Daniel (Dan-o) Braafhart

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Blue Skies to our friend Daniel (Dan-o) Braafhart who was killed today along with his tandem passenger while attempting to land their canopy at Mile-Hi Skydiving in Longmont Colorado.

Dan-o was a very well liked person at Mile-Hi Skydiving and he was known as a very generous person who would give his time and his money to those who needed help.

He will be missed by many. His family (including his three sons who also jump), his friends and all his skydiving and non-skydiving work colleagues.

Blue Skies ...

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[riddler 0]

Dan-O loved to jump. He put passion into teaching, and I think he was one of the better AFF ground-school teachers (better than myself, at least) at Mile Hi. I don't think you'll find anyone who has anything negative to say about his enthusiasm and optimism. He always had a friendly smile and kind words for other jumpers. I'll always remember doing coaching with him, and teaching ground school with him. He was looking forward to getting his AFFI rating. I'm not happy about what happened, but he died doing what he loved the most.

Blue skies, brother

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[tdog 0]

He was a great guy... Did it for the love, not the money. We need more people like him in the sport.

Lately I made a point to say hi to him more often. In exchange he always greeted me by name, and with a heart felt smile.

RIP

[muilencd 0]

Guys I am so sorry. Dan-O was a great guy and I loved working with him. He always had a smile and a hug for me and just loved working when he was at the DZ. He would come in, in the mornings and just be ready to go and would be so happy about being there. This just sucks.
My hugs and prayers go out to you. I am sorry and I miss you.
Love always, Rissa

[BirdWoman 0]

Fuck! Words are coming so few this morning. You were such a good friend to so many, and a saint in times of need. The snowboarding trips we took. The wingsuit flights we made. The time spent at LP in your trailer catching up on lost time. I'll see you in the sky brother. Let's go fly again...

"I don't know where it is that I'm going, but wherever it is there I'll be!" --quoted by me

[Lucky123 0]

Sat down and watched him not long ago teaching a few students in the hanging harness. We officially met and shook hands for the first time. He might not have known it but he was teaching me at the same time. He would get the students spinning pretty good and every so often peek over at me and smile.

Blue Skies Dan-o

[crazydiver 0]

This is shitty. I got a call yesterday afternoon to let me in on the details since I'm not living in CO right now. He really was a solid solid guy. I can't say one bad word about his character and I don't think anyone else could either. I remember whenever we saw each other in the mornings before a long day of tandems the first thing he always said was "Hey kid-o."

Ugh...

Blue ones...

Cheers,
Travis

[mustard 0]

Words fail me. I was home packing up for our move to the Pacific Northwest when I got a call that this tragedy took place yesterday. I thought about Dano all the rest of the day and night and every time I woke up I thought about him. Then this morning the local news had his smiling picture.

Dano was one of the best FJC instructors I know. He knew how to teach but not overteach brand new students. He was proud that very few of his students had to repeat their first jump. I watched him just last weekend teaching his students and thought about how calm, inspiring, and just downright good he was.

That actually sums up Dano in my mind: good. He was good to the students, good to his friends, just plain good. He was well respected at his job, and many times he would provide free pizza for my coach courses, without me asking.

My heart is heavy for all of us who knew him, because he's one of a kind. Goodbye my friend, I will see you and my other friends and family who went before me when I show up on the other side.

***
DJan

[shortyj 0]

This sucks no one ever wants this to happen. I didn't know Dan but it sounds like he was a truly amazing person. My prayers and *hugs* to his family and friends.

Playtime is essential.

[skr 1]

Oh, well this sucks.

Dano lived up to his name, Braafhart,
Good Heart, Brave Heart.

I've watched him teach. He really gave
of himself and his energy to his students,
and you could see what a huge difference
it made to them.

[sartre 0]

Anyone have a pic of him to post? I'm sure I've seen him up there, but don't think I ever met him.

So sad.

[crazydiver 0]

This is the old staff page from mile hi. It must be archived somehwere because its not mile hi's current website. He's most of the way down the page. This website was from a long time ago though, many of those folks don't work at MH anymore or have passed.

http://www.ecentral.com/members/jsands/staff.html

Cheers,
Travis

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

Dan-o was an awesome Mentor for me when I was a newbie at MileHi. I'm looking at my A card and he signed off on most of it in March 2004 which, if I recall, was Safety Day. In fact, he's the one who "sold" me on getting a Mirage since he had two of them himself.
His passion for skydiving was apparent. He truly enjoyed sharing his knowledge with newbies like myself. He was very generous with his time to explain whatever I was working on in a way that matched my learning style.
I'll be home soon to give the MileHi friends and family comforting hugs, especially Dan-o's boys.

Blue Skies, Dan-o...
'til I see you again.

_________________________________________

[efs4ever 3]

Clicky

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[mustard 0]

I found this picture, which was taken after his first cutaway on a tandem.

***
DJan

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Ignore the number of jumps and all that. This is a very old series of pictures going back to the late Jeff Sands DZO era (summer of 2003 if I am not mistaken). Dan-o had way more jumps that what is listed on this page.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[crazydiver 0]

Quote

I found this picture, which was taken after his first cutaway on a tandem.

He looked so happy to have had a cutaway :)

Cheers,
Travis

[jumpinjen 0]

I just heard the news about Dan-O and am physically sick... Dan-O was so kind and loving to my husband, Jeff, and me from our first meeting in 2003. Everywhere he went he shared his positive peacefulness. The world is a dimmer place without him in it.

My love goes out to TJ, Anthony, John, and Ann.

Blue skies, sweet friend. You are loved and missed.
Jen and Jeff

P.S. I found a few pictures of Dan-O from LP 2004.

[aironscott 3]

Dan-O was a very good friend and a great soul. He was always quick with a smile and a kind word. We are all truely blessed to have had him as part of our lives.
One thing that I take as comfort is that Dan left this place much better than he found it. I will miss you.
Blue skies Dan-O

Aaron

“God Damn Mountain Dew MotherFuckers!”

[derrickiv 0]

Dan-o taught my fjc at longmont last fall. I'll just echo everyone else's words in that I have nothing but good to say about him. It was evident from the first minutes with him that he was passionate about teaching students and ensuring their safe entry into this sport.

A genuinely nice guy, you will be missed.

[Usetawuz 1]

Losing Dan-O leaves a tremendous void. He will truly be missed. My prayers and heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.

Fly free Dan-O. Blue skies

_________________________________________
The older I get, the better I was!

[squarecanopy 0]

Ditto all the things already said here about Dan. What a cool guy. He was the first "staffer", other than Miami, that I met when I started jumping at Mile High and he took the time to introduce himself, welcome me and ask if there was anything he could do for me. He made me feel at ease and at home right away. Whenever I would see him, he always had a smile and a minute to ask what I was up to and how my sons were doing. I will miss his energy and passion for skydiving, and his willingness to include newbies like me into the sport.
Fly Free, Dan-o... I will see you again someday...
My condolences and prayers to the Braafhart family and Dan-o's skydiving family.

Just burning a hole in the sky.....

[agent_lead 0]

my heart goes out to all of the staff at mile hi following this tragedy..

i had never met dan but it sounds from reading this thread that he was a great person and he will be sorely missed.

blue stuff...

--------------------------------------------
www.facebook.com/agentlead

[Grubber 0]

Dan-o was my AFF 1 ground instructor. He brought so many folks into the sport and he always had a smile on his face.

Blue skies...

[12500ft 2]

I haven't posted because I don't even know what to say. I will miss his smile, his hugs, his positive outlook on every aspect of life, and his ability to spread his infectious happiness. This is such an incredible loss that I haven't even begun to process it.