Is Bob Hail a myth?

[FrogNog 1]

Supposedly in 1972 a S/L student goes in with a double-mal of some sort, and only breaks his nose and loses some teeth. Does anyone know anything?

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Pull.

[Andy9o8 2]

Well, it's the middle of the workday, & I've got to make a living, so having nothing better to do I did a Google search. Got 3 hits saying the same thing, 2 of which are identical to each other. However, none of these hits reference any source material, so it really doesn't confirm whether it's truth or myth.
OK, back to work.

[mjosparky 4]

Here is a newspaper article on it.

http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/96/129/01_9.html

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[nitrochute 2]

dunno about that one. but could be. in 1978 at ripcord para center in new jersey, Kenny Shroyer went in with a double mal.28 foot flat circular main opened into a verysevere mae west(less than 40% of the canopy inflated) .since he was a student at the time ,he tried to hand deploy his resrve (no cutaway)which then entangeled with his main and exasperated the situation by stealing air from the main. landed at 80 mph or so in a FRESHLY plowed field.myself and bruce chapman were the first ones there.(he was not moving when we arrived and was covered by his canopies.as we are trying to find his arm to check for a pulse,he suddenly bolts uprite and proclaims "I'm alrite!". bruce almost shit himself.
a qick trip to the hospital revealed he was absolutely fine.

[JohnRich 4]

From the referenced news story:

In November, 1972, a student skydiver named Bob Hail jumped from his plane and quickly discovered that niether his regular parachute nor his backup chute had opened. He dropped 3,300 feet at a rate of 80 mph and landed on his face. "I screamed," Hail recalled later. "I knew I was dead and that my life was ended right then. There was nothing I could do." A few moments after landing, however, he got up and walked away with nothing worse than a broken nose and some missing teeth. No one has been able to explain how he escaped unhurt.

Everyone wants to presume from a story like this which says "his chutes didn't open" that he hit the earth in freefall. Usually the truth of such stories is that they have some partial inflation of a chute, slowing their descent to survivable speed. The estimate of an "80 mph speed" hints at that, since it's far less than freefall speed. And you even have to wonder how they derived that number - it could have been far less. Thus, the truth is not nearly as exciting or sensational as the newspapers would have us believe. Sure, he was lucky nonetheless, but not in as dramatic a way as they say.

[Bandanarama 0]

Thanks for sharing. Did Kenny Shroyer do anymore jumps after that miraculous event? These types of stories are amazing and hard to believe but they do happen.


Eric

___________________________________________________

One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

[nitrochute 2]

yes he continued to jump for a few years after that.i lost track of him at that time but i think he moved to california in the early 1980s.

[hottamaly 1]

I lived with a guy (jumping Jack Flash) that told me of surviving 3 double mals back in the round days.
His thoughts were "never give up" and he is alive today because of that.

Skydiving gave me a reason to live
I'm not afraid of what I'll miss when I die...I'm afraid of what I'll miss as I live

[goose491 0]

Quote

Usually the truth of such stories is that they have some partial inflation of a chute, slowing their descent to survivable speed. The estimate of an "80 mph speed" hints at that...

That's sorta the impression I got. Even if the 80mph down is correct, a mal that has you spinning like crazy has the potential of saving you from a lot of trauma by 'skipping' you off the earths surface rather then pounding you straight in. A reason why swoopers might burry ONE toggle is they KNOW beyond reasonable doubt that they aren't getting out of the corner and will be going in hard... providing they have the time to think of it.

Not to downplay the sensasionalism of surviving a double mal mind-you . I bet that guy bought himself a whack of lotery tickets that week!

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[AdD 1]

Quote

A reason why swoopers might burry ONE toggle is they KNOW beyond reasonable doubt that they aren't getting out of the corner and will be going in hard... providing they have the time to think of it.

Hehe, that doesn't sound advisable, I always thought your should get'em both down, not that I've had to.

Life is ez
On the dz
Every jumper's dream
3 rigs and an airstream

[GEatonSkyfly 4]

Hello All, As we read here it happened more than many know.!!! My Step-Mom ( Marcia Kenyon-Eaton) had a double Malfunction on rounds. year was sometime about 1975,76 or 77, but it was at Easton Airfield which is south east of Lasalle, Colorado.(Chuck had a crop spraying operation he ran there at his own airfield) She had both entangled together with only partial canopies of both slowing her down some, and she went into the plowed field right next to the packing hangar. She broke her back and luck saved her from being paralized. She later returned to make just one more jump to prove she could do it and then quit jumping.(she decided to get her pilots licence instead) It was discussed with the farmer that had plowed only half the field the day before that he would be back early to plow the remaining half. He did as he said, and that was the side my Mom went into on only about a half hour later after he was done plowing!!! They figured she was going about 65 to 75 mph when she hit, And that if it was not for his plowing the field she would not have lived. I was there also and seen the whole thing. My Father was the pilot of the aircraft too. I don't remember if it was our own C-180 or if it was Chuck Eastons C-182 , but He remembers that my step-mom did not want to get off the strut, So he gave her another pass and when she still did not get off he literally "booted her off" Later while recovering she said that the whole time she felt like something was wrong with the pack job and decided to take the chance anyways. sadly she passed away due to breast cancer.. I have alot of other true stories from the past jumping in Colorado too. 1967 thru the present. Blue Skies, Grant Eaton

[Klslittlebuddy 0]

This is Ken Shroyer. What you posted is accurate. People can calculate the speed if they want but it was a main reserve entanglement with little or no inflation - feet first spinning - a streamer. I went on to jump at Perris and was on the 10 way speed star team "The Clutch" which took 2 silver metals at the Nationals 83 & 85. I used to buy a keg a beer each year to commemorate the occasion. Even to this day I reflect on what happened that day wondering not only how I survived but why I didn't sustain any injuries. Some may doubt the truefulness of this account but I have nothing to gain by embellishing what happened. I have no answers, it simply did happen as related and it is what it is.

[Klslittlebuddy 0]

This is Ken Shroyer. Yes, I did continue to jump. I went on to jump at Perris and was on the 10 way speed star team "The Clutch" which took 2 silver metals at the Nationals 83 & 85.