Gruesome

[ozzy72]

DELAND, Fla. (AP) - A man who was skydiving in central Florida struck the wing of a plane as he descended over an airport, losing both his legs in the accident. The man later died, officials said.
Albert Wing III hit the airplane that he jumped from Saturday morning, police Cmdr. Randel Henderson said. Police said the victim had opened his parachute when he struck the left wing at about 600 feet. His legs were severed at the knees, but he managed to land near an airport.
Wing was taken to a hospital, where he later died, Henderson said. The plane landed safely. DeLand is about 40 miles north of Orlando.
Fourteen other skydivers were in the air at the time of the accident, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker said. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.
Skydive DeLand, which organized the jump, said Saturday's accident was not common. The death was the second involving the company this year.

[Craig.]

Sounds like the pilot was trying to play chicken, with the jumper. that or the other way round. I do hope it was just an accident though.

[Politically Incorrect]

Skydive DeLand, which organized the jump, said Saturday's accident was not common. The death was the second involving the company this year.

Two deaths in four months? No not common , only four more to go to meet the year end quota.

Sad thing to read, I was thinking of giving skydiving a try this summer but I will now be certain to check the yearly accident report while researching a company to choose

[ozzy72]

Speaking as a fairly experienced parachutist I have to say this sounds like some kind of hideous cock-up more than anything. Was the plane diverted into the jumpers by ATC, or did the drop-plane accidently release its jumpers in the wrong place?

[beaky]

More than likely the pilot didn't know about the jumpers, and wasn't looking out for them. I seriously doubt it was the result of some game of "chicken"...
You've got to check the day's NOTAMS for the airport you're going to, and if it's an uncontrolled field, you must listen to the CTAF.

[Hagar]

It says in the report that he hit the aircraft he jumped from. It also says there were 14 jumpers in the air at the time. I would have thought the pilot should have been well aware of them & keeping a good lookout.

Unfortunately these things happen in all physical activities. The statistics could be misleading & would really depend on how busy the company is. Some of these airfields are full of parachutists continually jumping all day long. I still think my old boss was right & it's not sensible to jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft. He actually put it a tad stronger than that.

[Tequila Sunrise]

ouch.

Statistic don't really prove anything though, the year before I started jumping there were four fatalities in the UK the year before that there were none. Of the 4 that died that year tey had a combined total of 5 jumps between them... including the ones that killed them.

[Hagar]

Of the 4 that died that year tey had a combined total of 5 jumps between them... including the ones that killed them.

That wouldn't make me feel too confident about making my first jump.

[Tequila Sunrise]

thats out of 36,000 jumps made in the UK that year... funny how you remember things when someone is trying to scare the sh!t out of you  ::)

[Pinchaser...]

the irony is that his last name was Wing.  ::)

[beaky]

What the-? you're right, Doug- he was in fact hit by the jump plane, according to the AP quote. I think my brain just refused to accept what the eyes told it. Of all people to hit a jumper-!!??!!  ??? There's not much a jumper can do to maneuver away from a plane, even after the canopy's open. I'd guess it's the pilot's job to make sure they're all accounted for before entering the traffic pattern to land. I've never jumped, but I've watched how it's done: the jump plane always circles wide until the last jumper is down.