Basejumper.com - archive

Sad to report a fatality at Paganella yesterday.

http://lavocedellarotaliana.it/index.php/oggi-in-primo-piano/2364-base-jumper-muore-a-zambana-dopo-un-lancio-dalla-paganella

http://lavocedellarotaliana.it/...ncio-dalla-paganella

The name is out and apparently it is the rigger from the closest DZ to me... Cant believe that.

Here is what we know until now:

He was doing a Winsguit Base Jump from Paganella. Eyewitnesses say that he almost made it to the LZ and collapsed his Wings as though he would be pulling.
He was then found with closed container and PC still in the BOC.

:(

Do u know,if it was the leg mounted PC or BOC?

"PC still in the BOC."

Geez....

When I just started skydiving, I watched all his videos about packing a parachute... I never got the chance to get to know him in person, but from his videos I can say, that he seemed like a nice person who enjoyed to share his experience and knowledge.

I'm curious if we'll ever get to know some more facts about this incident.

He seemed like a jumper who had safety first, second and third... I thought he was immortal. Can't believe he died jumping...

Missed that

The question is legit, I made an error with the translation. I wanted to say: ... the PC still stashed.

I do not know if it was BOC or leg mounted.

Hi, from an info I got from an eyewittness:
" .....
PC or canopy were never visible.
On the ground the PC was still in the BoC, the container was closed.
..."

I do not have any info what kind of WS he was using during that jump. Maybe that can be clarified later.

I only know that he was very current in WS-flying, he competed at several international events in acrobatic teamflying and managed to win prizes. He also was an WS-instructor.

As he was one of the best Riggers I ever met in my life, I am convinced that there was no error in the material, packing or a technical issue.
Of course, we all have seen technical mistakes which led to fatalities.
But I would bet my soul, this never happend to him.
safety was a major issue for him, always.

Aura2 from what i heard so boc (anyway not a lot of ws with leg pouch on the air anymore).
Even the more experienced people can make errors (like Deug) so we never know.

I think every person flying WS can onetime miss his PC on the first pull. After that, it depends on many things, like time left, fabric, stress, etc.

Yes i believe most people experience difficult pulls.

So PLEASE give youself some Xtra space

Can someone PM me the name, please?

Or just post it, if it's already in the press.

Thanks.

http://ulli.freifallen.de

I suppose it is a long wingsuit jump,maybe more than 1 minute, winter time...did he have gloves on that jump?

This was posted (by Walter who witnessed the jump) on the BFL today...

UPDATE PLEASE RE-READ.

"After three weeks of thoughts and discussions of all involved friends we think we should say this about the accident:

As we don’t have a video from Ulli at the exit point and of his flight we must reconfigure this just by personal views and puzzling.
I personally had been present, had already landed and watched Ullis last flight from the ground.

Just for the record:
It was the forth jump of the day.
Ulli jumped always without gloves and as usual he collapsed his leg wing to a certain degree before he pulled.

According to what I saw we tried to simulate and rehearse the situation on the ground with the same container and suit.

Our conclusion:
With especially the leg wing collapsed by tighter and slightly bent knees there is excess fabric that can move in front of the BOC. When all the forward speed is gone, there is also a trapdoor effect. By this the body is going more downwards and the resulting airstream presses the fabric against the container with additional force, making it even harder to find a PC handle if it is behind it.
With a normal pull, with inflated and stretched leg wing there is no difficulty to reach the BOC/PC.
With the outcome in mind we therefore would like to advise everybody (even if it is common sense to most of us now) not to collapse the wings, neither arm nor leg, on any wingsuit anymore before initiating the pull (like someone may have learnt it at the beginning). Plus that the pull hand should always be intentionally above the arm wing at the pull move by acting clearly over the wing towards the BOC/PC handle. That way no one has to sort through fabric even if the wingtips are released before the pull move is initiated.
The lesson learned from this accident is, that a wingsuit pull is a complex move and should be done out of an “open” flight configuration with a straight and wide leg position, just folding the arm wing with the pull move as needed.
Of course the flight could be slowed down by flaring the suit a bit just before the pull move itself. But at no time the flight should be slowed down before the pull by collapsing the wings or even stalling the suit.
Then, after the PC is thrown with power and dynamic sideways to avoid the big low pressured burbled space behind the wing, everybody is free again to collapse the wings, bend the knees or decrease arms.
Should there occur an increased opening shock of the canopy, the solution should be searched in better wing collapsing instantly after the pull but at no time before reaching or throwing the PC handle.

Finally there is to state that at no time in this accident there was any evidence pointing towards suit or gear failure."

He will be missed while his spirit does fly on with us...

Thanks for the detailed explanation. These things can be very difficult to share, but I know there are some of us that really appreciate any learning point that can be made.

best
Laurent Frat

+1