Near miss of plane while under canopy - link to video

[gasson 0]

Thought this might be a video people can learn from and be more aware for future jumps. Never assume you are alone with your friends.

http://www.skydivingstunts.com/dzdotcom

This happened last weekend and the pilot saw me right before I saw him. Brandon was on the ground trying to radio and got no response. Suzy our pilot also tried contacting him and also got no response. He was flying directly over the DZ about 2000 feet. I am guessing that he was flying from Phoenix to Tucson using Eloy as a midpoint. I noticed him visually as he started to bank to avoid our group.

[jumpergirl 0]

I can hear it, but no picture. Is it just me??

[airdvr 210]

Seems like I see this kind of thing every time I'm at the DZ. Some fool will come tearing through at 2 grand. What can be done? I know about checking for traffic when the door is opened but really, the chances of you spotting a small plane with the ground as a backdrop from over 2 miles away...

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[John4455 0]

Looks like an intentional buzz to me...

How do ya like it Johnny?

[PhreeZone 20]

Get the latest version of quicktime.

Thats a little close if you can hear his engine over your wind noise.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[jumpergirl 0]

Thanks... guess I just needed an update.
Scary video...

[MrBrant 0]

holy crap

[jlmiracle 7]

shiiiiiittt. Looks like they were coming back around for another scraping run.

It happened once as a 12-way was breaking. After we all opened everyone turned and flipped the guy off.

j

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[lowie 0]

Looked pretty dodgey to me.

Were you hanging from your rig by one arm at the time?

Cool that no-one was hurt.

[bbarnhouse 0]

Ya know after doing all kinds of "good stuff" over the years, there isn't a lot that phases G2.
Gotta say this was one that got us ALL going.
Thanks for posting this.
B2

[Frenchy68 0]

Quote

Ya know after doing all kinds of "good stuff" over the years, there isn't a lot that phases G2.
Gotta say this was one that got us ALL going.
Thanks for posting this.
B2

The lurker is turning into a post whore!

Were there many other canopies opened in the vicinity?

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[Skydivercop 0]

Quote

It happened once as a 12-way was breaking. After we all opened everyone turned and flipped the guy off.

Now that's grace under pressure! :D

AJ aka Sonic A-Hole
Sonic Beef #93
"Thaaaaaat's Right!"

[tkhayes 348]

it's not THAT close - you can't even read the N number.......

I nearly got taken out by the biplane at WFFC years ago, right at line stretch ona tandem. he pulled up and I could see the parts of the airplane really close up.....
TK

[riggerrob 643]

How about the time a Cessna twin flew over the old Embrun Russell DZ at 2,000' as a dozen of us were opening.
I angrily got on the phone with Ottawa Center.
Their reply: "He was not in controlled airspace so we don't care."
That was before Transport Canada updated maps to include a parachute symbol over Embrun-Russell. Transport Canada is notoriously bad about updating maps.

[riggerrob 643]

At Snohomish, my favorite tactic was to broadcast on the local air traffic frequency "Some idiot in a blue and white Citabria is flying through an active dropzone."
The idiot immediately flew away!
Hee!
Hee!

[tombuch 0]

Quote

Their reply: "He was not in controlled airspace so we don't care."
That was before Transport Canada updated maps to include a parachute symbol over Embrun-Russell. Transport Canada is notoriously bad about updating maps.

Updating maps is hardly the ideal solution it once was. Many pilots are now doing their flight planning with computer software and then flying with GPS, or GPS slaved to FMS systems. Digital datasets do not include drop zones, so no matter what is on a paper chart, pilots using GPS won't know about it.
.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[FlyboySMB 0]

I thought it was going to be exciting!

The last "good" one I saw was in Hollister in 2000 (ish), you had to watch fast, becasue the plane clipped the end cell of Chance's Stiletto tearing it, but he was able to land it.

But I guess that would not fall under the "near miss" heading.

I say we carry paint guns & start peppering the widshileds as they fly by!

[cloudseeker2001 0]

Quote

Seems like I see this kind of thing every time I'm at the DZ. Some fool will come tearing through at 2 grand. What can be done? I know about checking for traffic when the door is opened but really, the chances of you spotting a small plane with the ground as a backdrop from over 2 miles away...

I rarely ever see anyone scan the spot for air traffic before they get out of the plane at my DZ. This time of year I see crop dusters all the time-2 on Friday.

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[cloudseeker2001 0]

Quote

At Snohomish, my favorite tactic was to broadcast on the local air traffic frequency "Some idiot in a blue and white Citabria is flying through an active dropzone."
The idiot immediately flew away!
Hee!
Hee!

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[cloudseeker2001 0]

About 5 years ago at Spaceland this guy named Joe was doing a jump with Scotty Carbone.........Joe said we both saw the plane and Carbone tracked directly in front of it and deployed! Carbone told me as the canopy was inflating he was flipping off the pilots!

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[kallend 2,026]

Quote

Quote

Their reply: "He was not in controlled airspace so we don't care."
That was before Transport Canada updated maps to include a parachute symbol over Embrun-Russell. Transport Canada is notoriously bad about updating maps.

Updating maps is hardly the ideal solution it once was. Many pilots are now doing their flight planning with computer software and then flying with GPS, or GPS slaved to FMS systems. Digital datasets do not include drop zones, so no matter what is on a paper chart, pilots using GPS won't know about it.
.

And it is perfectly legal to fly using digital datasets, as long as they are current. Skydivers need to bear in mind that they do not have exclusive use of the airspace over a DZ.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[bmcd308 0]

>> "Some idiot in a blue and white Citabria is flying through an active dropzone." <<

At many dropzones, it is unlikely that it would be heard, since that would require said Citabria to monitor the local air traffic frequency.

----------------------------------
www.jumpelvis.com

[samyueru 0]

Using GPS, a pilot is not relieved of his/her responsibility to recon their route and consult the sectionals...there's really no excuse for violating airspace in anything except for an emergency.

-S

[Beerlight 0]

BTW, there "is" an airway virtually over the top of Eloy. Both high and low.

I don't have time to look it up. Ask your local pilots about it.........

[tombuch 0]

Quote

Using GPS, a pilot is not relieved of his/her responsibility to recon their route and consult the sectionals...there's really no excuse for violating airspace in anything except for an emergency.

-S

In the United States the airspace belongs to the public, that means skydivers, pilots, and whuffos. An airplane flying above a drop zone is NOT violating the airspace.

You are correct that a pilot should at least know he is over a drop zone, but technology has replaced paper charts, and skydivers are not covered by the new technology. Sure, the pilot should be looking, but so should the jumpers.

Here's a quick bit of math: Assume you get out of an airplane at 13,500 feet, freefall for one minute, then fly your canopy for a minute, and then have a near miss with a small airplane. That airplane is probably traveling less than 120 mph, and was no further than four miles away when you exited. Come on now, don't we have a responsibility to clear the airspace before we jump?

I sometimes feel like a broken record on this topic. If you haven't already done so, read my additional thoughts on the S&TA area of The Ranch web site at http://www.ranchskydive.com/safety/index.htm. Take a moment to read:

Article 1, Checking For Traffic
Article 8, Airspace
Article 13, FAA Regulations Applied

.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy