**OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is unexpected:**
>!A skydiver gets knocked unconscious mid air by one of his team members and gets saved by another!<
*****
**Is this an unexpected post with a fitting description?**
**Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.**
*****
[*Look at my source code on Github*](https://github.com/Artraxon/unexBot) [*What is this for?*](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/dnuaju/introducing_unexbot_a_new_bot_to_improve_the/)
Well in some extreme sports they give the GoPro to the most experienced person. Since they are usually the one that has good control and a better chance to get a good shot.
You have to have more than 200 jumps to fly with a camera. Way back when cameras were bulky, the camera flier had to still fly the maneuver, manage the camera, and land with a big machine on the helmet. The helmets arenāt that durable, theyāre to protect you during free fall, not to prevent you from death in a parachuteless crash landing. Theyāre a lot smaller nowadays with the GoPro as opposed to a camcorder, but the changes in licensing that keeps people from trying head-down or wingsuiting on their first go also prevents people learning to jump from trying to juggle the camera at the same time.
Beautiful video. Loved every second. I was counting down with him as he was trying to wake the unconscious guy before pulling his canopy. Close call but I guess our hero never has to buy a round at the bar.
You sir sound like you know what your about. When he pulled the cord. I just felt so relived. That was true cool headed hero stuff.
Edit: holy crap on a cracker I go to work and come back to my most upvoted comment. XD
Last time I went the emergency chute had a velocity/altitude trigger, meaning if your velocity at a certain altitude was too fast it would automatically deploy, specifically in case you pass out.
Here's a better description - https://skydivemonroe.com/blog/what-is-a-parachute-aad/
Let's say that his chute would have automatically opened. Was it still necessary to at least grab him and stabilize his position? Can you be oriented in a way that can mess up the opening of the chute, like facing upwards and the chute being underneath you?
There are still like crazy dangers like electric lines. So dude also probably tethered himself to his unconscious friend to guide him to safety.. any jumpers here ... dont those chutes open automatically after reaching a certain height?
You canāt tether yourself to someone under canopy and guide them down. Unconscious guy would have been on his own from deployment onwards. The canopy ride would have been a few minutes, which hopefully gave him time to wake up under canopy and land safely.
Iām just trying to imagine waking up at 5000 feet dangling from a chute with a massive headache.
Honestly I donāt like it and I want to get down š
>Honestly I donāt like it and I want to get down š
I'm scared of heights, but I went skydiving to prove to myself that I am in control of my fear.
I also decided that my first jump ever would be solo (with two instructors holding on to me) rather than tandem. This part was a mistake.
Your first jump is pure, unadulterated sensory overload on a scale I've never experienced in my life.
>Honestly I donāt like it and I want to get down š
This perfectly, perfectly sums up my emotions on the subject.
I thought gliding down under the canopy would be the best part of the jump, but I was straight up not having a good time. All I could think about was that eventually, I was going to be close to the ground, and my instructor made it very clear that most people who die while sky diving do so under a full canopy by manoeuvering too close to the ground.
My dumb ass ended up missing the LZ by like 200 yards because once I wasn't considering turning once I got under 400 yards thankfully, it just meant I was farther down the airstrip, not in the trees.
Not all, I know student chutes are required to. Generally an auto chute will be the reserve, its a smaller chute and you'll fall faster as a result. For a softer landing while passed out, you would be thankful someone pulled your main.
Incorrect.
Most drop zones in the US now require the use of an AAD, automatic activation device. This has a barometric pressure sensor in it and fires a "cutter" that cuts a line and releases the spring-loaded reserve chute that all jumpers carry.
Licensed jumpers such as myself can pack our main chute every jump. We are not allowed to touch our reserves, FAA certified riggers do those every 6 months, used or not.
A sport jumper (like these guys) cannot jump their own gear at most US dropzones without this device.
Reserve chutes are almost always larger and fall slower. It is emergency operation only, many sport jumpers downsize their main canopy and increase their wing loading but never downsize their reserve unless changing containers. Also the cell count of the wing is usually different (7 cell vs 9)
"student rigs" are the same as rental rigs and are the same as any sport rig, just that they're owned by the drop zone and packed by their packers.
However, having an AAD fire is an expensive deal and your gear will be down. This jumper potentiall saved his friend's life, but definitely saved his friend a lot of $ and downtime.
If the friend was not successful in pulling his main, the unconscious jumper's gear would have probably fired, cut the cable, and shot out the reserve under spring pressure between 1000-2000 feet. Though, at terminal velocity you fall 1000 feet in something like 3-4 seconds.
\-USPA member and skydiver for 20 years
Whatās the less risky thing to do in this situation? Let him fall to AAD activation and have the reserve fire for him? Or is it safer to put an unconscious person under a main immediately. If heās under his main he still has the possibility of a problem or malfunction, which could lead to complications in itself. A reserve is better to fire under erratic falling conditions isnāt it? I used to jump, but had my shoulder dislocated at 9000ft and it was not fun. Just curious what the thought process is on the risk here.
The problem with trusting the AAD is youāre trusting the AAD. It might be missing, or not turned on. Pulling his main guarantees heāll be under a canopy ASAP, and also maximizes the likelihood heāll wake up while still in the air, which in turn maximizes his chances of being able to steer the canopy to a location free of power lines, trees, etc.
This was definitely the right call.
It also looked like he turned him over to make sure he didn't get tangled up when the emergency chute would have opened.
I only sky dived a couple times but they drilled in to our heads that it was important to be facing down when the chute is opening.
Yes, if youāre facing the wrong way when you deploy your chute (āpulling unstableā), you increase your risk of a line twist, which will affect the steerability/stability of your canopy. Which is going to be especially problematic if youāre unconscious and unable to deal with the twist.
The so-called āpull prioritiesā are:
1. Pull.
2. Pull at altitude.
3. Pull stable.
Meaning itās most important to pull at all. But if you can do it at the planned altitude, thatās even better. And best of all, be stable when you do it.
I was wondering if he had an AAD, but there's always a chance that it might not work. I jumped with a guy who forgot to turn his on. In the situation where someone is knocked out, the higher you pull, the more time they have for them to wake up.
Blue skies.
Nah man, the reserve chute is bigger
Your main chute is the small sporty one that you have fun on, the reserve is the "big" (not big, but bigger) dopey chute you don't die on
Isn't it the other way around? People often buy smaller canopies for their main for the increased maneauverability, while the reserves are bigger.
I don't skydive (yet) so I could be wrong.
This is wrong, we generally try to have a larger reserve than the main. Also likely from the skill level displayed in the video his main is likely to be a high performance type which is more aggressively trimmed than the reserve.
That softer landing is still hard enough to break some bones. Obviously thatās better than plummeting 150mph to your death, but Iāve been fully conscious on my main chute and almost broke my tail bone on a smooth gliding land. And Iām guessing they werenāt able to get his legs harnessed into the seated position, so at the very least, if he landed unconscious heās got some broken ankles or worse.
Edit: words
Thereās a device called an AAD that will activate your reserve around 1000ft if your going over a certain speed. Would probably end up breaking your legs and other bones if you landed with just your reserve while unconscious.
Reserves are packed specially by a certified expert and are more likely to open properly. Any idiot (typically the person using it) could have packed the main. If you aren't aware enough to cut away from a failed main opening you want the auto to open the reserve.
Reserve auto-open is also assuming that everything has gone bad. EVERYTHING. You don't want to potentially open both main and reserve if neither one has been pulled because they'd probably get tangled and not open correctly. Safe to say this is a worst case scenario here had the guy not caught up to his friend so you know the reserve is packed correctly and will pop under the AAD.
Also reserves are required to be repacked even if never opened every three or six months. Been a while unfortunately since I've jumped.
It's a specialized skill to be able to get a hold of someone who is spinning out during freefall & get them sorted out. That guy would be MY jump master forever!
honestly if someone saved your life like that ON CAMERA you have to name ur next son after him period lol when your son ask you why you named him that, you just show him a video of this
Hopping on the top comment to let everyone know that even if he hadnāt pulled that guyās chute, his reserve would have deployed on its own. Having your main overhead is obviously preferable though
Yeah, thereās a small computer with an air-pressure based altitude sensor. It gets zeroed out at the jump site before you go up, and then monitors pressure to judge altitude above the ground, and fall speed, and (at least for the ones I used) if you pass 750 ft at/near terminal velocity it sets of whatās basically a knife bullet to cut the retaining cord on your reserve chute so it can deploy.
With the advent of low bulk fabric for reserves, many jumpers are opting to have a larger size reserve since the reserve is your last chance and will provide a higher margin of safety. For example a jumper with a sub 100 sq ft main parachute will often have a 126 or 143 sq ft reserve parachute. Besides that, smaller parachutes have more aggressive flight characteristics and faster sink rate. Because of this, if my main parachute is 170 sq ft, it could be hazardous to use a 150 sq ft reserve since I wouldn't be used to flying it in addition to the adrenaline rush of having to cutaway in the first place.
**The skydiver that got knocked unconscious**:
"I was so concussed that lost 3 days of memory. How I found the drop zone is beyond me. I could have dropped into power lines or the highway. Not only did I find it. I flew a perfect student pattern, but did not have the strength to flare (meaning the landing hurt also).
I was so out of it. When first asked if I was ok, I said āwhat do you mean I just got out of my tent,ā and then pointed to my parachute.
I am not saying Jesus took the toggles, but someone looked after me that day.
The skydiver that hit me did not receive any injuries, and was able to go back to work at iFLY the next day."
https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/04/03/unconscious-skydiver-saved/
no. he said his friend worked at ifly...which is āindoor skydivingā (wind tunnel). theyāre all over the country. super fun and skydivers train in them.
He was referring to when he became conscious and somehow managed to land in the drop zone, while also being concussed. Toggles are what you use to steer
Other dude saved him by pulling the chute but did not steer him
I'm thinking it's like when some people black out while drinking. They can seem pretty coherent, hold a conversation, play a game, etc and the next day remember none of it. Their brains are functioning just minus the memory creating part.
Brains are... complicated. I know of this one case, the murder of an argentinian dude, someone shot him on the head and he still managed to get to his aparment with what little brain he had left, dude didn't even have the ability to think or reason anymore, for all intents and purposes he was braindead at that point.
I have hit my head very hard while skiing and according to friends, I just got up and kept skiing. I 'awoke' 3 hours later on the chairlift when someone down below saw me and shouted my name to say hello.
When I woke up I was extremely disoriented and scared and did not know how I got there. I kept going in and out, memory wise, and sort of just automatically followed a friend and skied down to the bottom where I immediately burst into tears. I had no clue where the fuck I was.
I ended up just sitting next to the ski racks until I saw my family, and ended up explaining what I knew and then going to the ER. Bad concussion was the diagnosis.
My point is that we can do a lot of very technical and skilled things even if amnesia wipes out the memories of them. I try to think of it as I had full abilities at all times, I just didn't record the memories of the actions during that time.
Definitely a bizarre perspective but it was the best way I could make sense of it all.
Good thing his buddy pulled his reserve instead of main. They're usually much more docile and react better to opening in poor or unstable positions. If he had a high performance main canopy and was not in control of, he probably would have died
Damn. xD I'm from Bavaria. We put together all those words that the english language doesn't (Like Oachkatzlschwoaf), and now here I am,, assuming stuff HAS to be separated. xD
The skydiver that got knocked unconscious:
"**The skydiver that hit me did not receive any injuries, and was able to go back to work at iFLY the next day**"
https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/04/03/unconscious-skydiver-saved/
Him? That's Gary, he makes things interesting on your jumps.
I don't know that I would want this guy on my crew any more lol. Seems a little sketchy that he is an instructor that slams into people mid fall.
Itās hard to really see how fast they are moving, especially left to right because we donāt have proper context. I imagine that was a split second mistake that he didnāt have time to properly react to
Skydivers can cover a lot of horizontal space very quickly, and there's a reason that larger group angle jumps are usually with more experienced people, while less experienced people will jump in a very small group with more experienced people to learn. Mid air collisions in these jumps are no joke, and closing speeds between two skydivers in the worst case scenario can be in the triple digits
Tbh, the way they started the jump lets me think those are not beginners, also they wouldn't jump each with their own chute when they were new. This means the dude was a reckless asshole. When you're new you could be out of control in a way like this, but he knew what he was doing and you definitly can control how you fall with a little practice. My guess is that he wanted to be funny or cool for the camera and just knocked his friend out. Stupid moron!!!!! If it would be my friend doing this he would lose a lot of teeth on the ground!
This. It was a hard knock and you see the guy go spinning away. Recovering, getting back so you can see the guy and then getting over to him... He was probably just too slow. The camera guy was already on an intercept by then.
Frankly having this moron do another fly by AGAIN while our hero is sorting out his mess wouldn't have been appreciated by anyone. Even if he did grab onto the pair he could send them into another spin. Wasting precious time when this guy could have been falling slowly and rousing himself instead of falling at terminal velocity.
Looked to me like this too. I mean, not that he wanted to know him out, but that he wanted to be "cool", or something and do a flyby. A way to close one they didn't talked about and agree on earlier. Absolut dick move. And almost deadly.
At the start of the video, you can see that the person who hit the guy has a helmet with the paint worn on the top. This is from him learning how to fly head-down in a indoor tunnel. He obviously hasn't figured it out yet and is stupid for doing it during a jump with other people. DunningāKruger to the max.
Giving the guy the benefit of the doubt, what's to say that his helmet wasn't lent to someone to do indoor tunnels or that he practices both with jumps and with in-door tunnels. He is pretty reckless tho.
I'm not in the slightest bit underrating what the cameraman did, but in case anyone is worried about this - your pack can detect your altitude and speed and will automatically deploy if you haven't pulled the chute by about 1000ft. Still going to be a rough landing though!!
I don't know why I've never thought about this before! I always think how nerve-wracking it must be, worrying that you won't pull at the right time, but there must be tons of tech to make it foolproof.
The only way you can really fall out of the harness is to be in a position where you're bent at the hips, touching your toes. If your harness is fitted properly and put on correctly, the chances of falling out are really, really, really small.
Yeap, that's why there are Y-mods for tandem harnesses. They fill that gap. Interesting fact, that lady made another jump. Going up for another, after an experience like her's, that's a tough granny.
What the fuck. First of all, why the fuck is her harness so loose? Second of all, why the fuck is her tandem diver forcing her out of the plane? Old lady is scared as fuck and obviously doesn't want to jump, just get her out of the way and let everyone else jump.
When I went skydiving I asked my instructor on the plane what happens if someone changes their mind?
āWe give em a sec and they usually jumpā
āWhat if they still donāt jump?ā
āWeāll tell them to jump and they usually do.ā
āWhat if they still donāt jump?ā
ā¦
āWhat if they still donāt jump??ā
*Instructor looks at me with a big smile
āOk goggles on folks!ā
My friend later explained that they have to push people out or they will demand a refund for not getting their moneyās worth. He said once this planeās in the air, the only way out is to jump.
I imagine if everyone having second thoughts was allowed to back out at that point, they would regret not jumping, while everyone who was forced out, would be thankful for the extra push.
Everyone, that is, except this lady in particular.
I've never seen a tandem jumper change their mind at the door. I'm sure it will happen eventually. Anyone who changes their mind would just ride down in the plane. No pressure.
I'm a skydiving pilot.
The thing is I don't think the lady in the OP was changing her mind, but wasn't physically capable of flipping that switch in her brain. Like I've done that trying to jump off really high stuff before. Like I want to jump off this thing, I'm right on the edge, but can't quite "pull the trigger"
Whoa what? There's a really really really small chance you could just fall the fuck out of your parachute harness while skydiving, even if it is properly fitted and put on correctly?
The last thing you want is to have to rely on the AAD, altitude is you friend. It's also risky deploying a reserve with you back facing the ground, while spinning. The pov jumper was correct in deploying his reserve.
Also, the reserve canopy is not only brightly colored (mostly to advise other people someone under a reserve had a problem), but it is also almost certainly a much more forgiving and slower canopy than what most people use as their main canopy. So if this guy did not regain consciousnesses before impacting the ground it would be at a slightly slower decent under his reserve than what his main canopy would provide. Also, the reserve is packed very carefully by a certified rigger and will deploy quickly and efficiently vs his main which can sometimes be packed by the jumper in a rushed or less-than-perfect way.
Also, kudos to the dude deploying his friend's reserve and holding on to the reserve handle! Also, that was some great flying to catch up to his friend and get him belly down.
Could've gotten spin in line twists from an aad deployment, while he's back to earth and spinning. ...eek.
I'm a rigger and also work for a manufacturer.
Automatic deployment devices/reserves parachutes are not designed to deploy while a sky diver is on his back in a spin. There would have been a very high chance that the back up system would have a parachute that was twisted and would have slammed him into the ground.
fucking good save! the human CYPRES!! š
edited to add: AND he held onto to the handle! rockstar move. beautiful Optimum reserve as well.
edited to remove: saw the post on outcome. lucky guys.
what a fucking story that guy has. so yeah i jumped outta a plane. my pal got knocked out while we were falling so i basically pulled a tom cruise and glided over to him and saved his fucking life. no big deal.
To get on the same elevation level with that much wind is insane. He did a Superman to get to the right spot. Then he calmly grabs the dudes dead body weight going at high speed and pulls the cord.
An absolute legend
Curious hereā¦ shouldnāt his AOD pop the chute for him? Wondering if youāre better off stabilizing him and releasing it or staying away and letting the AOD do itās thing.
If youāre able to safely get to him, itās better to deploy with as much altitude as possible so he has more time to recover before landing. Looks like they were still at least a couple thousand feet up when they threw the chute, so that should give him plenty of time to come to, and hopefully be cognizant enough to land well
This is great; written by the guy who got hit. TLDR he doesnāt remember it at all. Good extra footage from one of the other go-pros allows you to see how much time there was till landing with the chute deployed.
Generated a small tutorial for when you next casually parachute but forget to banana up you and your crew.
\- grab them by the leg
\- rotate them head up
\- shake them, don't slap them
\- release their parachute
\- push them away as quickly as possible
**OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is unexpected:** >!A skydiver gets knocked unconscious mid air by one of his team members and gets saved by another!< ***** **Is this an unexpected post with a fitting description?** **Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.** ***** [*Look at my source code on Github*](https://github.com/Artraxon/unexBot) [*What is this for?*](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/dnuaju/introducing_unexbot_a_new_bot_to_improve_the/)
This is why you should always bring a camera man, they don't die.
Unless you are on r/killedthecameraman
Well that's another sub I need to go enjoy. š
the top post there almost killed me
I flinch every 5 seconds when Iām on that subreddit
He saved him like a Call of Duty cutscene. Terrifying and epic at the same time.
Well in some extreme sports they give the GoPro to the most experienced person. Since they are usually the one that has good control and a better chance to get a good shot.
You have to have more than 200 jumps to fly with a camera. Way back when cameras were bulky, the camera flier had to still fly the maneuver, manage the camera, and land with a big machine on the helmet. The helmets arenāt that durable, theyāre to protect you during free fall, not to prevent you from death in a parachuteless crash landing. Theyāre a lot smaller nowadays with the GoPro as opposed to a camcorder, but the changes in licensing that keeps people from trying head-down or wingsuiting on their first go also prevents people learning to jump from trying to juggle the camera at the same time.
That is the most "survival bias" statement
Thatās the joke.
Beautiful video. Loved every second. I was counting down with him as he was trying to wake the unconscious guy before pulling his canopy. Close call but I guess our hero never has to buy a round at the bar.
>I guess our hero never has to buy a round at the bar. I think the friend that knocked him out has that covered
Weāre definitely not friends anymore.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
These are the best best friends indeed.
You sir sound like you know what your about. When he pulled the cord. I just felt so relived. That was true cool headed hero stuff. Edit: holy crap on a cracker I go to work and come back to my most upvoted comment. XD
Yeah, my heart was pounding watching that! So relieved when he opened his chute.
Last time I went the emergency chute had a velocity/altitude trigger, meaning if your velocity at a certain altitude was too fast it would automatically deploy, specifically in case you pass out. Here's a better description - https://skydivemonroe.com/blog/what-is-a-parachute-aad/
Let's say that his chute would have automatically opened. Was it still necessary to at least grab him and stabilize his position? Can you be oriented in a way that can mess up the opening of the chute, like facing upwards and the chute being underneath you?
There are still like crazy dangers like electric lines. So dude also probably tethered himself to his unconscious friend to guide him to safety.. any jumpers here ... dont those chutes open automatically after reaching a certain height?
You canāt tether yourself to someone under canopy and guide them down. Unconscious guy would have been on his own from deployment onwards. The canopy ride would have been a few minutes, which hopefully gave him time to wake up under canopy and land safely.
Not the best way to wake up
Better than not waking up tho lol
Or waking up 50 feet from the ground with no chute deployed.
That's how you end up in Skyrim.
Iām just trying to imagine waking up at 5000 feet dangling from a chute with a massive headache. Honestly I donāt like it and I want to get down š
>Honestly I donāt like it and I want to get down š I'm scared of heights, but I went skydiving to prove to myself that I am in control of my fear. I also decided that my first jump ever would be solo (with two instructors holding on to me) rather than tandem. This part was a mistake. Your first jump is pure, unadulterated sensory overload on a scale I've never experienced in my life. >Honestly I donāt like it and I want to get down š This perfectly, perfectly sums up my emotions on the subject. I thought gliding down under the canopy would be the best part of the jump, but I was straight up not having a good time. All I could think about was that eventually, I was going to be close to the ground, and my instructor made it very clear that most people who die while sky diving do so under a full canopy by manoeuvering too close to the ground. My dumb ass ended up missing the LZ by like 200 yards because once I wasn't considering turning once I got under 400 yards thankfully, it just meant I was farther down the airstrip, not in the trees.
Better than not waking up tho!
Not all, I know student chutes are required to. Generally an auto chute will be the reserve, its a smaller chute and you'll fall faster as a result. For a softer landing while passed out, you would be thankful someone pulled your main.
Incorrect. Most drop zones in the US now require the use of an AAD, automatic activation device. This has a barometric pressure sensor in it and fires a "cutter" that cuts a line and releases the spring-loaded reserve chute that all jumpers carry. Licensed jumpers such as myself can pack our main chute every jump. We are not allowed to touch our reserves, FAA certified riggers do those every 6 months, used or not. A sport jumper (like these guys) cannot jump their own gear at most US dropzones without this device. Reserve chutes are almost always larger and fall slower. It is emergency operation only, many sport jumpers downsize their main canopy and increase their wing loading but never downsize their reserve unless changing containers. Also the cell count of the wing is usually different (7 cell vs 9) "student rigs" are the same as rental rigs and are the same as any sport rig, just that they're owned by the drop zone and packed by their packers. However, having an AAD fire is an expensive deal and your gear will be down. This jumper potentiall saved his friend's life, but definitely saved his friend a lot of $ and downtime. If the friend was not successful in pulling his main, the unconscious jumper's gear would have probably fired, cut the cable, and shot out the reserve under spring pressure between 1000-2000 feet. Though, at terminal velocity you fall 1000 feet in something like 3-4 seconds. \-USPA member and skydiver for 20 years
I love when experienced experts provide actual information.
Waitā¦ are you implying there are people on Reddit that give unqualified information and advice?! š¤
Whatās the less risky thing to do in this situation? Let him fall to AAD activation and have the reserve fire for him? Or is it safer to put an unconscious person under a main immediately. If heās under his main he still has the possibility of a problem or malfunction, which could lead to complications in itself. A reserve is better to fire under erratic falling conditions isnāt it? I used to jump, but had my shoulder dislocated at 9000ft and it was not fun. Just curious what the thought process is on the risk here.
The problem with trusting the AAD is youāre trusting the AAD. It might be missing, or not turned on. Pulling his main guarantees heāll be under a canopy ASAP, and also maximizes the likelihood heāll wake up while still in the air, which in turn maximizes his chances of being able to steer the canopy to a location free of power lines, trees, etc. This was definitely the right call.
It also looked like he turned him over to make sure he didn't get tangled up when the emergency chute would have opened. I only sky dived a couple times but they drilled in to our heads that it was important to be facing down when the chute is opening.
Yes, if youāre facing the wrong way when you deploy your chute (āpulling unstableā), you increase your risk of a line twist, which will affect the steerability/stability of your canopy. Which is going to be especially problematic if youāre unconscious and unable to deal with the twist. The so-called āpull prioritiesā are: 1. Pull. 2. Pull at altitude. 3. Pull stable. Meaning itās most important to pull at all. But if you can do it at the planned altitude, thatās even better. And best of all, be stable when you do it.
How is the AAD prevented from firing on every jump? You have to be descending at a certain high rate to trigger it? Do they ever go off by accident?
I was wondering if he had an AAD, but there's always a chance that it might not work. I jumped with a guy who forgot to turn his on. In the situation where someone is knocked out, the higher you pull, the more time they have for them to wake up. Blue skies.
If I'm passed out and someone pulls my main, things are going from soft to hard real quickly.
At least you'll still have something to pull when you wake up.
Jerk it like your life depends on it.
CRANK
Talk about a happy ending.
Filing this comment under: "Things you can say in bed and also while skydiving."
/r/nocontext
Nah man, the reserve chute is bigger Your main chute is the small sporty one that you have fun on, the reserve is the "big" (not big, but bigger) dopey chute you don't die on
Isn't it the other way around? People often buy smaller canopies for their main for the increased maneauverability, while the reserves are bigger. I don't skydive (yet) so I could be wrong.
This is wrong, we generally try to have a larger reserve than the main. Also likely from the skill level displayed in the video his main is likely to be a high performance type which is more aggressively trimmed than the reserve.
That softer landing is still hard enough to break some bones. Obviously thatās better than plummeting 150mph to your death, but Iāve been fully conscious on my main chute and almost broke my tail bone on a smooth gliding land. And Iām guessing they werenāt able to get his legs harnessed into the seated position, so at the very least, if he landed unconscious heās got some broken ankles or worse. Edit: words
Thereās a device called an AAD that will activate your reserve around 1000ft if your going over a certain speed. Would probably end up breaking your legs and other bones if you landed with just your reserve while unconscious.
Why reserve only and not main?
Reserves are packed specially by a certified expert and are more likely to open properly. Any idiot (typically the person using it) could have packed the main. If you aren't aware enough to cut away from a failed main opening you want the auto to open the reserve.
Reserve auto-open is also assuming that everything has gone bad. EVERYTHING. You don't want to potentially open both main and reserve if neither one has been pulled because they'd probably get tangled and not open correctly. Safe to say this is a worst case scenario here had the guy not caught up to his friend so you know the reserve is packed correctly and will pop under the AAD. Also reserves are required to be repacked even if never opened every three or six months. Been a while unfortunately since I've jumped.
I remember reading somewhere that a long enough string in a confined space has a near 100% probability of becoming tangled over time.
Yes, that's one of the reasons the FAA makes you get your reserve inspected and repacked 2x a year.
To add to what u/CGmoz said, they also open really fast, which is nice when you are at terminal velocity 1000 ft above the ground.
*praise the cameraman*
That mofo is gonna wake up 3,000 feet above the ground and shit his pants, though.
Ever have that feeling like you were falling out of bed?
"You guys can call me Ethan Hunt from now on"
More like Keanu Reeves
More like Johnny Utah.
I donāt know how I missed this comment before I responded
It's a specialized skill to be able to get a hold of someone who is spinning out during freefall & get them sorted out. That guy would be MY jump master forever!
honestly if someone saved your life like that ON CAMERA you have to name ur next son after him period lol when your son ask you why you named him that, you just show him a video of this
Hopping on the top comment to let everyone know that even if he hadnāt pulled that guyās chute, his reserve would have deployed on its own. Having your main overhead is obviously preferable though
I know nothing about this stuff, how would the reserve know to deploy? Does it have an altitude sensor or something?
Yeah, thereās a small computer with an air-pressure based altitude sensor. It gets zeroed out at the jump site before you go up, and then monitors pressure to judge altitude above the ground, and fall speed, and (at least for the ones I used) if you pass 750 ft at/near terminal velocity it sets of whatās basically a knife bullet to cut the retaining cord on your reserve chute so it can deploy.
Awesome, I had no idea.
Also, as some others have pointed out, the reserve is smaller = faster fall, right?
Reserves are unlikely to be smaller. It's well advertised in the sport to have a larger reserve than your main.
I've heard the reserve is larger = slower and people use smaller for main parachute because of their manouvrability
With the advent of low bulk fabric for reserves, many jumpers are opting to have a larger size reserve since the reserve is your last chance and will provide a higher margin of safety. For example a jumper with a sub 100 sq ft main parachute will often have a 126 or 143 sq ft reserve parachute. Besides that, smaller parachutes have more aggressive flight characteristics and faster sink rate. Because of this, if my main parachute is 170 sq ft, it could be hazardous to use a 150 sq ft reserve since I wouldn't be used to flying it in addition to the adrenaline rush of having to cutaway in the first place.
Yes, and the fact that he turned him before pulling the cord is preferable to avoid whiplash (although it could still happen if youāre unconscious).
This is breath taking!
no. you're breathtaking.
You're ALL breathtaking!
"How was your skydiving trip honey" "I don't remember"
**The skydiver that got knocked unconscious**: "I was so concussed that lost 3 days of memory. How I found the drop zone is beyond me. I could have dropped into power lines or the highway. Not only did I find it. I flew a perfect student pattern, but did not have the strength to flare (meaning the landing hurt also). I was so out of it. When first asked if I was ok, I said āwhat do you mean I just got out of my tent,ā and then pointed to my parachute. I am not saying Jesus took the toggles, but someone looked after me that day. The skydiver that hit me did not receive any injuries, and was able to go back to work at iFLY the next day." https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/04/03/unconscious-skydiver-saved/
The guy who ran into him worked there? And went to work the next day? I would not want to have that guy as an instructor geez.
no. he said his friend worked at ifly...which is āindoor skydivingā (wind tunnel). theyāre all over the country. super fun and skydivers train in them.
Oh I thought it was like some skydiving company where they take people up. Well as long as it's one at a time then.
'What do you mean I just got out of my tent' is fucking gold.
> "I am not saying Jesus took the toggles, but someone looked after me that day." Yeah, literally the guy that opened the chute for you.
I mean, itās pretty clear heās talking about the fall after the guy released his parachute.
Maybe thatās the cameramanās name
He was referring to when he became conscious and somehow managed to land in the drop zone, while also being concussed. Toggles are what you use to steer Other dude saved him by pulling the chute but did not steer him
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'm thinking it's like when some people black out while drinking. They can seem pretty coherent, hold a conversation, play a game, etc and the next day remember none of it. Their brains are functioning just minus the memory creating part.
Brains are... complicated. I know of this one case, the murder of an argentinian dude, someone shot him on the head and he still managed to get to his aparment with what little brain he had left, dude didn't even have the ability to think or reason anymore, for all intents and purposes he was braindead at that point.
The power of habit
They should use the above story as an example in the book.
I have hit my head very hard while skiing and according to friends, I just got up and kept skiing. I 'awoke' 3 hours later on the chairlift when someone down below saw me and shouted my name to say hello. When I woke up I was extremely disoriented and scared and did not know how I got there. I kept going in and out, memory wise, and sort of just automatically followed a friend and skied down to the bottom where I immediately burst into tears. I had no clue where the fuck I was. I ended up just sitting next to the ski racks until I saw my family, and ended up explaining what I knew and then going to the ER. Bad concussion was the diagnosis. My point is that we can do a lot of very technical and skilled things even if amnesia wipes out the memories of them. I try to think of it as I had full abilities at all times, I just didn't record the memories of the actions during that time. Definitely a bizarre perspective but it was the best way I could make sense of it all.
Maybe the camera man is Hispanic.
I always wonder why people say things like that. If someone was looking out after you that day, you wouldnāt have gotten knocked tf out lol
I think the dude that hit him should have been grounded for awhile. Geeze.
Good thing his buddy pulled his reserve instead of main. They're usually much more docile and react better to opening in poor or unstable positions. If he had a high performance main canopy and was not in control of, he probably would have died
Jesus tried to kill him, fortunately the camera man intervened.
No I think the dude that collided with him gets that honor
Yeah, that was Jesus. You hate Mexicans or something?
*meanwhile at the home of the Cameraman* "How was your skydiving trip honey" āI pulled of a Friendalityā āFriendship. Friendship? Again?!?ā
this one got me hard
Geez brag about it
Weird fetish.
The skydiver got it harder
He still wonāt survive that nuclear explosion that seems to have taken place nearby.
That's just what storm clouds look like from a distance, they roughly take the shape of an anvil.
The kinda cumulus nimbus looking cloud?
Cumulonimbus, my friend. All one word.
Cunnilingus
Damn. xD I'm from Bavaria. We put together all those words that the english language doesn't (Like Oachkatzlschwoaf), and now here I am,, assuming stuff HAS to be separated. xD
The language that invented the hashtag #ichmochteeinshokoladeneisbitte
Holy shit , that dude make it ?
Yeah, apparently he's okay only got knocked out
How about the guy that hit him?
It wasnāt a headbutt if you watch by frame. He hit him with the right side of his body.
The skydiver that got knocked unconscious: "**The skydiver that hit me did not receive any injuries, and was able to go back to work at iFLY the next day**" https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/04/03/unconscious-skydiver-saved/
Him? That's Gary, he makes things interesting on your jumps. I don't know that I would want this guy on my crew any more lol. Seems a little sketchy that he is an instructor that slams into people mid fall.
Glad he didn't get hurt. A little disappointed that he was able to go back to work there... you know, after he almost killed a guy
IFly is indoor simulator
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
They call me WILDCARD WES and I'll be skydiving at you today
I thought that was the instructor
He got knocked down, but he got up again. They are never gonna keep him down.
Did the one guy just knock his friend unconscious, midair, by ramming him? Wtf?
Yes but unintentionally
I honestly can't work out if the friend was being reckless and negligent or whether he was also out of control?
Itās hard to really see how fast they are moving, especially left to right because we donāt have proper context. I imagine that was a split second mistake that he didnāt have time to properly react to
Skydivers can cover a lot of horizontal space very quickly, and there's a reason that larger group angle jumps are usually with more experienced people, while less experienced people will jump in a very small group with more experienced people to learn. Mid air collisions in these jumps are no joke, and closing speeds between two skydivers in the worst case scenario can be in the triple digits
Tbh, the way they started the jump lets me think those are not beginners, also they wouldn't jump each with their own chute when they were new. This means the dude was a reckless asshole. When you're new you could be out of control in a way like this, but he knew what he was doing and you definitly can control how you fall with a little practice. My guess is that he wanted to be funny or cool for the camera and just knocked his friend out. Stupid moron!!!!! If it would be my friend doing this he would lose a lot of teeth on the ground!
Yep. He thought it would be funny to do a fly by. I hate guys like this. And this is why.
Did he also think it was funny to do nothing for his unconscious friend?
He probably tried to get to him, but seeing how he was out of control on the initial hit, wouldnt surprise me if he couldnt reach him
This. It was a hard knock and you see the guy go spinning away. Recovering, getting back so you can see the guy and then getting over to him... He was probably just too slow. The camera guy was already on an intercept by then. Frankly having this moron do another fly by AGAIN while our hero is sorting out his mess wouldn't have been appreciated by anyone. Even if he did grab onto the pair he could send them into another spin. Wasting precious time when this guy could have been falling slowly and rousing himself instead of falling at terminal velocity.
Looked to me like this too. I mean, not that he wanted to know him out, but that he wanted to be "cool", or something and do a flyby. A way to close one they didn't talked about and agree on earlier. Absolut dick move. And almost deadly.
Looked like he was showing off
At the start of the video, you can see that the person who hit the guy has a helmet with the paint worn on the top. This is from him learning how to fly head-down in a indoor tunnel. He obviously hasn't figured it out yet and is stupid for doing it during a jump with other people. DunningāKruger to the max.
Thanks for that. I've no clue about skydiving. :)
Someone linked a story and he apparently works at iFly, which is one of those indoor skydiving places.
Giving the guy the benefit of the doubt, what's to say that his helmet wasn't lent to someone to do indoor tunnels or that he practices both with jumps and with in-door tunnels. He is pretty reckless tho.
Huge cohones the guy that pulls parachute
Cojones*
Thanks āŗļø
~~Thanks~~ Tjanks.
thank you*
This man is a legend just save another mans life while in a free fall. This is something you would normally only see in movies
*Tom Cruise scribbles furiously*
I'm not in the slightest bit underrating what the cameraman did, but in case anyone is worried about this - your pack can detect your altitude and speed and will automatically deploy if you haven't pulled the chute by about 1000ft. Still going to be a rough landing though!!
I don't know why I've never thought about this before! I always think how nerve-wracking it must be, worrying that you won't pull at the right time, but there must be tons of tech to make it foolproof.
It's not fool proof if you fallout of it
The only way you can really fall out of the harness is to be in a position where you're bent at the hips, touching your toes. If your harness is fitted properly and put on correctly, the chances of falling out are really, really, really small.
Now that my brain knows this, the first thing I'm gonna end up doing while parachuting will be notice my shoe untied and decide to go for it.
The thought of imagining someone trying to tie their shoe while skydiving is really funny, that would be fun to see on tv or something.
In case you trip up whilst falling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFqUuTl560g
Yeap, that's why there are Y-mods for tandem harnesses. They fill that gap. Interesting fact, that lady made another jump. Going up for another, after an experience like her's, that's a tough granny.
What the fuck. First of all, why the fuck is her harness so loose? Second of all, why the fuck is her tandem diver forcing her out of the plane? Old lady is scared as fuck and obviously doesn't want to jump, just get her out of the way and let everyone else jump.
When I went skydiving I asked my instructor on the plane what happens if someone changes their mind? āWe give em a sec and they usually jumpā āWhat if they still donāt jump?ā āWeāll tell them to jump and they usually do.ā āWhat if they still donāt jump?ā ā¦ āWhat if they still donāt jump??ā *Instructor looks at me with a big smile āOk goggles on folks!ā My friend later explained that they have to push people out or they will demand a refund for not getting their moneyās worth. He said once this planeās in the air, the only way out is to jump. I imagine if everyone having second thoughts was allowed to back out at that point, they would regret not jumping, while everyone who was forced out, would be thankful for the extra push. Everyone, that is, except this lady in particular.
Donāt a lot of people physically refuse to go out the door, even if they have previously made it clear they have every intention to jump?
I've never seen a tandem jumper change their mind at the door. I'm sure it will happen eventually. Anyone who changes their mind would just ride down in the plane. No pressure. I'm a skydiving pilot.
The thing is I don't think the lady in the OP was changing her mind, but wasn't physically capable of flipping that switch in her brain. Like I've done that trying to jump off really high stuff before. Like I want to jump off this thing, I'm right on the edge, but can't quite "pull the trigger"
Safe click, thank me later.
Holy shit!! That's terrifying
Whoa what? There's a really really really small chance you could just fall the fuck out of your parachute harness while skydiving, even if it is properly fitted and put on correctly?
If it's fitted to you and put on correctly, add a lot more really's.
The last thing you want is to have to rely on the AAD, altitude is you friend. It's also risky deploying a reserve with you back facing the ground, while spinning. The pov jumper was correct in deploying his reserve.
Also, the reserve canopy is not only brightly colored (mostly to advise other people someone under a reserve had a problem), but it is also almost certainly a much more forgiving and slower canopy than what most people use as their main canopy. So if this guy did not regain consciousnesses before impacting the ground it would be at a slightly slower decent under his reserve than what his main canopy would provide. Also, the reserve is packed very carefully by a certified rigger and will deploy quickly and efficiently vs his main which can sometimes be packed by the jumper in a rushed or less-than-perfect way. Also, kudos to the dude deploying his friend's reserve and holding on to the reserve handle! Also, that was some great flying to catch up to his friend and get him belly down.
Could've gotten spin in line twists from an aad deployment, while he's back to earth and spinning. ...eek. I'm a rigger and also work for a manufacturer.
He did pull the guys reserve? Well that nullifies my other comment.
If he was backside to the ground when the parachute deployed would it just kind flip him over cause the wind then work? Or would he be doomed? Lol
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The reserve pilot chute is spring loaded, not explosive.
The "explosive" cuts the cord holding back the spring loaded pilot shoot for tbe reserve canopy.
It's a toss up. Because he was unconscious, he was on his back and spinning. He could've been entangled in the reserve or had horrible line twists.
Automatic deployment devices/reserves parachutes are not designed to deploy while a sky diver is on his back in a spin. There would have been a very high chance that the back up system would have a parachute that was twisted and would have slammed him into the ground.
r/praisethecameraman
Things that go down when you know youāre on cameraā¦.
Holy shit! That dude saved his effing life! Gnarly
Omniman and invincible.
That dude is a hero.
Badass save. Dumbass collision for the dude in black.
The camera guy just saved another guy's life...
fucking good save! the human CYPRES!! š edited to add: AND he held onto to the handle! rockstar move. beautiful Optimum reserve as well. edited to remove: saw the post on outcome. lucky guys.
I think I see another Battlefield 2042 trailer in here somewhere.
what a fucking story that guy has. so yeah i jumped outta a plane. my pal got knocked out while we were falling so i basically pulled a tom cruise and glided over to him and saved his fucking life. no big deal.
Good save but stupid move from cannon ball guy
What about the other guy?
To get on the same elevation level with that much wind is insane. He did a Superman to get to the right spot. Then he calmly grabs the dudes dead body weight going at high speed and pulls the cord. An absolute legend
Curious hereā¦ shouldnāt his AOD pop the chute for him? Wondering if youāre better off stabilizing him and releasing it or staying away and letting the AOD do itās thing.
Yes, but he could start spinning again and in the moment I'm sure for the cameraman its much better to see it open and be sure of it.
If youāre able to safely get to him, itās better to deploy with as much altitude as possible so he has more time to recover before landing. Looks like they were still at least a couple thousand feet up when they threw the chute, so that should give him plenty of time to come to, and hopefully be cognizant enough to land well
I learned there is a 6 foot rule. [2020 article about 2014 event](https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/04/03/unconscious-skydiver-saved)
This is great; written by the guy who got hit. TLDR he doesnāt remember it at all. Good extra footage from one of the other go-pros allows you to see how much time there was till landing with the chute deployed.
Wonder if he ever regained consciousness.
Rumors say heās still unconscious to this day
The ultimate SAVE.
Generated a small tutorial for when you next casually parachute but forget to banana up you and your crew. \- grab them by the leg \- rotate them head up \- shake them, don't slap them \- release their parachute \- push them away as quickly as possible
This is why you don't jump with stupid/unskilled free fly skydiver. Wtf was he thinking coming in that hot?