Basejumper.com - archive

Incidents

cpoxon
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Jumper missing - Metcalf, Ga., USA - 31st March 2016
http://www.wctv.tv/...Tower-374110261.html

In reply to:
METCALF, Ga. -- Authorities are searching for a missing BASE jumper in southern Thomas County.

According to Lt. Tim Watkins of the Thomas County Sheriff's Office, first responders were dispatched to Friendship Church Road at the site of a 2,000-foot television tower around 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

Jumpers Miles Daisher and Tom Baker told authorities that they heard a third BASE jumper's parachute deploy and thought that the jumper may have struck a wire following his jump from a tower that is leased by NBC-40 and Tallahassee's Fox affiliate.

They called authorities after searching for the jumper for about an hour, according to TCSO.

Watkins says the search is active and the Leon County Aviation Unit began assisting TCSO in the search around 6 a.m.

The sheriff's office has confirmed that Baker and Daisher have been arrested. Authorities have not released their charges at this time.

Authorities say they have been unable to locate the missing jumper so far.
epibase
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Fatality - Metcalf, Ga., USA - 31st March 2016
In reply to:
The Thomas County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the missing jumper's body was found in trees that are about 800 to 1000 yards away from the tower, which is leased by NBC-40 and Tallahassee's Fox affiliate.

The official cause of death is unconfirmed at this time.
jonmurrell
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Re: [epibase] Fatality - Metcalf, Ga., USA - 31st March 2016
This sucks. Action was a friend and it kills me to hear and think about what went wrong.

In reply to:
The wind was possibly a factor,” Jones said. “According to the national weather service, it was gusting at over 40 mph at that time. The chute did deploy. He may have hit a guide wire.
http://www.timesenterprise.com/...67-f794e979c45f.html

Sticking around after was a stand-up thing to do. It's been a rough spring for unicorns. Goodbye you magical motherfucker.

ABC
base570
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Re: [epibase] Fatality - Metcalf, Ga., USA - 31st March 2016
epibase wrote:
In reply to:
The Thomas County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the missing jumper's body was found in trees that are about 800 to 1000 yards away from the tower, which is leased by NBC-40 and Tallahassee's Fox affiliate.

The official cause of death is unconfirmed at this time.


In reply to:
The wind was possibly a factor,” Jones said. “According to the national weather service, it was gusting at over 40 mph at that time. The chute did deploy. He may have hit a guide wire.

Was this a wingsuit jump?
The distance he was found away from the tower leads me to believe that he either opened high because he hit the wire very soon after exit, it was a wingsuit jump or both/either.
The article states he went up to 1600ft(not sure how they know that). The guy wires on tall towers like that usually extend out about 1500ft from the base and he was found another 1000ft or more past that so hitting a wire seems unlikely unless he hit them pretty high up because the winds were crossings the wires, he was intentionally trying to cross over them or maybe a botched wingsuit flight took him into them. Or the other scenario could be that it was a wingsuit flight that went fine until deployment.

Were the winds 40 on the ground or 40 at altitude? 40mph at altitude is usually not a big deal other than psychologically but 40 on the ground is another story. I would think that Miles would be smart enough to nix the jump if they were that strong on the ground.

Unfortunate this happened. Unsure
base570
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Re: [base570] Fatality - Metcalf, Ga., USA - 31st March 2016
The winds were 10mph or less from the E/SE on the ground from this report. https://www.wunderground.com/...&reqdb.wmo=99999

So it seems unlikely that the winds played a factor.
nickfrey
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Re: [base570] Fatality - Metcalf, Ga., USA - 31st March 2016
High winds up high make it both plausible that Miles stayed on the ground and that increasing winds made the jumper choose to abandon the full climb and jump from 1600. The distance from the tower is a bit baffling though...

10 on the ground can easily be 40 just a few hundred feet up.
GreenMachine
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Brandon "Action" Jackson
RE: Wingsuit

Negative

RE: Forecasted Winds

Ground: 4 to 6 MPH

1600 feet: 31 knots

Super awesome human being and a terrible loss
for the military, for our community, and for earth.
underseaash
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Re: [GreenMachine] Brandon "Action" Jackson
Respect Miles. Sorry for your loss bud.
cavitator
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Re: [underseaash] Brandon "Action" Jackson
underseaash wrote:
Respect Miles. Sorry for your loss bud.

+1