Basejumper.com - archive

When something goes wrong, are you more likely to think it was because you failed somehow to anticipate and prevent it, or a random case of "shit happens?"

I think style of jumping has the biggest effect in all of they above categories, legal spans V's urban bandit or remote antenna V's a legal cliff for example.

I have been stopped by the police twice because they have driven round the corner as I am under canopy at 3 or 4am in a busy city.
Bad skills? Bad luck? Or type of jump?
It's not going to happen at a legal span or an event is it!

Oh and just to point out on 1 of the jumps the road was the LZ so yes the roads were empty when I exited.

Judgement error.

There are three tools we can use to avoid accidents (and busts).

The first, and most important, is judgement. Judgement tells us when not to make a jump, and the only jump we can know, with 100% certainty, will not result in an accident, is one we don't make. That doesn't mean you should never jump, but it does mean that you should always exercise careful judgement to reduce your chance of injury.

The next tool is knowledge. Knowledge arms our judgement, by telling us about the jump (and the odds of injury). By knowing about our equipment, the conditions, our capabilities, our gear, and how all those things interact, we allow ourselves to make good judgement calls, and also to properly prepare for the specific jump.

The least important tool is skill. Good skills can save your ass--after you're already in a bad situation. But with good judgement, you never have to use your skills, because you're never in a situation where you need them to avoid injury. Skill is our cure, in case our prevention fails.


The other thing that I see far too many people relying on (and which should never be trusted) is luck. You can't count on luck to keep you safe, because you never know when it will turn on you. When you get lucky, it should be a clear signal that you need to re-evaluate your judgement calls. Instead, many people treat it as a signal that they really are bullet proof, and that it's ok for them to make bad judgements because luck will save them.

Very well put.

Unfortunately, I don't think a person that needs to believe this will. Superstition is the lack of logic.

most accidents follow the rule of threes in my opinion...

it's usually 3 small mistakes that result in an accident. mistakes don't add, they multiply. when i notice that i am about to make a 3rd sacrifice on something, i back down.

 

What you believe is irrelevant. What you do is what counts, and I think we all have problems applying Tom's hierarchy.

The issue, I think -- and an armada of witty quotes and sayings will back me up on this -- is that we generally only learn to assess a particular situation after we've assessed it badly. You can read the forums, talk to other jumpers, even think on the situation carefully, and all you'll really gather is knowledge. An understanding of whether and how that connects to the situation at hand (ie, judgement) is something I think you can only gain through experience.

This is why every accident, incident, injury, and arrest is followed up by a deluge of "Here's how this could have been avoided." That everybody can name something that could have been done shows how easy knowledge is to acquire, and how much of it we all have. That so many respected jumpers continue to be involved in accidents etc. shows that judgement, when it really counts, is much more elusive.

Experience builds tools for the future, but good judgement cannot be taught. In my opinion, sound judgement is much more important than a prior skill set when determining who you will mentor.

"What leads to most Accidents, Incidents, Injuries, or Arrests?"


Vodka.

IMHO, if the person actually has sound judgment, and the mentor is worth his/her salt, then they will force the jumper to get the prior skills before moving forward.

I have Climb down BASE #8 or something like that.... ;-)

I think I've always heard that as "Chicken BASE." personally, I'd rather most jumpers earn "Chicken BASE" before a Joy/Rick BASE number.

Whatever you call it it.... IMHO, the mentality of jumper should be "WHO CARES WHAT ANYBODY ELSE THINKS!!!!!"

Chicken out, climb down, whatever.... there is never ever, anything wrong with it.

I actually remember the most pristine night on greeny on the biggest full moon ever! for some reason, I just did not feel right. TONS of light, mid-week, no wind, nothing but my conscious that did not feel right.

I went home that night. I came back the next night night, and guess what..... The bridge was still there... ;-) And I had an epic jump...

 

what were the mistakes???