Bridge Day 2006 Fatality

[TomAiello 26]

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How many skydives and base jumps did the jumper have?
And When was the last time he did either? How current was he?

He met the same minimum requirements for Bridge Day as every other jumper, and significant additional efforts were made by Jason Bell and his staff to provide him training and preparation for the jump.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[mickknutson 0]

So is it true the jumper was NOT current since 1980's ????

Does this mean that anyone can jump if they have the numbers even if they are are several DECADES out of practice?

Mick Knutson
* BLiNC Magazine "Everything you ever wanted to know about Parachuting, but didn't know whom to ask."

[mickknutson 0]

I heard a rumor that Jean B. was his instructor for this jump.

Is this just poor information from my very best friend in the world, or is it true?

Mick Knutson
* BLiNC Magazine "Everything you ever wanted to know about Parachuting, but didn't know whom to ask."

[Faber 0]

My deepest condolance to family and freinds.

This is not a time for bateling.

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[Waldschrat 0]

My condolences to the family.

How old was this man?
---------------------------------------------
In the case of the wingsuit jumper was it also overdelay?

Thx

[NickDG 23]

Brian had a heart the size of ten men . . . and it was made of solid gold.

And when he smiled, his eyes twinkled, and you could still see the little boy in his face.

Sleep tight my friend . . .

NickD
BASE 194

[likearock 2]

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My deepest condolance to family and freinds.

This is not a time for bateling.

All due respect, the purpose of these forums is to discuss and learn from incidents as they occur. If Brian wasn't current that could very well be a factor. In terms of what we can specifically learn from it, I notice that participation in Bridge Day requires 50 prior jumps but says nothing about when they can occur. I believe this is a serious oversight and some kind of currency requirement should be added.

This is truly a tragic incident, especially considering this man's history. We should honor him by allowing his death to make the sport safer.

[TVPB 0]

Condolences to all concerned.

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[dbrutherford 0]

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I herd there was also a jumper who got paralyised this year...

This is incorrect. The jumper who pulled low in the wingsuit was injured and life flighted out. He did have a spinal fracture (L7, if I recall correctly), but had feeling and control in all 4 extremities.

Tom, he was the one all the local news channels were showing and talking about Brian. I saw him jump and his low pull. He was swimming after his water landing. I am glad he is some what ok. I hope he heals fast.

BSBD to the deceased.

DBR

[d_goldsmith 1]

I just heard on the news that he was rushed to the hospital and later died. I think they might be mixing the stories, but are you sure the WS pilot is alright/alive?

[Faber 0]

if you frequantly read theese bords you would know that i often has given Jason a hard time as of BD and the rules for jumping there.

But take that and also look at Jason as the organicer making such a legal event posible,perhaps he need some support right now.
Then he might change the rules,he wont if he stop organicing,however there probaly wouldnt be a BD either..

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This is truly a tragic incident, especially considering this man's history.

i dont think some people are more worth than others,you might knew Brian and feel a greater loss than i who never heard of the guy.

As i understand Brian were jumping in the early days,and if so he for sure knew the risk in this sport.His lack of self cretism and the fact that he allowed to jump even as he wasnt current leed to his death,im pretty sure most of us will agree into that.(in some degree+ or -).

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We should honor him by allowing his death to make the sport safer.

people are still making low pulls today tomo etc etc its a fact..
So i cant see (unless theres some rigging thing) how this can be prevented in the furture,Hopefully it will raise the requirements at BD,but Brian could have desided to make that same jump at my local A,whith the same outcome.. he should have desided to pull higher..

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the purpose of these forums is to discuss and learn from incidents as they occur.

Nope its to help people preventing incident to occur.

Its always a great loss as we loss a brother or sister in this sport,learning from mistakes to prevent them happening again is a must as you also say,but some times not much can be done.

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[dbrutherford 0]

I don't know much at all about the WS jumper goldie... I was just there to watch the festivle.

I saw his jump and all I can tell you was the WS jumper pulled low and hit the water with half of a canopy out. He was swimming when the boats pulled him out of the water and then rove him over to the shore. They then put him on a back board and then took him out of the gorge in an ambulance. Tom said on the incidents forum that he broke his back but was moving all 4 of his extremities. If he later died, I can't tell you.

What I was commenting on more was that the TV stations were talking about Brian's death yet showing video of the WS jumper. I just hope the WS jumper is ok.

DBR

[mickknutson 0]

Who is spreading rumors about ME (Mick Knutson)??????????

Why does everyone want to talk crap about me at BD and I am not even at BD!!!!

Look at my posting here! I was NEVER flaming Jason Bell!
I just got a call from the Holiday Inn saying that there is a huge uproar abou me spreading false pretense about Jason.

Will whomever is spreading the rumors PLEASE GROW UP?????

Mick Knutson
* BLiNC Magazine "Everything you ever wanted to know about Parachuting, but didn't know whom to ask."

[Pebbles67 0]

http://www.baseclimb.com/BASE_history.htm


There is a first hand account of the El Capitan jump here .

[BillyVance 34]

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no offense. but did jumping continue or conclude upon the incedent?

Jumping was allowed to continue after the deceased, family and friends had left the bridge. A significant number of jumpers chose to stop jumping for the day after the incident.

Jumping was allowed to continue because the weather had no bearing on the fatality.

However, that said, they made the correct call to wait for family and friends to leave.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[likearock 2]

Stefan,

You make a lot of good points so I don't think it's necessary to go into them one by one. I would just add this: I myself am not a base jumper. However, I am a skydiver who knows that a lot of skills we take for granted were not necessarily there for us at the start. I remember in particular the many precious seconds it took on one of my early AFF jumps to simply locate the hackey. It's not unusual for FJC students to struggle with this during freefall in spite of going over the procedure numerous times on the ground. Fortunately for those of us jumping from planes, there is a good deal of freefall time in which to locate the hackey and successfully deploy. How long do you have from NRGB? Five seconds?

I can't possibly know if this was what happened in Brian's incident. However, if his only previous skydiving experience was decades ago on much different, ripcord-based gear, it seems a distinct possibility.

The point I'm trying to make is that Bridge Day is a highly publicized event as the recent news reports have made abundantly clear. No one should be allowed to make their first base jump there unless they have certain fundamental skills "wired in". At a minimum, those skills should include the ability to quickly deploy a throwout pilot chute and the ability to successfully land a canopy.

Sure, there's no way to guarantee that everyone at Bridge Day will have those skills. But there should be some kind of currency requirement that at least addresses the need for them.

[jkbasejumper 0]

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I remember in particular the many precious seconds it took on one of my early AFF jumps to simply locate the hackey.

Although i understand your point here, in this particular incident the jumper exited with the pilot chute in his hand. So locating the pc was not an issue.
All he needed to do was open up his hand and let it go.In my OPINION i think he MAY have had a little "tunnel vision" due to the unstable exit.
i.e. spent to much time trying to get stable instead of getting a chute over his head.
In the words of my mentor : when in doubt,whip it out.
Like i said this is my opinion only i have not seen all of the videos and i didn't see this happen first hand.

big country
base998

[likearock 2]

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I remember in particular the many precious seconds it took on one of my early AFF jumps to simply locate the hackey.

Although i understand your point here, in this particular incident the jumper exited with the pilot chute in his hand. So locating the pc was not an issue.
All he needed to do was open up his hand and let it go.In my OPINION i think he MAY have had a little "tunnel vision" due to the unstable exit.

My bad, didn't know that he exited PC in hand. Of course, as you suggest, the ability to exit stable would be another fundamental skill. Needless to say, that skill is also more likely to be present in a current jumper.

[HydroGuy 0]

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I would just add this: I myself am not a base jumper

Then your input as to anything BASE related is completely irrelevant.

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[ryoder 1,590]

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Although i understand your point here, in this particular incident the jumper exited with the pilot chute in his hand. So locating the pc was not an issue. All he needed to do was open up his hand and let it go.

And remember that he learned to skydive with a ripcord. In the olden days of ripcords it was always imperative to keep your right hand firmly clenched while in a fist while deploying, to keep from losing the ripcord; A habit that is counter-intuitive to jumping current gear.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Zoter 0]

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I would just add this: I myself am not a base jumper

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Then your input as to anything BASE related is completely irrelevant

Careful.....just because someone has not made a jump doesnt mean they dont know anything about the discipline or have an informed opinion on a particular aspect.....

I'm sorry someone has died jumping and sorry it was in such a public arena.....I hope something good comes out of it , like a potential jumper, witnessing the incident , getting a dose of reality and perhaps thinking a bit deeper about motivations for starting .

[jkbasejumper 0]

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And remember that he learned to skydive with a ripcord. In the olden days of ripcords it was always imperative to keep your right hand firmly clenched while in a fist while deploying, to keep from losing the ripcord; A habit that is counter-intuitive to jumping current gear.

yes. that is right which is one of the reasons that lead me to the whole "tunnel vision" theory.

people go back to habit in times of panic before changing to new teachings. for example: when people leave their homes they use the same door 98% of the time. firefighters find people all the time dead a mere few feet from a door when they had a closer door or window they could have escaped through.but being in a state of panic the first door they think of is the one they used all the time.

big country
base998

[ryoder 1,590]

You were obviously responding to HydroGuy, but your post shows up as a response to mine.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Luke 0]

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I would just add this: I myself am not a base jumper

Then your input as to anything BASE related is completely irrelevant.

I understand why you say that, but I'll respectfully disagree with you.

Anyone can produce a logical argument to support a theory. BASE jumping is maybe a few years off being an exact science so real world experience is an important factor in the meanwhile.

However, he's happy to state that he's not a BASE jumper. Anyone reading his posts will surely take that into consideration. But that fact in itself does not make his opinion and questions irrelevant.

[Trae 1]

Condolences to friends and family



in reply to "people go back to habit in times of panic before changing to new teachings. for example: when people leave their homes they use the same door 98% of the time.
...................................

My 2cents worth is that the passing of this Legend may be highlighting the need for more thorough emergency procedures training.