Skydiving Incident

[BASE359]

I don't care what you say, I'm not calling this guy a BASE jumper, or this a BASE jump.

BASE359


http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/945973p-1046505c.html

Sky diver hurt in leap off MacKay
CRITICAL: Visiting Canadian badly injured in 14-story jump when chute malfunctions.

By Nicole Tsong
Anchorage Daily News

(Published: April 16, 2002)

A visiting Canadian sky diver leaped from the MacKay Building around midnight Sunday and learned a harsh lesson when his parachute failed to
open completely.

Police said Kenneth Kell, 32, plunged 14 stories from the roof, past scaffolding and gaping windows to the surrounding construction area, where his landing was cushioned only by 6 inches of snow.

The resident of Ontario, Canada, was taken to Alaska Regional Hospital with broken bones in his legs and pelvis and a collapsed lung, police said. He remained in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit, according to a friend.

Two women who were at the East Fourth Avenue site with Kell to watch him jump, told police he was an experienced sky diver but had little practice with what is called base jumping, parachuting off of
structures.

"There's not much to tell," said Krysia Price, an Anchorage resident. She said Kell was in town visiting. She would not elaborate about the
incident until she had spoken with Kell's parents.

Police spokesman Ron McGee said Kell may be cited for trespassing or endangering the lives of other people.

Kell apparently got past or over the fence that surrounds the building, which is undergoing extensive renovation. He jumped about 12:30 a.m.

Officers responding to the fall climbed the fence to reach Kell and medics cut part of the fence to carry him out, McGee said.

City law requires developers to fence off a construction area but does not require further security, said Joe Murdy, director of the city's
Development Services Department.

The MacKay opened in 1952 as a luxury apartment tower, but it was damaged in the 1964 earthquake and then repaired. The building was emptied of tenants and condemned in the 1980s, and a decade later, the city began to look at demolishing the run-down building.

But in 1998, Anchorage developer Marc Marlow made a deal with the city to renovate the building into a hotel. He was out of town Monday and
was not available for comment.

Reporter Nicole Tsong can be reached at ntsong@adn.com or 907 257-4450.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...arachute_col_1

Canadian Hurt After Parachuting Off Alaska Building
Mon Apr 15,10:26 PM ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A Canadian man was seriously injured after he attempted to parachute from the top of a 10-story abandoned
building in downtown Anchorage, police said Monday.

Police said his parachute failed to open properly.

Kenneth Kell, 32, of Ontario, was taken to a local hospital with two broken legs, a broken pelvis and a collapsed lung, the Anchorage Police Department said.

Kell requested that his condition not be disclosed, according to the hospital.
BASE359

[sean]

so that makes the building 120' at the most?

OUCH!:o

[crwper]

Does anyone know what this guy was jumping?

Michael

[guest]

Nothing personal Ken. But you deserve to be dead for your total and utter stupidity. I nominate you for an honorary Darwin award.

:* :* :* :*

[crwper]

If I missed something reading the article, flame away. But it seems premature to say this guy deserves to be dead without knowing what he was jumping.

A static line using a vented canopy from 120 feet could be perfectly reasonable for a jumper with sufficient experience.

The article did say that Ken had little BASE jumping experience, but we don't know exactly what that means, and we don't know what other experience he might have that would contribute to his knowledge.

And in any case, is it really our place to point fingers at someone who chooses to accept a different level of risk than we do?

These are honest questions, not rhetorical ones. If you think it _is_ our place to judge Ken, I'd really like to hear why, since I'm still trying to sort out some of these things for myself.

Michael

[guest]

from KTUU - Anchorage NBC Affiliate
_____________
BASE-jumping attempt sends man to hospital

Gianna Trinca

Anchorage, Alaska, April 15 - A Canadian man who attempted to BASE jump off the Mackay Building remains hospitalized Monday night. The Anchorage Police Department said 32-year-old Kenneth Kell tried to take flight off the building after having several beers.

BASE jumping is an extreme sport where jumpers don't plunge out of planes, instead they jump off buildings or cliffs. BASE stands for building, antennae, span, earth, which are the fixed objects where jumps are made.

In this case, Kell took flight off a building that experienced jumpers say is too low, and because of that, his chute didn't deploy properly.

The Mackay Building is 114-feet tall. Skydivers said in order to complete a successful BASE jump, the jumper needs to be at least 200 feet above the ground.

Police also said that although Kell is an experienced skydiver, he has little experience BASE jumping. To BASE jump, experts said, more skill is required.

"In BASE jumping, things tend to happen quicker. There's a little less time to deal with potential problems that you might have with your equipment or with getting off the structure safely," said Carol Redding with Alaska Skydiving.

"I do not know of any equipment that is geared to open successfully in that height. I understand the McKay is around 115 feet, and that's the absolute extreme," Alaska Skydiving owner Bill Jones said.

Kell's injuries from the fall are serious. He broke both legs, his pelvis and has a collapsed lung. Police said what kept him alive is the snow pack that he fell on.

Kell faces possible charges. BASE jumping is illegal if the jumper does not have consent from the person that owns the building. Police said Kell may face trespassing charges in the future.

[crwper]

Well, I'd certainly say that Ken doesn't seem to have the experience required to make a realistic assessment of a 114-foot object.

I'm not too keen on the "several beers" factor, either.

I like this article. It's nice that the reporter went through the trouble to ask a few questions about BASE jumping.

Thanks, to whoever posted this.

Michael

[Skinflicka]

Has anyone contacted the reporter to straighten her out about her description of this guy as a BASE jumper?

WE are BASE jumpers. He is an ##### who drank too much and jumped off a building with a skydiving rig.

If I go to Alaska and cut his balls off for worsening our reputation in the public light does that make me a veterinarian? I think not.

A drunken ##### who jumps off a roof is still just a drunken ##### not a BASE jumper.

That's one of the reasons that I don't think that going and getting 250 skydives makes you any closer to getting a BASE number.

I'd write to her myself but I fear that diplomacy is not my strongest attribute.

Blue skies, black eyes biyarch
}>

Flame on!

Skin

[guest]

...14 stories?...10 stories?...114 feet?...this is a rather large variance in estimated height don't ya think? :-(

[460]

what's the matta with jumpin' and drinkin?

hick up,
Chris

[crwper]

Where did you see that he was jumping with skydiving gear?

Michael

[space]

I want to say my opinion on a few beers, Not to say that I advocate drunken diving, but if the sport was so dangerous that a few beers could cause one to FU that badly, that the risk level of the sport would be way too high. But this is not the case,IMHO. The 2 women who were there are more of an indicator of what happened, Impress the babes thingy. Here is a quote from Dennis Pagan (Understanding the Sky author) "a sad item that has proven true through out all forms of aviation: The most dangerous pilot is the one flying for family, friends or camera."
The low and or no BASE experienced skydivers that bounce trying to BASE without adequate training or supervision are really making a positive statement for all the accredited BASE instruction courses throughout the world. Give them credit for pushing the idea that learning is cool. Anyway, it also sounds like the suspect had his slider and ego in the wrong position. The sport could benefit very much if this person could state the chain of events that led to the accident. He is of value.
just my thoughts, feel free to disagree,
take care,
space

[Skinflicka]

Sorry Michael, I appear to have made that bit up. However, I was horribly drunk at the time...

On the subject of alcohol and BASE - What I do and what I'd tell people to do are two different things. One thing is for sure, the tree I hit a couple of weeks ago would've hurt a hell of a lot more if I hadn't been pi$$ed out of my skull.

Blure tiers and hot skegs (hic),

Skin:-)