All sports carry with them a certain amount of risk, but some sports are significantly more dangerous than others. The question is, are sky diving fatalities more common than fatalities in other sports?
Not all sports carry the risk of dying – after all, assuming fitness isn’t an issue, sports like tennis and snooker don’t carry any real risk at all. The sports concerned here are those which generally involve high speeds, such as motor racing, rally driving, and of course skydiving.
What Is The Cause Of Most Sky Diving Fatalities?
The equipment used in skydiving nowadays is state of the art and designed specifically to ensure that accidents are cut to an absolute minimum. All parachutes are checked and packed carefully before each use, and each skydiver has two parachutes – the main chute and a reserve in case the main one doesn’t work for any reason.
Many more sky diving fatalities have been prevented by the use of an automatic activation device or AAD, a gadget that opens the reserve parachute at exactly the right time and height above the ground, assuming you have not already opened the main canopy.
In short, the main cause of sky diving fatalities is pure and simple – human error. As you do more skydives you will gain more and more experience, but this does not necessarily mean you will know all there is to know about the sport.
Weather conditions, wind direction and any number of other factors can affect how you make your way back down to earth. Cross winds and similar issues can send you away from the drop zone you are aiming for, and taking alternative measures to bring yourself back to the drop zone can result in making an error of judgement.
Mid Air Collisions
Some sky diving fatalities are caused by mid air collisions occurring when more than one jumper from the same plane get too close to each other. This sometimes causes their parachutes to become tangled.
It is vitally important that you check your canopy and where other skydivers are in relation to yourself before making any attempt to turn or steer yourself in mid air. When you watch a video of skydivers it’s easy to forget they’re falling at over a hundred miles an hour.
It’s arguable that most sky diving fatalities could be prevented, as they are more commonly caused by humans than by any other factor. Skydiving is an exhilarating sport, but it should always be treated with the respect it deserves.
Our Sky Diving Team
Thinking of a skydiving adventure? If so, you and your team have picked the right place. The most fun part of sky diving as a team is that it can be a way of gaining and learning more about skydiving. Whether or not you are competing, jumping with a team is great fun and a very rewarding experience you will never forget.
Team Diving
One obvious difference between normal skydiving with a team or by yourself and tandem parachuting is that with tandem style two people are attached together. One person is the passenger, and the other is the tandem-instructor. The passenger is simple along for the ride while the tandem-instructor has all the jump responsibilities. Beyond the obvious difference of two people skydiving together, the tandem method is a larger parachute that is used to accommodate the extra weight.
A major variable to keep in mind while skydiving with a team is the weather. The weather is a big factor and you have to keep an on it as it can suddenly change and you might have to reschedule. Therefore, you can never guarantee that anyone will definitely jump by a certain time with a certain person on the plane. If you have friends that are going to watch you, be sure and tell them they might be waiting a while. This activity is definitely a weather-controlled sport and you just never know when you may or may not jump at the scheduled time.
You are now on the plane, ready to sky dive with a team, and finally the pilot gives you the first warning. You are approaching the jump point. Your heart drops while you stomach does flip-flops as you instructor signals you to stand up and turn around. A few quick clicks and some tightening of straps another person is being strapped securely to your back. The pilot gives you the green light. You step to the edge of the door and look out and then look down. You freeze for a second and only a second because that is all the time you have to think as you as now flying in the air with the ground suddenly rushing up to meet you.
You are under the canopy for a few minutes and the view is unlike any you had experienced from any other location on earth. Wow! I can see my house from here!
You are just beginning to relax a little but then your partner pulls the ripcord. A few seconds later you feel as though you have been stopped in mid air and you do not remember those straps being that tight on the ground as you had you first flight as a team!
And then, with all the skills you learned from your instructor, you step back to earth as light as a feather, wanting to skydive with a team all over again.
Team Diving
One obvious difference between normal skydiving with a team or by yourself and tandem parachuting is that with tandem style two people are attached together. One person is the passenger, and the other is the tandem-instructor. The passenger is simple along for the ride while the tandem-instructor has all the jump responsibilities. Beyond the obvious difference of two people skydiving together, the tandem method is a larger parachute that is used to accommodate the extra weight.
A major variable to keep in mind while skydiving with a team is the weather. The weather is a big factor and you have to keep an on it as it can suddenly change and you might have to reschedule. Therefore, you can never guarantee that anyone will definitely jump by a certain time with a certain person on the plane. If you have friends that are going to watch you, be sure and tell them they might be waiting a while. This activity is definitely a weather-controlled sport and you just never know when you may or may not jump at the scheduled time.
You are now on the plane, ready to sky dive with a team, and finally the pilot gives you the first warning. You are approaching the jump point. Your heart drops while you stomach does flip-flops as you instructor signals you to stand up and turn around. A few quick clicks and some tightening of straps another person is being strapped securely to your back. The pilot gives you the green light. You step to the edge of the door and look out and then look down. You freeze for a second and only a second because that is all the time you have to think as you as now flying in the air with the ground suddenly rushing up to meet you.
You are under the canopy for a few minutes and the view is unlike any you had experienced from any other location on earth. Wow! I can see my house from here!
You are just beginning to relax a little but then your partner pulls the ripcord. A few seconds later you feel as though you have been stopped in mid air and you do not remember those straps being that tight on the ground as you had you first flight as a team!
And then, with all the skills you learned from your instructor, you step back to earth as light as a feather, wanting to skydive with a team all over again.
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