y ago
  Solid "you had me in the first half" energy. I was seriously raising my eyebrow until I got to the bit about parachute-less participants jumping from a half meter altitude. Well done.
- yareally 2y ago
  Quite the jump... https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/363/bmj.k5094/F2.large.jpg https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/363/bmj.k5094/F2.large.jpg
throwup238 2y ago
> Even as Hatmaker spiralled towards the ground, she says the thought she might die never crossed her mind. At most, she thought she might break a leg – jeopardising her plans to climb to Mount Everest Base Camp three days later, a trip that had been a goal of hers for a couple of years. Okay, Miss Humblebrag :-) Still not impressive as Shayna Richardson surviving while pregnant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shayna_Richardson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shayna_Richardson
- glxxyz 2y ago
  Stories of people surviving falls from planes 'without a parachute' are inevitably somewhat exaggerated- they survived a fall with a partially functional parachute. Her injuries were horrific and it's incredible that she and the baby survived, but with no parachute at all at terminal velocity (at least 120mph) there would have been few pieces of her left large enough to scrape up.
  - andrewg 2y ago
    Never say never: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87
    - pvitz 2y ago
      Or https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke There is a movie about this accident by Werner Herzog, but you have to watch it cum grano salis.
      - glxxyz 2y ago
        “Experts have said that she survived the fall because she was harnessed into her seat, the window seat, which was attached to the two seats to her left as part of a row of three. That was thought to have functioned as a parachute which slowed her fall.”
    - glxxyz 2y ago
Euphorbium 2y ago
I jumped (not from a plane, from the ground) and landed wrong, and my knee has been hurting for like 4 years. This story gives me inspiration to get back to training, if you can recover from a failed parachute in 2 years, it should not take 5 years to recover from slipping.
- thfuran 2y ago
  If you land a bit funny and slightly tear a meniscus or something, you just have an annoying knee until you get around to seeing a doctor about it, whereas you can be pretty sure that doctors are involved right from the get to in recovery from a failed chute.
  - Euphorbium 2y ago
    I did see multiple doctors multiple times and did a bunch of procedures. It still hurts.
xpl 2y ago
I wonder what was the medical bill.
- VectorLock 2y ago
  Does medical insurance cover injuries sustained thrillseeking? I assume they would.
  - kube-system 2y ago
    Yes, but a bill is still generated.
nightowl_games 2y ago
Good for you. But I agree with the "survivorship bias" story. I wanna hear from the person who didn't recover physically and developed the emotional, mental and spiritual strength to still enjoy life. Life sometimes doesn't get better from the outside looking in.
- Tao3300 2y ago
  Yeah, let's hear about a mother of four that this happened to, not the jet-setting single defense contractor.
bmitc 2y ago
I sort of doubt that she was actually feeling calm. Adrenaline could potentially create such a feeling because of the mental concentration coming from it, but it's extremely hard to believe a novice parachuter, who seemed to make several mistakes, remained "calm" during an event in which her breaking her back was about the best outcome she could hope for. > Even as Hatmaker spiralled towards the ground, she says the thought she might die never crossed her mind. At most, she thought she might break a leg – jeopardising her plans to climb to Mount Everest Base Camp three days later, a trip that had been a goal of hers for a couple of years. This seems completely illogical and naive. I mean, really? I'd be worried about dying, breaking my leg, or breaking my back falling off my roof, much less from 13,000 feet.
- throwaway290 2y ago
  Why doubt what someone felt when they specifically said what they felt? > I'd be worried about dying, breaking my leg, or breaking my back falling off my roof I sort of doubt he was actually worried about dying as he was falling off his roof. I mean, really? It's extremely illogical and naive. Unbelievable that an adult would be so irrational. Plus unless his house is so tall the fall would take minutes he would simply not have enough time to properly worry about anything.
  - roenxi 2y ago
    Naive? How would it be naive? Falling off a roof is one of the easy ways for someone to accidentally kill themselves. Anyone dealing with a roof should have "falling -> death" near the top of their mind.
    - throwaway290 2y ago
      It's illogical and naive to worry about death if you can't do anything about it at the time, no? Anyway of course if you fall off the roof and say you worried about dying while falling then it's kinda nonsensical for me to doubt that. And that's the point of my comment
  - SebFender 2y ago
MichaelRo 2y ago
I don't understand people taking unnecessary, potentially terminal risks just for the adrenaline. Like parachuting or bungee jumping. Maybe they have some endocrine deficit and try to overcompensate? Can't they get it in another, more earthly way (no pun intended)? Like I have an acquaintance (ex-workmate) who lived in a house next to the aerodrome, not since very long. There's frequent parachuting and so far already several guys have free-fallen near to his location. Eventually he sold the house and moved. The title says "Monthly accidents. Last month two skydiving learners fell during a jump with the parachute. This Sunday another 23 years old parachutist ended in the hospital": https://ziardecluj.ro/dezmir-luna-si-accidentul-un-parasutist-de-23-de-ani-a-cazut-in-timpul-unui-zbor-in-dezmir/ https://ziardecluj.ro/dezmir-luna-si-accidentul-un-parasutis... I recommend motorcycling, not necessarily riding it, just being nearby a location frequently transited by extremely loud exhaust bikes should be enough to raise your blood pressure. And if being on the receiving end of the assholes doesn't do the trick, become one: buy a Japanese "race" motorcycle with brutally loud exhaust and circle the neighbourhood all day enjoying making people's lives miserable. If confronted, play the victim switcheroo: lament how bikers are at risk of being hit by negligent car drivers and the demented cry "wee wee" is just a necessary protection measure to make sure they notice you. (BTW the part about motorcycles is satire, if you don't get it. My dislike for them is real, though. So the adrenaline spike when they pass nearby).
- bmitc 2y ago
  Honestly, motorcycling at track days is pretty adrenaline inducing (I've never personally done it) but decently safe if the track staff take it seriously and you do too.
- rpmisms 2y ago
  Seriously, do get a motorcycle. Do your research first, watch crashes, learn to be safe, but get a motorcycle. You control your amount of risk, and good god is it excellent stress relief. Also cheaper than a skydiving habit.
  - dahart 2y ago
    Hmmm I’m pretty sure my total expenditure for several years of jumping, with a parachute purchase, a USPA C license, and a few boogie trips, was less than the cost of my dirt bike. I agree on the stress relief part, but I’d say don’t understate the risks or think it’s super controllable in traffic. Motorcycling is the most dangerous form of road transport. Cars and their drivers take bikers out all time. I looked and can’t find it right now but I remember seeing an NTSB report a couple years back indicating a serious uptick recently in motorcycle accidents by middle aged men.
ec109685 2y ago
I know the published stats show it to be relatively safe, but it’s poorly regulated and not clear if all accidents are reported: “28 people died from skydiving near Lodi. How does the Parachute Center stay in business?” https://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/article282562433.html https://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/article282562433....
- bmitc 2y ago
  For me personally, I just have so little want to do anything like that. If it goes wrong, you go splat, and there's very little you can do about it. Is that the way you want to go, just jumping out of something? I mean, even getting injured and living is still ridiculous sounding. "How did you break your back?" "Oh, I jumped from 10,000 feet." The best case is that you get a "thrill" out of being reminded that gravity exists. I wonder if a lot of these people have some issues that cause them to seek the adrenaline and other hormone rushes from these activities. And it's very likely many get addicted to it once they start such extreme activities.
  - mlyle 2y ago
    > I wonder if a lot of these people have some issues that cause them to seek the adrenaline and other hormone rushes from these activities. Everyone has a different calculus of what risks are worth it. I don't think it's fair to characterize them as "issues." Skydiving is dangerous, but not ridiculously so-- about a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying per jump, though this does wobble a little bit on your preparation and where you choose to jump (places like Lodi are disproportionately dangerous). One way to understand this order of magnitude is that you're spending a few hours of life expectancy per jump. I was into airplanes; the fatal general aviation accident rate per hour is about the same as the skydiving risk per jump. But I loved the feeling of being in the air, the things I saw, and the way it felt to control an airplane. This meant on a day with 5 hours of flying, I "spent" much more life expectancy than someone who skydived once. I went into it open-eyed, and I'm glad that I have the experiences of having flown.
    - bmitc 2y ago
motohagiography 2y ago
I had a chute deploy with tangled lines and it wouldn't get square or flare. it was my first jump as I did the training for a solo static line jump. was able to untangle them. landed a bit hard but can legit say it's not my thing. I did a second one to get the jitters out, and that was it. as the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.
arp242 2y ago
This happened to a friend of mine about 25 years ago; parachute didn't open and neither did the reserve. He landed in a tree. Had some broken ribs and collapsed lung, but was basically fine. From what I recall he didn't spend any time on the ICU. I saw him one or two weeks after the accident, and he wasn't doing gymnastics or anything, but was just walking around (with a bit of a limp). His brother was supposed to jump next, and his parents were in the plane to watch. First thing he did was get up and wave to show he's okay. Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, right? Reading the recovery process from this woman, he was massively lucky not just to have survived, but also to have survived relatively unscathed.
vjust 2y ago
She goes back to skydiving. I have mixed opinions about that. She should've not revealed that part.
simple10 2y ago
From personal experience, a skydiving crash happens in a surreal moment of calm. There isn't much time to process what's going on when the ground is rushing up at you. There's little to do but kinda surrender to what's happening. Fortunately, my accident was much less severe than hers. I walked away (to the hopsital) after being knocked out for a bit. The weirdest part is waking up on the ground with people looming over and kinda freaking out.

22 points by NaOH 2y ago

eschneider 2y ago

Parachutes don't help in any case: https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5094 https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5094

tdeck 2y ago
> RWY had the original idea but was reluctant to say it out loud for years. In a moment of weakness, he shared it with MWY and BKN, both of whom immediately recognized this as the best idea RWY will ever have. RWY and LRV wrote the first draft. CS, DBK, JBS, EAS, and JLH provided critical review. RMD provided subject matter expertise. DSK took this work to another satirical level. All authors suffered substantial abdominal discomfort from laughter. RWY worried that BKN would not keep his mouth shut until the Christmas issue was published. Somehow I am not convinced this is a real study.
- SamBam 2y ago
  I believe it is a real, satirical study that was performed to address a real, serious issue with the way some studies are performed. My understanding of the target of the satire is studies that compare a treatment to a placebo only in "low risk" populations, and then find that they're is no significant difference between the treatment and the placebo.
weikju 2y ago
hmm... > they jumped from an average altitude of 0.6 m (SD 0.1) on aircraft moving at an average of 0 km/h > The study also has several limitations. First and most importantly, our findings might not be generalizable to the use of parachutes in aircraft traveling at a higher altitude or velocity. Consideration could be made to conduct additional randomized clinical trials in these higher risk settings. However, previous theoretical work supporting the use of parachutes could reduce the feasibility of enrolling participants in such studies
- chatmasta 2y ago
  It seems this is a study about randomized controlled trials, not about parachutes :)
  - tripletao 2y ago
    I believe that deplorable paucity of RCT evidence was first noted in 2003, in "Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC300808/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC300808/ I'm glad to see that's finally been addressed! Though for the counterpoint, also see "Most medical practices are not parachutes: a citation analysis of practices felt by biomedical authors to be analogous to parachutes" https://www.cmajopen.ca/content/cmajo/6/1/E31.full.pdf https://www.cmajopen.ca/content/cmajo/6/1/E31.full.pdf
SapporoChris 2y ago
Are you joking? Conclusion from the article: "Conclusions Parachute use did not reduce death or major traumatic injury when jumping from aircraft in the first randomized evaluation of this intervention. However, the trial was only able to enroll participants on small stationary aircraft on the ground, suggesting cautious extrapolation to high altitude jumps. When beliefs regarding the effectiveness of an intervention exist in the community, randomized trials might selectively enroll individuals with a lower perceived likelihood of benefit, thus diminishing the applicability of the results to clinical practice." For emphasis: "... the trial was only able to enroll participants on small stationary aircraft on the ground, suggesting cautious extrapolation to high altitude jumps." Okay, parachutes don't help when jumping from stationary aircraft that are on the ground. I will not leap to the conclusion that parachutes do not help with high altitude jumps.
- ncallaway 2y ago
  It’s satire
  - cpfohl 2y ago
    And delightful satire at that.
- zeagle 2y ago
  The BMJ Christmas edition is a bit of humour. It's making fun of how everything needs to be a randomized controlled trial and observational evidence is considered inferior ignoring all common sense. I would have linked the older version of this joke study: https://www.bmj.com/content/327/7429/1459 https://www.bmj.com/content/327/7429/1459
Arrath 2y ago
Solid "you had me in the first half" energy. I was seriously raising my eyebrow until I got to the bit about parachute-less participants jumping from a half meter altitude. Well done.
yareally 2y ago
Quite the jump... https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/363/bmj.k5094/F2.large.jpg https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/363/bmj.k5094/F2.large.jpg

throwup238 2y ago

> Even as Hatmaker spiralled towards the ground, she says the thought she might die never crossed her mind. At most, she thought she might break a leg – jeopardising her plans to climb to Mount Everest Base Camp three days later, a trip that had been a goal of hers for a couple of years. Okay, Miss Humblebrag :-) Still not impressive as Shayna Richardson surviving while pregnant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shayna_Richardson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shayna_Richardson

glxxyz 2y ago
Stories of people surviving falls from planes 'without a parachute' are inevitably somewhat exaggerated- they survived a fall with a partially functional parachute. Her injuries were horrific and it's incredible that she and the baby survived, but with no parachute at all at terminal velocity (at least 120mph) there would have been few pieces of her left large enough to scrape up.
- andrewg 2y ago
  Never say never: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87
  - pvitz 2y ago
    Or https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke There is a movie about this accident by Werner Herzog, but you have to watch it cum grano salis.
    - glxxyz 2y ago
      “Experts have said that she survived the fall because she was harnessed into her seat, the window seat, which was attached to the two seats to her left as part of a row of three. That was thought to have functioned as a parachute which slowed her fall.”
  - glxxyz 2y ago

Euphorbium 2y ago

I jumped (not from a plane, from the ground) and landed wrong, and my knee has been hurting for like 4 years. This story gives me inspiration to get back to training, if you can recover from a failed parachute in 2 years, it should not take 5 years to recover from slipping.

thfuran 2y ago
If you land a bit funny and slightly tear a meniscus or something, you just have an annoying knee until you get around to seeing a doctor about it, whereas you can be pretty sure that doctors are involved right from the get to in recovery from a failed chute.
- Euphorbium 2y ago
  I did see multiple doctors multiple times and did a bunch of procedures. It still hurts.

xpl 2y ago

I wonder what was the medical bill.

VectorLock 2y ago
Does medical insurance cover injuries sustained thrillseeking? I assume they would.
- kube-system 2y ago
  Yes, but a bill is still generated.

nightowl_games 2y ago

Good for you. But I agree with the "survivorship bias" story. I wanna hear from the person who didn't recover physically and developed the emotional, mental and spiritual strength to still enjoy life. Life sometimes doesn't get better from the outside looking in.

Tao3300 2y ago
Yeah, let's hear about a mother of four that this happened to, not the jet-setting single defense contractor.

bmitc 2y ago

I sort of doubt that she was actually feeling calm. Adrenaline could potentially create such a feeling because of the mental concentration coming from it, but it's extremely hard to believe a novice parachuter, who seemed to make several mistakes, remained "calm" during an event in which her breaking her back was about the best outcome she could hope for. > Even as Hatmaker spiralled towards the ground, she says the thought she might die never crossed her mind. At most, she thought she might break a leg – jeopardising her plans to climb to Mount Everest Base Camp three days later, a trip that had been a goal of hers for a couple of years. This seems completely illogical and naive. I mean, really? I'd be worried about dying, breaking my leg, or breaking my back falling off my roof, much less from 13,000 feet.

throwaway290 2y ago
Why doubt what someone felt when they specifically said what they felt? > I'd be worried about dying, breaking my leg, or breaking my back falling off my roof I sort of doubt he was actually worried about dying as he was falling off his roof. I mean, really? It's extremely illogical and naive. Unbelievable that an adult would be so irrational. Plus unless his house is so tall the fall would take minutes he would simply not have enough time to properly worry about anything.
- roenxi 2y ago
  Naive? How would it be naive? Falling off a roof is one of the easy ways for someone to accidentally kill themselves. Anyone dealing with a roof should have "falling -> death" near the top of their mind.
  - throwaway290 2y ago
    It's illogical and naive to worry about death if you can't do anything about it at the time, no? Anyway of course if you fall off the roof and say you worried about dying while falling then it's kinda nonsensical for me to doubt that. And that's the point of my comment
- SebFender 2y ago

MichaelRo 2y ago

I don't understand people taking unnecessary, potentially terminal risks just for the adrenaline. Like parachuting or bungee jumping. Maybe they have some endocrine deficit and try to overcompensate? Can't they get it in another, more earthly way (no pun intended)? Like I have an acquaintance (ex-workmate) who lived in a house next to the aerodrome, not since very long. There's frequent parachuting and so far already several guys have free-fallen near to his location. Eventually he sold the house and moved. The title says "Monthly accidents. Last month two skydiving learners fell during a jump with the parachute. This Sunday another 23 years old parachutist ended in the hospital": https://ziardecluj.ro/dezmir-luna-si-accidentul-un-parasutist-de-23-de-ani-a-cazut-in-timpul-unui-zbor-in-dezmir/ https://ziardecluj.ro/dezmir-luna-si-accidentul-un-parasutis... I recommend motorcycling, not necessarily riding it, just being nearby a location frequently transited by extremely loud exhaust bikes should be enough to raise your blood pressure. And if being on the receiving end of the assholes doesn't do the trick, become one: buy a Japanese "race" motorcycle with brutally loud exhaust and circle the neighbourhood all day enjoying making people's lives miserable. If confronted, play the victim switcheroo: lament how bikers are at risk of being hit by negligent car drivers and the demented cry "wee wee" is just a necessary protection measure to make sure they notice you. (BTW the part about motorcycles is satire, if you don't get it. My dislike for them is real, though. So the adrenaline spike when they pass nearby).

bmitc 2y ago
Honestly, motorcycling at track days is pretty adrenaline inducing (I've never personally done it) but decently safe if the track staff take it seriously and you do too.
rpmisms 2y ago
Seriously, do get a motorcycle. Do your research first, watch crashes, learn to be safe, but get a motorcycle. You control your amount of risk, and good god is it excellent stress relief. Also cheaper than a skydiving habit.
- dahart 2y ago
  Hmmm I’m pretty sure my total expenditure for several years of jumping, with a parachute purchase, a USPA C license, and a few boogie trips, was less than the cost of my dirt bike. I agree on the stress relief part, but I’d say don’t understate the risks or think it’s super controllable in traffic. Motorcycling is the most dangerous form of road transport. Cars and their drivers take bikers out all time. I looked and can’t find it right now but I remember seeing an NTSB report a couple years back indicating a serious uptick recently in motorcycle accidents by middle aged men.

ec109685 2y ago

I know the published stats show it to be relatively safe, but it’s poorly regulated and not clear if all accidents are reported: “28 people died from skydiving near Lodi. How does the Parachute Center stay in business?” https://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/article282562433.html https://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/article282562433....

bmitc 2y ago
For me personally, I just have so little want to do anything like that. If it goes wrong, you go splat, and there's very little you can do about it. Is that the way you want to go, just jumping out of something? I mean, even getting injured and living is still ridiculous sounding. "How did you break your back?" "Oh, I jumped from 10,000 feet." The best case is that you get a "thrill" out of being reminded that gravity exists. I wonder if a lot of these people have some issues that cause them to seek the adrenaline and other hormone rushes from these activities. And it's very likely many get addicted to it once they start such extreme activities.
- mlyle 2y ago
  > I wonder if a lot of these people have some issues that cause them to seek the adrenaline and other hormone rushes from these activities. Everyone has a different calculus of what risks are worth it. I don't think it's fair to characterize them as "issues." Skydiving is dangerous, but not ridiculously so-- about a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying per jump, though this does wobble a little bit on your preparation and where you choose to jump (places like Lodi are disproportionately dangerous). One way to understand this order of magnitude is that you're spending a few hours of life expectancy per jump. I was into airplanes; the fatal general aviation accident rate per hour is about the same as the skydiving risk per jump. But I loved the feeling of being in the air, the things I saw, and the way it felt to control an airplane. This meant on a day with 5 hours of flying, I "spent" much more life expectancy than someone who skydived once. I went into it open-eyed, and I'm glad that I have the experiences of having flown.
  - bmitc 2y ago

motohagiography 2y ago

I had a chute deploy with tangled lines and it wouldn't get square or flare. it was my first jump as I did the training for a solo static line jump. was able to untangle them. landed a bit hard but can legit say it's not my thing. I did a second one to get the jitters out, and that was it. as the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.

arp242 2y ago

This happened to a friend of mine about 25 years ago; parachute didn't open and neither did the reserve. He landed in a tree. Had some broken ribs and collapsed lung, but was basically fine. From what I recall he didn't spend any time on the ICU. I saw him one or two weeks after the accident, and he wasn't doing gymnastics or anything, but was just walking around (with a bit of a limp). His brother was supposed to jump next, and his parents were in the plane to watch. First thing he did was get up and wave to show he's okay. Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, right? Reading the recovery process from this woman, he was massively lucky not just to have survived, but also to have survived relatively unscathed.

vjust 2y ago

She goes back to skydiving. I have mixed opinions about that. She should've not revealed that part.

simple10 2y ago

From personal experience, a skydiving crash happens in a surreal moment of calm. There isn't much time to process what's going on when the ground is rushing up at you. There's little to do but kinda surrender to what's happening. Fortunately, my accident was much less severe than hers. I walked away (to the hopsital) after being knocked out for a bit. The weirdest part is waking up on the ground with people looming over and kinda freaking out.