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Fatality today from Exit Mushroom (Eiger).

http://www.police.be.ch/...mpertoedlichverletzt

Nationality?

i think he might be from israel
in the news it was announced that someone died in switzerland and a parachuting accident

Please refrain from publicly posting specific details until his family and girlfriends are informed.

Family is notified.

Memorial page says pilot chute mal. He was just getting into proxy, very very early, it was his second trip to Euroland.

See here:
https://youtu.be/soTC3if2bU0

Important to mention. I don't know if the guy on the video was they one showing him around, he mentioned two different names and said he was shown videos of this line.

As a low experience wingsuit base jumper, I cringed to see that line by a novice, with the word 1st in the title, and the bit just before the pull was full on bananas in my eyes. He said it was a planned jump and he followed the plan as laid out by an experienced friend he was with who was "less conservative then you" to quote him. He seemed to think there was nothing wrong with that jump. He sounded pleased with his choice of tour guide. I'm not blaming the guy of course, we all make our own choices and pay our own prices, and for the record I haven't had any one that really knows proxy tell me my views about this jump, the decisions made and the bit before pull were in fact correct. I don't know what happened here,this is just a data point. Proxy done wrong and gone wrong can lead to situations where a pc mal is the secondary cause of incident. Or it could be the primary issue with or without a low pull as the secondary cause. There are lessons here I think, even if it turns out not to be the primary cause. I'm sharing this because I feel I tried to warn him and he wouldn't listen, maybe someone else could benefit from this data point. I hope it wasn't proxy that got him, just so I can feel a little less useless. His mom won't care though.

I miss my friend

The long route has more beer.

With regards to that video G, I was with Avi on the Paganella jump, there were 8 of us total of which 3 first-timers, all of whom were comfortably beyond the experience level required to make it.
We scouted and briefed the two landing areas, and at the exit briefed the line and hazards fully.
Avi flew that jump competently, correctly, and from his video I can see he made a good decision early as to when to head out over the power lines and into the valley below, his deployment looked to be a good 1200ft or more above ground from where he pitched.
He was super-stoked to fly it, and did it well, and as safely as can be done.
I can't speak as to what happened at the mushroom, but from this video I can't draw any inference of wreckless behaviour at all, quite the opposite.
I watched him fly, land at the bridge, hi-fived him there before we parted ways, that was the last time I saw him just a few days ago, I'm again saddened by a photo of a bunch of smiling, happy friends that are no longer all around.
RIP Avi.

Thank you for your reply, it is appreciated.

You do not see the last bit before pull as he slows down and flattens out to clear the cliff as being an issue? It seemed to me the margin was not there for a novice, and I've never seen anyone experienced in proxy struggle and slow to clear an edge like that. It seemed a very committed line at that point, with no outs. Perhaps I am confusing trying to dig out of a hole with flaring to pull, but then why not clear the cliff and then flare? I see him slow down, flatten out, low above the trees, wind speed sound is very much reduced.

I disagree with the idea that your second season or your first jump anywhere should involve flying too low to pull. Balancing the skill and luck jar is a personal decision for sure though.

At any case I have no knowledge proximity was even involved here, I just felt the need to share my last experience with my friend.

Again thank you for replying. sorry for your loss mate, he will be missed.

I think this should be a different discussion.
Avi went in with a knot in his PC. This can happen to anybody at any time. It's just bad luck.

Indeed Michi, and thanks for your continued difficult work. I didn't observe his PC packing so can't help with any technical pointers, so will butt out, hopefully someone who was on the mushroom jump with him can contribute some useful info.

As Michi said, not particularly relevant to this incident so won't comment beyond answering your direct question: his pull was generously high, very high over the secondary valley floor and well after passing the power lines. He does indeed turn down the gas once he clears the part of the jump where you need to fly strong, but even then he's miles above the terrain. He then appears to dive again a little before flaring out to pitch.
This was more of a stratospheric skydive than a proxy flight, especially in this location. Nothing to see here, except a great guy having a good, safe, awesome jump.
Hugs mate :(

Avi was a very active, and skilled wingsuit pilot.
I've only had the pleasure of jumping with him at a few USA wingsuit events, but he always struck me as careful, calculated and very methodical in terms of gathering skills . He has several years of wingsuit flying experience, and was not a noob in any way to wingsuit flying itself. Though the application of those skills in base was new, as others state, it seems to be fully unrelated to the accident.

Though PC packing also seems to be able create a knot by getting fabric wedged in between the bridle, most of the similar knots Ive seen in skydiving (including ones caught on peoples backfacing camera) seemed to happen due to a combination of slightly weaker throw, and wingsuit burble. The bridle bouncing around can create a big loop/ring behind the pilot, and the PC passing through that can then knot the bridle or (higher up) PC itself as it catches air and reaches bridle stretch.

I know several people who have had scares on both base and skydive, finding a knot in their bridle halfway up after landing.

There is also a nice article/write up by Dominik on this subject
https://www.facebook.com/...1524?hc_location=ufi

Is there any clue that his PC-throwing style had contributed to the accident?
RIP

Does anyone know how he packed his PC, how he put it in the pouch, if it was checked again when suiting up and how rigorous his throw usually was.

I have been traveling with Avi for the last two weeks and was on the load yesterday morning. Before getting into the incident itself I will say that Avi was playing very conservative this trip. The three other jumps that we did besides Brento were all done with plenty of height over terrain and he has been pitching high -- 400-600 ft. His flying style did not in any way contribute to his death.

The incident: Avi got on a chopper up to the Mushroom. He had been raving about this jump for the past week. This is all he wanted to do here in the valley. If that was the only jump he got he would have been satisfied. I hiked up and met him on top. He exited fine and flew straight out towards Grindelwald. He did not come anywhere close to terrain (although according to the expert novice WS flyer on this thread since he was over terrain it was definitely fucking proxy - jeeezus). He had a long flight and pitched fairly high from the what I understand from the witnesses on the ground - 400-500ft. His PC knotted up - he fought with it - both pins were popped and canopy extraction began. He died on impact with his slider still up. The PC knot was one of the gnarliest and scariest things I've ever seen. I don't know specifically about his packing methods, but I know he was meticulous with his gear and packing. It's a shame this happened.

I contacted the family and broke the news. Heart breaking. I'll miss ya buddy - cheers - I'll see you when I hit deck.

The PC conversations can now continue on the thread. peace kids. stay alive.

Thanks for the info

It doesn't matter how hard you throw if you're not throwing all the loops of bridle, right? If you just grab the handle or mostly the top skin and mesh, then as you pull it out, all the s-folds of bridle stream out. I don't WS BASE so I'm legitimately curious...is that a primary concern when you pack the PC and what/how you grab?

Pulling at 400-600ft in a wingsuit is NOT high.
I don't know if 200 extra ft would have helped in this case, but one thing I learned is to pull high if the line allows it. At the Eiger there is no need to pull not high.

It is proximity or (preferably IMO) terrain flying, not proxy (unless you're a 13 year old YouBoob):

prox·y (noun)
1. the authority to represent someone else, especially in voting.
2. a figure that can be used to represent the value of something in a calculation.

For people too lazy to pull up Dominik's FB page, I'll summarize (not directed at Zebu):

1) Throw that fucking PC like your life depends on it, because it does.

2) Matt Gerdes has an old video posted reflecting that same PC folding method from Dom's page. I learned it from Jhonny a few years ago and use a version of it for all WS jumps, sky and base. Whatever PC folding method you employ, take the time to learn and make an educated decision as to what works for you. Just know why you do what you do.

+1
That's not a high pull at all...

Avi will be greatly missed. What an amazing human being he was...


Regarding the accident, I noticed on Brento jumps that he was using a PC (I believe Apex) with supergrippy handle. I remember picking up his PC from the ground when he was showing me the holes in his canopy made by smoke and examining this handle for a couple of minutes and thinking. My instant doubt was that this handle could cause bridle knot much easier than the standard PVC handle. This was my exact thought at the moment and (assuming this is the PC he used on the last jump) a few days later this is exactly what happened. Think about the bridle mess in the air hitting the grippy vs slippery handle, which one is more probable to catch the bridle?

Another thing, I asked him what size is it? 32. I told him I prefer 38 not only for the pull force reason, but also for the burble reason: giant PC falling on your back has higher chance of catching air than a small one that can completely "hide" on your back. He agreed. But I didn't voice my thoughts about the grippy handle, maybe I should have...

Not saying that grippy handles are black death, but some food for thought is better than nothing.

To clarify this is BASE jumping not skydiving...

By grippy handle do you mean with gaffers tape over it?

When I've seen him pack he leaves a lot of the bulk at the cap. Not specifically sure how he packs the PC, but the end result always looks like an excessive amount of bulk.

I personally can't fathom how that would happen in the way it was knotted, I've seen bridle knots, but not a fully PC knot. Definitely really scary.

Not gaffers tape, some kind of textured black rubber, very grippy, almost sticky. Factory made, not jumper-added like the tape.

I saw him packing the day before and he was folding his PC like a skydiving pilot chute.

I didn't see how he did the last part, but I saw these folds leading up to it and him S folding the bridle like so.

The PC he used when he went in was not the grippy handle. It was the normal PVC plastic handle. No tape.

Next hypothesis...

When somebody above mentioned Jhonny, i was reminded of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTIjZbvxSJg but didn't think much of it as i couldn't see it happening with a standard mushroom PC jobby...


(edit:Clickified)

Meet Avi at the Lodi 20/20 event, he was one of the camera guys and I was impressed with his work and flying skills in his Havoc. You don't get the skills he had without a good bit of experience. Really nice, humble guy I thought.

I have to ask, was he really triple folding the PC as shown in your second picture? I cant say I have EVER seen anyone do that. THis isn't skydiving, even though there are a new generation of BASE jumpers that only jump high cliffs and joke they are skydiving from mountains. You're not, you only have one chance to get it right. Personally, I will never use the minimum. Base gear and PC size is overbuilt/oversized for a reason. I'll take a positive opening over no opening anyday.

There are numerous example of Skydiving PC's packed the way shown here that have knotted and resulted in a PC in tow. Jhonny Florez actually even did a video about it. If you want to roll the Dice with a reserve ride go for it, it's your 65 bucks for a repack. But we need to eliminate that style from BASE and if you see someone doing it, say something.


Edited to Add. Looks like 0Lopez beat me to Jhonny's Video while I was typing.

Wow, you don't say captain obvious? Pulling at 400-500ft in a big wingsuit from the mushroom is in my opinion low. It is also my opinion that there is no good reason to pull low, ever, when flying a wingsuit in the base environment. This incident and orhers like it prove again and again that you need all the altitude you can get when shit hits the fan. Flying a wingsuit provides you with the luxury of having that altitude if you so choose.

You live in Norway. Your cliffs are huge.

People will pull low by choice or by circumstance.

It is important that the parachute opens.

JT, you are right. Some Cliffs, like the hardcore ws exits in Utah etc. will put you low no matter what... I concede to jumping the trigger a bit fast there. Anyway, please pull high if the circumstances allow it people

There's no reason to get upset. You're obviously a skydiver and don't understand the game. If altitude is the luxury you crave stick to a plane or Norway.

This was a tragic accident where we should all have learned to 1. Use a 36" pc or bigger 2. Pitch like your life depends on it 3. Don't pack it like a sky PC 4. Get ready to pull your pins if there is an issue.

Have his friends confirmed the method his PC was packed?

I did see the handle was regular external PVC (Not grippy).

Actually "Heat " is obviously a BASE Wingsuiter who makes some very good points.

There are a couple of very reliable methods of packing BASE PCs that all but eliminate the chance for a knot in the bridle, they just require a little more time and care. I believe there was a Russian in the Swiss Valley that went in a few years ago due to a PC problem that in all likelihood may have been from complacency in packing or stowing the PC.

Altitude is your friend when deploying a canopy and 4-600 feet IS low and often unnecessary.

Sadly, this appears to be another incident we can all learn from, and I am sorry for his friends and family,

Regards, B.

"The game" for me is to enjoy wingsuiting from cliffs safely and make it out alive and unscathed from every jump. I wish the same for everyone else too.

Completely agree on all four points you make.

And if you get the chance, definitely come and try wingsuiting in Norway!
The cliffs are amazing and you can make it as gnarly as you want

That's really bad - no way of ensuring a staged opening. Even at sub-terminal, I've seen people with a bridle line that snakes to a pilot chute which is much closer than the bridle length to the jumper simply because the bridle has slipped out during the throw. Skydivers pack like this to minimise the risk of a horseshoe malfunction should the bridle become exposed during freefall (usually freefly), but have the time (and potentially the reserve) to deal with the consequences...

As for pull height, lets go through some numbers. Assuming c.40mph vertical descent rate, that 10s to impact at 600ft. But working time is <7s as 200ft is needed to deploy the canopy. At 400ft, you've halved that so you've got 3s to deploy and deal with any issues. And what about time under canopy for landing, especially if off-heading or even a line twist?

Although do-able, 400-600ft is definitely in the basement - and sub 600ft would not be considered a prudent opening height in the high mountains.

We shouldn’t simplify this as “bad luck”, or “burble”. It is, as with any accident, a combination of factors. Information to help prevent this scenario is out there, and it is up to us to educate ourselves. A PC / Bridle entanglement is one of the scariest and most complex malfunctions that a BASE jumper can experience. It is the one that I think about most, and I do not consider myself to be immune to it. Because it scares me, I take specific steps to help prevent it. The following points are not directed at this particular accident. These are just a few factors relating to this type of accident:

1. Angle of Attack is a critical factor in a wingsuit during deployment. While body position is a common topic of discussion in wingsuit flying, even very experienced wingsuit pilots often fail to include AoA when attempting to explain what we do. Also, unfortunately there is a prevailing tendency in wingsuit skydiving to encourage people to fly flat, and to deploy from comparatively flat AoAs. Maintaining speed and angle during the deployment is critical. In order to do that, we have to think about AoA as a factor separate from, and equally important to, body position.

2. Forward speed and laminar airflow: Keep air moving over the top surface of your wingsuit during deployment. For newer wingsuit BASE jumpers the common tendency is to slow down towards the end of the flight in order to try to improve glide performance and reduce sink rate (some jumpers tend to “milk” the last part of their WS BASE jump to get further). You can see it every day in Lauterbrunnen. Slowing forward speed to gain glide is the best way to increase burble size. A proper flare, in contrast, occurs after a high speed dive, not a low-speed glide-preserving segment at the end of the flight.

3. Bridle Length: Longer is not safer. IMO, more bridle is not the answer. This is around 5 years old but still relevant: http://www.base-book.com/bridle-length

4. PC deployment: As was said by others already – get it way out there. It’s very easy to throw it weakly. It takes concentration and training to throw it efficiently, and with purpose.

5. PC type and size: A grippy or heavy handle is not my personal favorite for wingsuit flying (it was stated above that Avi was jumping a “normal” non-sticky PVC handle, but we know from experience that the weight of “normal” PVC handles varies greatly). I jump a PC with the lightest handle I’ve found. My decision is based on reviewing many hundreds of my own and other’s PC deployments in rear-facing video. Watching the PC tumble with exposed bridle in the airstream makes this decision easy for me. If you look at the vortices illustrated by wingsuits flying through waterfalls, you will see that it is impossible to get the PC entirely outside of a wingsuit’s wake turbulence, which is considerable. There will always be the tendency for the PC to mix with the bridle, and the heavier the PC is, the more it will trail behind the lightweight bridle in the airstream. Light bridle gets carried downstream quickly, and a heavy PC is carried more slowly. The bridle is then waiting downstream for the heavy PC to collide with it. The less bridle you expose to the PC, and the lighter the PC is, the better.

6. PC packing: This is just one of multiple factors in our deployment. I believe that staging the bridle is a good idea, due to the factors described directly above. From 2011: https://vimeo.com/26274995 Anyone who packs their PC without a thorough understanding of how it will be unpacked in the airstream, is cheating themselves. Jhonny’s points in his video are all very good, although mostly applicable to skydiving.

Please excuse the long post. All of the above is just the opinion of one wingsuit BASE jumper. I’m very sorry that Avi is gone, he will be missed.

-Matt

Regarding the handle, is there anyone jumping a handleless PC on wingsuit jumps? How many jumps do you have with the bridle staged that way and is there any video to review of different techniques at deployment?

Absolutely! Myself also, it is the first stage of your parachute deployment and critical! We only have to look at the individual ( My good friend ), who jumped without a PC attached to his bridle to realize how complacent even the most experienced jumpers can be on this issue.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom, I learned so much from the rest of your post.

Regards, B.

People get complacent and forget how easy it is to get fucked.

https://www.youtube.com/...ed&v=e-DVH_flt14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwVFHf1HbdY

You're right. People are dumb fucks.

People have more important shit to worry about.

Language is evolving - you should too.

"You like it rigid and solid?" ;)