I just read how a 59-year old Ohio skydiver was killed during a jump when his parachute wouldn't open (and the reserve chute was opened too close to impact to avert fatal injuries). Apparently, the diver spent too much time with the first chute before resorting to the backup. And this sort of incident is the one thing keeping me from "taking the plunge" myself.
But why should it? Fatalities from skydiving accidents always get played up heavily in the press, but I doubt that the hazards associated with this activity are really any worse than getting in one's car and driving a few blocks down the road to the grocery store. Or riding a bicycle around the block. Or running on a treadmill for a few minutes. Or simply getting up out of bed in the morning. Or staying in bed!
I feel sorry for the man who died in this skydiving tragedy, as well as for his family and friends. But these sorts of incidents need to be analyzed: did the accident occur because of some endemic reason, or was it avoidable? Like many things, people can cut their odds of calamity down drastically by stringently following safety procedures. I don't plan to give up the idea of getting involved with skydiving at some future date. You can't go about your daily life totally consumed about avoiding accidents. Even if you just stayed at home, something bad could happen. Case in point: the man who died when his home in Binghampton, New York was hit by a crashing plane.
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I agree: one can't live one's life in fear of what one might want to try. And dramatic risks with low probabilities are always looked at with more fear than they merit, while we downplay higher-probability risks that are less dramatic.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be a guy in my used-to-be office (yes, two "used to be"s there, that's intentional) whose hobby was sky diving. He once gave a presentation over lunch, talking about the activity. It really did look like fun, and he stressed how comparatively safe it is. Normal equipment has both the primary and secondary chutes working automatically... though, of course, there are the daredevils who choose to use manual systems and release them at the last minute.
Perhaps the dead guy you read about opted for lower-safety equipment to enhance the "thrill".