Shayna Richardson's One and Only Post...Read It and Get Over It!!!!

[micro 0]

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Am I the only one that doesn't understand why people are making such a huge ordeal over this topic?

She was put out on inappropriate gear, without adequate instruction to operate the gear in a manner that allowed for a safe landing under an open parachute.

The interviews give the impression that the gear failed (the main did not malfunction), or that she was the only person at fault. She was set up for failure by her instructor before she exited the aircraft. Her interviews skew the facts in hopes of obtaining handouts.

even though this is a short post, i fell asleep reading it, thanks a "bunch"

too bad you woke up.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[artistcalledian 0]

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Am I the only one that doesn't understand why people are making such a huge ordeal over this topic?

She was put out on inappropriate gear, without adequate instruction to operate the gear in a manner that allowed for a safe landing under an open parachute.

The interviews give the impression that the gear failed (the main did not malfunction), or that she was the only person at fault. She was set up for failure by her instructor before she exited the aircraft. Her interviews skew the facts in hopes of obtaining handouts.

even though this is a short post, i fell asleep reading it, thanks a "bunch"

too bad you woke up.

yeah, i woke up and i'd smashed my face in... then all of a sudden loads of people started crying like babies and saying its all my fault, how very queer indeed

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drive it like you stole it and f*ck the police

[JeepDiver 0]

Does anyone know where I can find a can of worms?

[skinnyshrek 0]

I agree Her attitude on the post could of been better. That being said, everyone has already pre judged her. It reminds me of the tandem incident a couple of months back. Quite a few people were quick to get on the band wagon without knowing any facts. Yet, they had their opinion. Having videoed the jump, I was amazed to see how everyone knew what happened.
As for all you righteous insurance folks. Maybe, if you work in the industry, You should refuse to take any student AFF/Tandem. Make sure they bring the adequate proof before you let them jump.

http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

[Ashtanga 0]

I agree Shreck. I am sure her hostility came from reading the other threads and she unleased it all into one post.

[brierebecca 0]

Lee, I think I'm with you on this one. There's only one thing that's bothering me:

A poster a while back stated that Shayna had most or all of her medical bills covered by Medicaid. Granted, this probably doesn't include the teeth, but why would she include the 200,000 in hospital bills if they were taken care of? It smells a little fishy to me.

If she could clear that up for me, I'd be all for helping. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Brie

"Ive seen you hump air, hump the floor of the plane, and hump legs. You now have a new nickname: "Black Humper of Death"--yardhippie

[nerd137 0]

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You chose to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. No one forced you to do it. It was your decision.

When you made that decision, whether you knew it or not, you accepted all the risks that go along with throwing yourself at the ground at a high rate of speed relying only on some fabric and lines that have been known to not work in the past.

You are responsible for your accident. No one else. You.

Take responsibility for yourself, your choices, your decisions and your actions and you'll get respect. Expect others to pay for your choices, decisions and actions and you'll get exactly what you've been reading here.

Holy shit, that's callous! If people want to pull out their pocketbooks in sympathy, more power to 'em. Jesus.

[MakeItHappen 15]

Insurance - tangent

Many years ago I read in some classic novel (like the ones you had to read in HS) that insurance was 'a perverse form of gambling'. This meant that you place your bet each month and hope it never pays off. (aka Pay insurance premiums each month and hope you never need it.)

Strangely enough, Ned Flanders on the Simpson's said this in an episode many years ago.
This is this quote: Maude Flanders: "Ned doesn't believe in insurance. He thinks it's a form of gambling."

I know this is from some novel somewhere, only I cannot remember where it is. I thought it was Babbit or The Jungle, but I searched those texts on Gutenberg.org and did not find it.

Anyone know where it is from?

In reality, buying insurance and gambling are behaviors that people do when faced with uncertainty. Buying insurance reduces risk, whereas gambling increases risk.

See also Hey, I've Got Insurance… or Do I?

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[skinnyshrek 0]

If that is the case, and she is just trying to exploit this and make money then i agree. time after time i see on here that we shouldn't listen to the press, they always mislead the public..etc etc etc
And yet, people are quick to judge this woman based on the press
Like previously stated. If she had 500 jumps and made some of them statements, then yes she would be trying to exploit the situation.
She's a student folks!!

http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

[nerd137 0]

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Thats great...then SHE can deal with her medical bills with out begging the rest of the world to feel sorry for her poor choices

Oh, for fuck's sake. She is dealing with her medical bills. If you think she's an idiot, then just don't donate. Personally, I wouldn't jump without insurance and do not sympathize with her financial debt because she got injured without insurance. But if Joe Blow wants to fork over some money, that's his deal. What do you or I care?

I don't get the impression that she's "begging the rest of the world to feel sorry for her poor choices." She got herself in a fucked up situation and she's trying to get out of it. You don't wanna help? Don't. Neither will I. But stop with the shit talking.

As for the sensationalism behind the story, that's the fault of the fucking news media...they would turn a damn jaywalking ticket into the crime of the century if it was a slow news night.

[Ron 10]

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I agree Her attitude on the post could of been better. That being said, everyone has already pre judged her

Not everyone. I only bothered to care about this since she has the "I'm entitled" attitude.

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Quite a few people were quick to get on the band wagon without knowing any facts.

And many were 100% correct as to how things happend. You don't have to be there to know how things happen.

In this case she screwed up...Not the first person to screw up, and not the last. The difference here is she made a media stink about it, for what seems to be, to have others pay for her mistakes. OK, skydivers are for the most part pretty nice and help when they can. But she almost seems to demand help, and does not seem to care how she comes accross. If the Red Cross or the local blood drive folks jumped in my face and told me to help them or I am an asshole....Well I would tell them to pound sand up their asses.

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As for all you righteous insurance folks. Maybe, if you work in the industry, You should refuse to take any student AFF/Tandem. Make sure they bring the adequate proof before you let them jump.

Why? It is not MY job to make sure YOU have insurance. It is YOUR job. It is about personal responsibility. YOU are responsible to make sure YOU are covered, not my job to make sure you are covered, or my duty to help if you are not. If I choose to help thats my business...But by demanding it, or by calling me names if I don't thats not going to get you anywhere.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[stoneycase 0]

cost analyst. i'd put cost analyst in there, but i doubt anyone would know what that means. so i chose "analyst" instead. the degree is real, the story isn't ;)

it's a horrible analogy, i know...i just figured that if folks are ready with their wallets whenever someone is in an accident then i'd try to make the point that perhaps they are TOO ready with their wallets. (maybe that's the cost analyst in me)

bottom line, for me, is this is a capitalist society. we value money earned. when we see someone receiving money that they haven't earned, especially through the form of donation or freebie the antennae goes up. watching someone who thinks they are entitled to free money is even worse. add to that simple fact the complexities that we have here (skydiving, girl, pregnancy, media, etc etc) and it's easy to see how some people are going to come down on the side of the fence that says "personal responsibility". crucifying these peple for being "mean" or "hardasses" is dead wrong in my book. if you want to open your wallet for anybody or anything that's your decision, but don't expect the rest of us to sit by and stay quiet while we keep our wallets closed. i've always though we get two opportunities to vote - once with a ballot, and once with our wallet.

Does whisky count as beer? - Homer
There's no justice like angry mob justice. - Skinner
Be careful. There's a limited future in low pulls - JohnMitchell

[pilotdave 0]

I found this article entertaining: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/13461114.htm.

Kinda sums things up.

Dave

[Scrumpot 1]

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And I wonder how many of you folks remember what happened to "Dead Mike."

I do. And he's "famous" now too, isn't he (or WAS anyway), eh RL

But alas his "trials and tribulations" were P(pre)-DZ.com. There's a whole "new generation" out there now, post wreck-dot ...may it respectfully RIP.

Blue Skies,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[stoneycase 0]

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I found this article entertaining: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/13461114.htm.

Kinda sums things up.

Dave

nice one dave. some selective quotes for those that might not rtfa

This isn’t exactly how Shayna Richardson of Joplin, Mo., expected to get her 15 minutes of fame.

Yet there she was, exchanging Christmas pleasantries with Diane Sawyer last week on “Good Morning America.” Richardson hammed it up on Tuesday with Barbara Walters on ABC’s “The View,” and she said she has been contacted by representatives for talk-show hosts David Letterman, Ellen DeGeneres and others. She has been on CNN, NBC’s “Today” show and in newspapers worldwide.

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Reached recently by phone from New York, where she was staying 40 floors up near Times Square in an executive suite paid for by “The View,” Richardson tried to put the whirlwind in perspective.

“It’s been unreal,” she said. “I feel like my life has been flipped upside down, and I’m living somebody else’s life.”

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This jump, from 10,000 feet, initially seemed normal enough. Then Richardson tried to open her chute.

It failed, which Richardson and West attributed to a toggle that could have been corrected had Richardson realized what went wrong. Instead, according to West, “She freaked out.”

So Richardson turned to the reserve chute, which did not deploy fully.

Down she went, spinning uncontrollably. West, who also was diving, tried to shout instructions in midair. The voices of spotters crackled in Richardson’s walkie-talkie, but she could not recover.

“Seconds before I hit,” Richardson said, “I remember saying, ‘OK, God. I’m coming home. Just please don’t make it hurt.”

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West said that he landed about a minute after Richardson, ripped off his gear and sprinted to her side. He said she was lying face down in a pool of blood and was bleeding from her eyes, nose and mouth.

Amazingly, Richardson managed to sit up and spit out a mouthful of teeth.

“Am I dreaming?” she asked. “Am I alive? Am I in heaven?”

Richardson says she does not remember any of that. She was flown to a hospital in Fayetteville, Ark..

The damage: a pelvis broken in two places, a broken lower right leg — and a face that she said was “eggshelled.”

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In four surgeries, doctors inserted 15 steel plates where bones once provided structure, and Richardson’s jaw was wired shut for more than a month.Richardson had no health insurance, something that she now concedes was “silly.” She said her expenses have climbed past $200,000, and there are thousands of dollars more expected in the future.

That was what triggered the media blitz.

One of Richardson’s high school teachers from Ash Grove, Mo., thought she could help generate donations for her former student if she alerted the media. The video of Richardson’s fall has since been played on network programs, local TV stations and Internet sites.

Richardson said she has not been paid a dime for her media appearances, and a fund set up at a bank in Ash Grove hasn’t exactly been overwhelmed.

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Meanwhile, West says he is worried that all the publicity will hurt his career.

“The skydiving community doesn’t want me to talk about it,” he said.

Still, Richardson and West are optimistic about the future.

They recently got engaged and will set a wedding date once Richardson’s divorce is final. Neither has soured on skydiving and they expect to be in the skies in 2006.

Then there is their baby.

Tests conducted while Richardson was hospitalized showed that she was pregnant, which shocked her and West. The baby was virtually unscathed in the accident and is due in June.

entertaining to say the least...thanks dave. should add to the discussion, err flame war

Does whisky count as beer? - Homer
There's no justice like angry mob justice. - Skinner
Be careful. There's a limited future in low pulls - JohnMitchell

[diablopilot 2]

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Take a walk in someone else's shoes for a change.

I have.

I broke my leg in 2000 skydiving with no medical insurance.

I chose to arange with the billing agencies to make payments, I delt with the fact it ended up on my credit report, I decided not to involve anyone else.

I've contributed to friends medical bill funds in the past.

I've lent money to jumpers down and out.

I've been a part of this sport which is greater than I am, and I've always tried to portray it in a positive light.

If there is even one person who saw this womans story on the news and thought or said "they shouldn't be allowed to do that, there ought to be a law" then she's done her damage.

Shayana Richardson, through her actions has shown that rather than becoming a "skydiver", she's only turned into a "wuffo with a parachute".

I'm done.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Elisha 1]

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I found this article entertaining: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/13461114.htm.

Kinda sums things up.

Dave

Wow! Kudos to that reporter!

[artistcalledian 0]

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Take a walk in someone else's shoes for a change.

I have.

I broke my leg in 2000 skydiving with no medical insurance.

I chose to arange with the billing agencies to make payments, I delt with the fact it ended up on my credit report, I decided not to involve anyone else.

I've contributed to friends medical bill funds in the past.

I've lent money to jumpers down and out.

I've been a part of this sport which is greater than I am, and I've always tried to portray it in a positive light.

If there is even one person who saw this womans story on the news and thought or said "they shouldn't be allowed to do that, there ought to be a law" then she's done her damage.

Shayana Richardson, through her actions has shown that rather than becoming a "skydiver", she's only turned into a "wuffo with a parachute".

I'm done.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/forumfun/positive14.jpg

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drive it like you stole it and f*ck the police

[Ron 10]

Wow you insult a guy that shows maturity. And pick on a guy that shows responsibility.

Well that about wraps this up.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[micro 0]

"wuffo with a parachute".

JP, I like that one... seems to fit.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[GAZ14 0]

THE BEST POST ON THIS BY FAR!
Opportunity to step back and look at your own lives and let the girl be.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Oh yes,your right.Very,very intelligent and well spoken.


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[artistcalledian 0]

people on here are like a group of old woman, all sniping and gossiping about what this girl did

have you heard what you sound like going on and on and on about insurance? and picking fault with the tiniest detail of the whole event? Do you ALWAYS do everything right in your lives? have you ever made a mistake and fucked up? judging by the responces of some of the bozos on here, skydiving is full of perfect people... except they're not perfect, they sit night after night sniping on the interent like a group retards

i couldn't give a damm if you're 100 or 1000 or 3000 jump wonders, i think the way some of the "gods" on here have droned on and on for weeks about this has done just as much damage to this sport as that poor unfortunate girl who had the accident

All those patting themselves on the back who always do everything right in skydiving, are you just as successfu in your private life? have you ever fucked up and done something stupid and looked for the help of others? i don't think i have... so on your rules, i'm better than you and can sit and moan like a bitch about how you've done wrong can i?

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drive it like you stole it and f*ck the police

[NelKel 0]

I don't feel that this was an unsafe thing to do, or put me at an undue high risk. Yes, I was going faster than if I was under some huge boat. But I think the benefit of learning to fly a "real" canopy from the beginning outweighted any increased risk. We were taught how to fly and flare it properly, and the instructors were very concious of the winds and grounded us often.<<<<<<<<<<<<<

So basically what your saying was Shayna didn't receive proper instruction, and that a "real" canopy is one that put you at a higher risk of getting injured when you fuck up.

These statements, coupled with your 68 jumps seems to not give any indication that you really know what your saying.

Ok, I have seen this said over and over and I just have to point out again -- THERE ARE WELL-RESPECTED DZ'S AND INSTRUCTORS THAT PUT STUDENTS ON ZP 170'S EVERY DAY. I was trained at SDC and they use Sabre2's, and put most students out on their first jump at just under 1:1. I was on a 190, and I had fellow students on 170's, and 150's for the smaller girls. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Do you know the difference in flight characteristics between a 150 and a 190?

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Someone dies, someone says how stupid, someone says it was avoidable, someone says how to avoid it, someone calls them an idiot, someone proposes rule chan

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Nice rant.Was that aimed at me??Where is that little smiliey with the middle finger.I might as well stoop on down.

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