Number 6: Darren Crumpler Darren Crumpler was an army veteran who’d
received an exciting Christmas present.
He’d made a bucket list, which included skydiving.
His wife decided to surprise him with the unique experience.
Crumpler’s wife believed it would be a one-time activity.
Instead, he took it on as a regular hobby.
A year later, he decided to get his skydiving license.
In order to be eligible, he needed to complete three more jumps.
However, something went horribly wrong.
While performing his second dive of the day, Crumpler’s parachute opened, but he deviated
from the landing site.
Instead, he ended up falling heavily against a nearby home.
The parachute’s cords got tangled up with the house’s TV antennas.
That left Crumpler dangling 12 feet off the ground.
The army veteran remembered little about the accident, but his injuries were severe.
He had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.
Crumpler suffered from a fractured ankle, heel, elbow, femur, and pelvis.
He required several skin grafts and spent over 10 days hospitalized.
Fortunately, Crumpler would go on to make a full recovery.
He was able to walk again, though the pain from the accident lingered for a long time.
What is it?
Parachuting involves jumping from an aircraft or a great height and using a parachute to
fall safely.
It can include a short or long period of free-falling, depending on the objective behind the jump.
There’s an inevitable skydiving period, in which the jumper allows gravity to act,
before deploying the parachute.
The speed of descent is then controlled and prevents the person from getting harmed or
killed when reaching the ground.
The parachute was invented by André-Jacques Garnerin, in France.
As soon as the developmental phase was concluded, he wanted to try out his invention.
On October 22, 1797, he used a hydrogen balloon to travel 3,200 feet above the city of Paris.
His invention looked very different from today’s modern parachute.
It wasn’t placed in a bag or any other sort of container.
It didn’t have a ripcord either.
This feature was included in 1919 by Leslie Irvin.
Civilian and military parachutes aren’t crafted the same way, but they share traits
in common.
Parachutes have five different main elements.
The main fabric expands once it’s activated.
There’s also a smaller, emergency fabric as well as suspension lines, a harness, and
the bag in which the fabric is placed.
Usually, jumps occur when the plane reaches a height between 10,000 and 15,000 feet.
The parachute takes around 1,000 feet to open up completely.
This means it’s usually deployed when the jumper is roughly 6,000 feet away from the
ground.
Number 5: Unnamed Canadian woman In August 2019, an unnamed Canadian woman
managed to survive a near-fatal parachuting accident.
She had previous experience, and nothing seemed amiss at first.
The jump began as usual, with the 30-year-old woman leaping from a height of 5,000 feet
off the ground.
Seconds later, though, she realized the main parachute wouldn’t deploy.
She proceeded to try and open the backup one instead.
To everyone’s shock, it failed as well.
There were many witnesses to the accident, and they watched in horror as the woman fell
at more than 37 miles per hour.
The young woman landed in a wooded area and received immediate medical attention.
Surprisingly, none of her injuries were life-threatening.
She’d managed to survive the fall, with only fractures and a broken vertebrae.
The doctors and witnesses were shocked and relieved, as these types of falls tend to
be fatal.
As of the making of this video, Parachutisme Adrénaline, the skydiving facility she used
to make the jump is under investigation.
The company refused to comment on the accident but could ultimately be accused of criminal
negligence.
Number 4: Unnamed Colombian woman In September 2019, a young Colombian woman
plummeted to her death after jumping from a plane with seven other skydivers.
She was on a trip to California, in the United States, when tragedy struck.
In this fatal accident, the woman managed to open her parachute with no issues.
The problems began when the wind changed.
She found herself caught by a gust of air and pushed away from the landing zone.
She was dragged mid-air toward California’s Highway 99, directly into traffic.
The 28-year-old ended up crashing against a semi-truck.
She died on impact but kept being dragged forward by the wind.
Finally, she landed on the side of the road, where first responders rushed to her aid.
Unfortunately, there was nothing more they could do for her.
She was declared dead as her injuries were too severe.
The skydiving center that she’d hired to make the jump had a dark background.
In 2016, a student and his instructor died together in an accident.
It was later found that the instructor didn’t have the appropriate license for his job.
A man who regularly drives down Highway 99 claimed the center’s skydiving activities
have always been risky.
The parachuters fly above the freeway before landing on a patch of grass not far from it.
He’d previously told a local TV station that it was an accident waiting to happen.
Where is it located?
Parachuting can be practiced all over the world.
There are several popular spots, usually called drop sites.
Hawaii, Dubai, Mount Everest, and the Swiss Alps are among the most frequented.
It can be performed both recreationally, as a professional sport, in military activities,
and as an emergency escape from an aircraft.
Since it’s a risky activity, previous practice and training are necessary.
When practiced for entertainment purposes, it’s considered an extreme sport.
The freefall period tends to be longer when it’s performed as a sport or just for fun.
There are several different types of competition and different styles that can be pursued,
such as freestyle, canopy formation, and wingsuit flying.
It can be performed as a group or individually, and it can even include artistic aspects.
There are world championships and several associations of enthusiasts and professionals.
The world record for the highest freefall, as of the making of this video, is held by
Alan Eustace.
He managed to jump at the astonishing height of 135,908 feet, falling freely for over four
minutes.
To put the altitude he leaped from into perspective, he actually reached the stratosphere before
taking the jump.
When used in an emergency, the parachute is usually attached to the aircraft’s seat.
When the pilot activates the ejection, the seat propels up into the air.
Then the parachute opens automatically, though older models might still require manual deployment.
Number 3: Toby Turner, Kerri Pike, and Peter Dawson
In 2017, a single skydiving accident ended the life of three people.
Toby Turner, Kerri Pike, and Peter Dawson jumped off the plane together in Far North
Queensland, Australia.
None of them would reach the ground alive.
Turner, a professional skydiver, wasn’t even supposed to be on the plane.
He decided to join the others because there was an empty seat.
He jumped just before Pike and Dawson, who took the leap moments later.
Pike was a first-time skydiver.
Because of this, she was strapped together with her instructor, Dawson, in a tandem harness.
Turner then committed a fatal mistake by deploying his parachute early.
This happened because he’d placed the canopy in a container too large to properly contain
it.
Being an experienced parachuter, he had checked his own equipment, not noticing any problems.
Opening his parachute early caused Turner to crash against the nearby instructor and
student duo.
The collision was fatal for all parties involved.
Their injuries were too severe due to the high-speed impact.
The three skydivers were declared dead at the scene.
During the autopsy, the main wounds were found on the neck and head.
Due to the force of the impact, their bodies didn’t fall on the designated landing spot.
They instead were found approximately 1 mile away from the drop zone.
Today's video was requested by Shane Harkin.
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How will it kill you?
There are several ways parachuting can go wrong.
The most common cause is human error.
Reckless or inexperienced skydivers perform dangerous tricks or commit mistakes.
This usually results in crashing at high-speed against the ground or other obstacles along
the way down.
Other usual difficulties faced by parachuters are changes in weather conditions.
Wind speed and changing direction can be particularly problematic.
Colliding with other skydivers who are falling too close to one another can also produce
accidents.
The canopy, or fabric, of the parachutes, can deflate suddenly by bumping hard enough
against each other.
This is particularly dangerous when it happens too close to the ground, as it doesn’t give
the skydivers enough time to use their reserve parachutes.
Though parachutes have many different security measures to avoid failure, it’s still possible
for the equipment not to work correctly.
It’s estimated that 1 in every 750 deployments end up in a malfunction.
That’s why every parachute has a second, emergency canopy.
The majority of accidents doesn’t necessarily result in death and happens during landing.
Reaching the ground with a single outstretched limb causes wrist or ankle injuries, such
as fractures and sprains.
Though there are many safety measures and extensive training is required, parachuting
is still a dangerous activity.
This means that the chances of death are high when problems occur.
Number 2: Christopher Swales Christopher Swales was vacationing with his
wife in the US when he decided he wanted to try skydiving.
The UK resident hired an instructor to jump near the Grand Canyon.
Swales’s wife didn’t accompany him on the skydiving trip.
He’d selected the company Paragon Skydive to have his first parachuting experience.
In September 2019, he jumped in tandem with his instructor and the two were connected
by a harness.
Unfortunately, the parachute failed to open.
As they approached the landing spot, they began to freefall.
The exact height from which they jumped wasn’t clarified for the media.
Swales died upon impact.
The instructor managed to survive the accident.
He only suffered a broken leg and other minor scrapes.
Both men were rushed to the hospital, but Swales was declared dead immediately.
As of the making of this video, no criminal charges were filed against either the instructor
or the skydiving company.
There is an ongoing investigation, however, so negligence allegations are still not out
of the question.
How to survive?
First and foremost, parachuting can’t be performed by a completely inexperienced person.
Practice and lessons are required before taking a jump.
Each country has different legal requirements.
People can actually practice skydiving without the need to actually perform a jump.
Training occurs in vertical wind tunnels that simulate free fall.
A beginner can try different alternatives before skydiving on their own.
There are several options, such as assisted deployment, skydiving in tandem, or even static
line, which allows the parachute to open automatically.
A fundamental safeguard is the second, smaller emergency canopy included.
Most countries demand skydivers carry two separate parachutes.
Certificated riggers inspect and repackage the equipment to make sure it works correctly
on a regular basis.
In the USA, it must be checked every 180 days.
To avoid the injuries that usually occur when landing incorrectly, it’s recommended to
wear appropriate clothes.
There’s special, supportive footwear as well as other equipment items that can help
avoid tibia, ankle, and wrist fractures.
These materials transfer impact energy along the rest of the limb instead of focusing on
a certain area, thus minimizing injuries.
Most experienced skydivers use visual or audible altimeters.
These are typically placed in their helmets and help the jumper to know when to deploy
their parachute.
Number 1: Unnamed man An unnamed man suffered an unexpected accident
while skydiving in Michigan.
He had traveled from out of state to participate in a parachuting event.
The activity, called “Dink, Dink, Boogie” took place in August 2019.
More than 200 jumpers participated.
The event was developing without incidents when tragedy struck.
The Grand Haven Airport, where the activities took place, had already been involved in a
previous accident.
Earlier that year, a skydiver experienced problems with his parachute.
Fortunately, the man managed to cut the cords and land safely.
This time, the victim wouldn’t be so lucky.
The unnamed man jumped off the plane, and his parachute opened correctly.
It’s not yet clear how the accident occurred.
Some witnesses suspect the man’s parachute might have bumped against that of another
skydiver.
Only 50 feet off the landing spot, the man looked like he was losing control.
He fell on the ground hard, without using any of the appropriate techniques to land.
The event’s organizers aren’t confident if the man was incapacitated or distracted.
The victim struck the ground hard, and people quickly rushed to his aid.
He was taken to the hospital, but the injuries he’d sustained were too severe.
He was declared dead soon after.
The event was canceled after the accident, and an investigation was opened by the Federal
Aviation Administration.
Thanks for watching!
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