Basejumper.com - archive

Fatalities this year:
94 through 100 on the Nick's Fatality List.

To be added:
101 - Austrian jumper
102 - Australian jumper

9 fatalities in 9.5 months!

This is terrible.

Please lets not make this like a year like 2002....

That year averaged 1 a month.....

Be safe people

For information and a representation of what this year means:

1980: 0
1981: 2
1982: 2
1983: 2
1984: 1
1985: 2
1986: 4
1987: 3
1988: 2
1989: 3
1990: 3
1991: 0
1992: 0
1993: 5
1994: 3
1995: 2
1996: 4
1997: 3
1998: 1
1999: 6
2000: 5
2001: 4
2002: 12
2003: 8
2004: 6
2005: 7
2006: 9 YTD (9 months)

[Please correct me if my data is incorrect - as I took most of this from old data I did analysis from a couple of years ago]

[edit to list in years]

[edit - I count only 99 in my list - Sorry I am missing some - I will revise]

It is terrible but we got more jumpers than ever and maybe the fatalities per capita have not gone up that much.

Also keep in mind that many of us push their own limits much sooner than we are ready for because for one the bar had been raised so much (global peer pressure) and second many of us just like to push their limits just for the fuck of it, i.e. for the same reason that got us into BASE to begin with.

every year more and more pepole get into BASE so its logical that more fataliys happen...

it is sad but true...there will be more...

the sport got over the last years some kind of aggressive development....
hardcore tracking, arials, wingsiut....
we are pushing a limit that is already on the limit...
but thats ok as long we keep this in mind...

memento mori....

Anyone could add numbers of skydives, number of base jumps, number of years in sport to the fatalities this year, and try to maintain a list like that in the future? It would have been very interesting to see the trend of accidents compare to experience!

We do have a lot more jumpers than we did in the early 80's, but we also have much better gear, information and techniques. The info is out there if we can convince new BASE jumpers to seek it out. If people will realize that just because BASE seems so popular now, it is still not a carnival ride and is not the sport for most people, even many skydivers. I'm afraid in the last 10 to 15 years or so, the gear and packing techniques have gotten so foolproof that we have fools getting into the sport without really understanding the instinct and skills required to do it safely. Most of those instincts come from time in the air. There are exceptions but in my opinion there is no substitute for several hundred skydives, including some accuracy, before getting into BASE.
Rick H
#38
If anyone cares, D-3736

I would like to look in to the group of experienced jumpers fattalities! I would like to see how much % of the fattalities involves those who should have the time in the sport, and numbers of jumps to manage to stay alive. Some attitude change in this group is necessery if we are going to get the numbers down, + motivation on newcomers to slow a bit down. Time in sport is preventive for many! The more you hear and see. the more respect most jumpers (should) gain!

I agree with you. It would be useful to have better statistics, but believe me, in any extreme sport, experience helps to know where to draw a few lines. The lines always move depending on new gear and techniques. I love to watch the latest proximity flying and Jean Boenish and I even spoke the other day and she likewise had seen some great wingsuit flying and was convinced it's a new and important direction for BASE.
On fatalities, in the early days, we died because we were inventing things even though many were pretty experienced skydivers. Now we die because we either push the limits too far, or get inexperienced jumpers in situations that require instinct to survive. There have been great advancements in packing, gear etc., but we still have the problem that BASE has been so public, "You Tube", commercials, TV Shows, that some believe it's as safe as a roller coaster. Most of us know better and need to insist that new BASE jumpers get some skydiving experience. Air time is important.
Rick

Experience is great, but the problem is you may have 500 jumps and never have a major malfunction. Unfortunately, this also seems to be the current trend in BASE. A new jumper makes 40-50 jumps, never has an off-heading opening, line-twists, etc.. Starts jumping more and more advanced techinical objects and taking more and more chances. Then the shit hits the fan.

WHAT IS MISSING IS A SENSE OF MORTALITY.

I was LUCKY enough early on to have a bad experience and walk away from it. One of my friends just got messed up bad on a jump because of this "What could possibly go wrong attitude".