How safe?

[gldn51 0]

My son wants to learn to skydive. I am a little worried about this. I would like to ask how safe is skydiving?
Compared to say, if he wanted to get and ride a Harley which would be safer? Thank you for your response

[PhreeZone 20]

Risk is all realtive. Is skydiving more dangerous then Golfing? Probally not, unless you decided to go golfing in the middle of a lightning storm.
The risks involded in any avation activity will always be there and can only hope to be minimized. Ways of doing this is making sure that the school runs well maintained aircraft, the pilots are propery trained and certified, and that the instructors are well trained. The United States Parachute Association tries to regualte the sport, but there are lots of highy trained and experienced schools that are not USPA members. The best thing to do if your son is truely interested is visit a few local Dropzone and ask lots of questions. After getting the answers, sit down and decide if its a level of risk he is ready to deal with.
That being said, I decided it was very much worth it and would not hesitate to recommend a Tandem skydive to anyone.
I want to touch the sky, I want to fly so high ~ Sonique

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Skydiving is much safer sport sport than a lot of people think. Yes, skydivers do get hurt on rare occasion, but I'd much rather jump out of plane, than drive down a busy road. Especially on a bike. I'd definatly agree that if you aren't sure, visit a dropzone and take a look for yourself.
I skydive, therefore I am

• Quote

[quade 4]

How old is he?
Paul
http://futurecam.com/skydive.html

[Michele 1]

Hi, Eve.
Checked your profile, and noticed you're posting from West Covina. I would recommend that you call Perris Valley Skydiving School, and talk to them. I learned there this summer, and it is an amazing experience. Wonderful instructors, great facility, excellent people overall. You might want to come out to Perris and watch, too, and ask questions, and then, ask more questions.
Another thing which has been recommended is that a tandem ride for a first experience is a great way to make up your mind. If your son is over 18, why not treat him to a tandem jump for Christmas, and go along with him?
Perris Valley Skydive telephone number is (800) 832-8818, and the website is www.skydiveperris.com. Lots of great information there. Also, read through these forums, and really listen to the conversations. Most of the threads on this board, for example, discuss and discuss and discuss many of the issues which arise. From personal experience, I have learned many things here, and consider this site an invaluable resource.
Personal opinion? Skydiving is not safe, but far safer than public opinion would have you believe. I am a very cautious person; yet, I skydive. I firmly believe that the benefits far outweigh the risks, if one takes it seriously.
Feel free to pm me, if you want, or post all over these boards. You will get many answers from lots of very experienced people, and you will get answers from inexperienced people, like me.
Hope this helps!
Ciels-
Michele
"What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky".
~e e cummings~

[mnischalke 0]

My vote for the safer activity is skydiving.
I grew up on motorcycles (since age 4) and have owned a bunch of bikes including a Harley (before it was the cool thing to own and the prices were as much as a new car). Now I live near DC and after two years and 5,000 miles of riding here, I sold my most recent bike. I was tired of doing stuff safely only to have people run me off the road, try to run me over and often just pull right out in front of me like I wasn't even there.
I was told in skydiving (and pretty much everything else), accidents generally happen because of a chain of events. If you do everything right (like a ritual) that chain will be broken and, you've just increased your chances of survival exponentially.
Driving to work is dangerous. If I check out of this world commuting to work rather than doing something I enjoy, I will be really pissed for the last fleeting moments of my life.
Be safe and have fun. Go do a father/son day at a good dz and do tandems together. You may get hooked yourself!!
Peace,
mike

[wildblue 7]

Quote

...pull right out in front of me like I wasn't even there.

Don't you hate that feeling of being invisible. I think I've told this story before, but one time me and my roommate were on our bikes heading to the DZ when some lady decided that she needed to be in our lane right now and she couldn't even spare the time to make sure no one was there. After some tire smoke and pucker on his part, a few choice words to her on my part (hey, she about killed the guy that pays half the rent!) and a good thrashing by some guy in a mini-van that saw the whole thing - he looks at me and says "Let's go do something safe.. like skydiving!
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag

[jfields 0]

Having ridden a motorcycle and being a skydiver, I'd have to say that the odds of serious injury are higher for a motorcyclist. That is based on my opinion, not some pile of statistics. Let me explain:
There are many risks in skydiving that can be reduced by training, proper equipment, careful selection of jump partners, etc. Because we are all in the same situation, most jumpers are careful and responsible. A skydiver also has the option of skipping jumps if the wind is too high, or gusty, or if they aren't mentally up to par that day.
On a motorcycle, you are much more at the mercy of other people. And unlike skydiving, the other drivers are NOT in the same situation. They are driving big cars or sport utility vehicles. They put the motorcyclist in danger, but the reverse is not true. The burden of safe driving and the motive of personal survival are not equally shared. The onus is on the motorcyclist. Like someone else (Mike) who replied to your message, I live near Washington DC, and the traffic and drivers here are too dangerous for me to consider riding a motorcyle around the area regularly. Yet I think skydiving is a reasonable risk, for the reward of enjoyment that it gives me.
Justin
My Homepage

[BenW 0]

Pop down to a dropzone near you. Michele mentioned Perris. Go there, talk to the instructors, the other jumpers, the barman etc... Get a feel for it
It is all about acceptable risk. Learn about the risks and what causes the problems.
Talk some more, ask more questions - at the DZ preferably. They do this everyday!
Enjoy the learning experience!
Ben

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Firstly, your concern for your son's safety is understandable, and commendable. Risk, in my business, is defined as a combination of hazards, and the probability of a hazardous situation occuring. We can't do an awful lot about the hazards (uncontrolled impact with a solid object being the primary concern), however the probability of realising these hazards is vastly reduced by using appropriate training and suitable equipment (modern skydiving gear is vastly more reliable than a harley).
I specialise in safety management for oil and petrochemical installations, and in my experience, skydiving is a relatively safe activity. The safety culture within our sport is awsome, and far exceeds anything I have seen in the last 17 years of being a 'safety professional' in my industry. I stand by the advice and opions of the previous posters here. I would suggest that to put your mind at ease, visit the drop zone, and speak to the staff. I am sure you will find a professional attitude towards safety in our sport. Once you realise that the hazards in our sport are being effectively managed, you should be able to get a good night's sleep.
The sense of cameraderie that exists in skydiving is truly impressive, we are like one great big international family, and we generally tend to look after each other. This family and sense of belonging transcends boundaries such sex, race, culture, religion, and geographical location.
Ultimately nobody wants our family members to hurt themselves. If your son does decide to take up skydiving, rest assured he will be welcomed into this our family.
D

[riggerrob 643]

Dittos on what all the other posters posted.
I sold my Yamaha because I got tired of having to correct for the mistakes of cage drivers EVERY DAY! It was slow day in Ottawa if only one a@#$hole tried to run me off the road.
The risk of collisions is vastly reduced in skydiving because we rarely put more than 20 parachutes in the air at one time.
Secondly, every skydivers believes that he/she is vulnerable, so they fly with their eyes open.

[GrumpySmurf 0]

I guess reading through the posts, a better question be to ask yourself, "How level headed is my kid?". Our sport is not a forgiving one for those who don't understand the risk involved and go to great care to minimize said risk - if your son thinks 'looking cool in front of the guys' is more important than his own neck - he might want to consider another hobby till he matures up a bit (of course I don't know how old your son is, I am going to assume late teens/early twenties?) - then again, we boys never mature, our toys simply get more expensive. ;)
Statisticaly, we're one of the safest sports on the planet, but when those statistics (seemingly always due to human error/negligance) catch up with you, the consequences are potentialy much more grave.
If you have any doubts, take some time to talk with the instructors at the DZ you son is looking to try out - especially if you are sitting on the fence about this - another thing might be to try a tandem jump along with him for his first jump, that way you can get a glimpse into this wonderful thing we call human flight :) (and it's a good parent-son bonding thing too).

[cobaltdan 0]

" 1 fatality in 110,000 jumps...90% of those fatalities were under a functioning parachute.."
can anyone substantiate the above statistic?
does anyone have other pertainent statistics (and their sources), i.e. for injuries.
sincerely,
dan
atair

[jfields 0]

While not statistics per se, we can look at the incident reports for trends and anecdotal evidence. Many of them are completely avoidable tragedies that evolve after the individuals have a working canopy. Others probably could have been avoided by optional safety devices such as Cypres and RSL.
Low pulls, no pulls, low turns, etc. The incident reports should be taken as strong warnings to low-time jumpers (like myself) and reminders to the experienced folks that really know what to do, but get complacent.
Just my $.02. I'll leave the stats to someone else.
Justin
My Homepage

[quade 4]

Quote

does anyone have other pertainent statistics (and their sources), i.e. for injuries.

Unfortunately, because skydiving (in the U.S.) does not have an accident and incident reporting -requirement- (like the rest of U.S. aviation) and because no DZO in his right mind would give exact figures about the number of jumps made per year v. the number of broken bones, sprained ankles, ect., ect. (without a governmental requirement to do so), reliable safety statistics will not be available.
There -was- a section of the FAR 105 NPRM that -would- have required it, but the USPA and DZOs faught very hard and got that taken out.
Even without government requirments, the USPA has Group Member DZs send fatality reports. This is a pretty good indication of the fatality rates per year, but doesn't address the jumps per year issue. The USPA makes estimates, but obviously that's all they are.
Paul
http://futurecam.com/skydive.html

[GrumpySmurf 0]

That's cuz of those crazy drivers from 'Da Hull' zipping all around - dated this girl from Cantley, PQ once that was a complete nutcase on the road ;)
Though they don't come close to the folk on the Illinois freeway system..scar-ee, I be tellin' ya!

[scotts 0]

if you really want to get rid of him (sic). send him skydiving. he'll never want to leave the dropzone. nobody i know of leaves willingly. harley or not. but be prepared, he'll rant and rave excessantly at the first mention of skydiving and you'll never get that smile off his face. trust me.

[SniperCJ 0]

Ive been riding motorcycles for over 20 years.
Ive been skydiving for about 3 years.
Ive almost been killed WAY more on the motorcycle than in the air.
Statistically Im sure you would find that riding is more dangerous. However I will say that skydiving is probably less forgiving. You could crash on the bike and come away with road rash. If you crash on a skydive, youre more likely to suffer serious injury.
I still ride. I still skydive. Ill do both till the day I die. My Mom probably wishes I would quit both, but she knows Ive found much of my joy in life either on the back of a bike or the outside of an airplane.
Let him give it a shot. The smile on his face will tell the tale.
CJ

[lazerq3 0]

I remember when I started out thinking how angerous this sport in but now after all the training and what little experiance I have I cant believe how SAFE it really is, I,m more neverous driving in a snow storm than jumping out of a plane at #### ft!!
jason

[ooohhhno 0]

He will be more proud to say that he is a skydiver than a Harley rider, I know, I own several of them and have all but given them up for skydiving.
ooohhhno :-)

[RemiAndKaren 0]

Risks are minimized. Not eliminated. This is why a new jumper will have to sign a waiver before jumping. There is a risk (small, but real) of injury or death.
Remi
Muff 914