):
June 17th, 2002 I heard through a friend that someone was killed due to a pilot chute not working properly last weekend in Twin Falls. My question is concerning packing techniques of PC's. If you have heard the details on this incident please send me a line.
I am new to the sport and I would like to know as much as possible in an attempt to avoid this from happening.
SkyFreak
June 17th, 2002 no one was kilt
June 17th, 2002 I heard there was a fatality due to a pilot chute in tow.
Can anyone tell us what type rig this was, pin, velcro?
Let's hope Crispy's words don't come true. Let's not close down this bridge.
my feelings go out to this jumpers family and friends.
June 17th, 2002 I guess it's true.
Sadness and loss.
Condolences to family and friends.
--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@mac.com
June 17th, 2002 http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/k....44689eab.html
Man dies base-jumping off bridge
06/16/2002
Elizabeth Homan
Idaho's NewsChannel 7
An Arizona man dies while base-jumping in Twin Falls. Authorities say it is the first known fatality for the sport at the Perrine Bridge. Thrill seekers from all over the world flock to there because it is legal to jump. But Saturday, something went terribly wrong. The Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office says 26-year-old Brian Stout died when his chute did not open. He was visiting from Gilbert, Arizona. About 10,000 jumps have been recorded at the Perrine Bridge and Sunday, despite tragedy, the jumps continued.
One by one jumpers made their way to the middle of the Perrine Bridge.
For Dwain Weston, it is something he has done hundreds of times before, but this day's different.
"Yesterday, it was a shock and it was, yeah, I mean it was horrifying," said= base jumper Dwain Weston. "Just because someone died yesterday and I was there doesn't mean I won't jump again. I mean there's a slim chance no matter what you do, you can be killed doing it," said Weston.
The Sheriff's Office says Stout came to Twin Falls to jump the Perrine Bridge.
"We get a lot of base jumpers that use the bridge. There's one right there," said Cpl. Tom Carter, Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office.
And Jim Prunty watches them all from the visitors center.
"This goes on by the hundreds and hundreds of times and it's a shame somebody got hurt down here, but it's pretty unusual," said Prunty.
The sheriff's office says Brian jumped several times on Saturday with no problems whatsoever. It wasn't until almost 6 o'clock that he made one more jump and his parachute malfunctioned. He dropped 486 feet into the water.
"Everybody's chute opened but his. His didn't deploy at all," said Carter.
"Some of us could tell that something was going wrong. It wasn't pleasant to watch. It's like watching a car accident," said Weston.
Weston and another jumper pulled Stout into a boat and started CPR right away, but it was too late.
"The impact was too great," said Carter.
Now, jumpers like Weston just hope tragedy will not overshadow the sport they love.
"We hope this incident will be viewed as what it is, something that, a random element and we hope that we can continue," said Weston.
The jumpers responded so quickly yesterday to the accident because 8 of them jumped at the same time. The base jumper we spoke with says while he is not certain about what caused the accident, he believes Stout had old equipment that is not made anymore.
June 17th, 2002 The cop said he didn't deploy his chute at all. That may be misleading.
The jumper DID deploy his pilot chute after 2 seconds delay, towed it in.
June 17th, 2002 How many jumps did he have? Pin or Velcro? Hypothesis?
June 17th, 2002 A dozen or so BASE jumps, velcro rig, pc malfunction.
(or improper use of pc)
June 18th, 2002 http://www.magicvalley.com/tn/news/i...sp?StoryID=678
BASE jumper's death probably won't change policy, authorities say
By Mark Heinz
Times-News writer
TWIN FALLS -- The Saturday death of a BASE jumper at the Perrine Bridge
probably won't affect policy toward jumpers using the bridge, officials
said Monday. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just another sport, like rock
climbing, whitewater rafting or rappelling," said Twin Falls County Sheriff
Wayne Tousley. In other words, BASE jumpers know the risks inherent to
their sport, and officials understand there are going to be accidents from
time to time, Tousley said. His sentiment was echoed by other officials who
have jurisdiction over the bridge and the surrounding territory. "It hasn't
been an issue for us in the past," said Twin Falls Police Department Sgt.
Mike Covington. "Most of them are good about calling dispatch and telling
them that they're going to be jumping that day." "They know what the risk
is when they do it, if people want to live dangerously," said Twin Falls
County Commissioner Marvin Hempleman. "We take a risk when we get on our
motorcycles that might be as great as the risk they take jumping. It's
still very tragic that this happened." Brian Stout, 24, of Gilbert, Ariz.,
died late Saturday at Magic Valley Regional Medical Center from injuries he
suffered when he hit the Snake River after his chute failed to open during
a leap from the center of the bridge at about 5:45 p.m., according to
reports. Tousley said Monday equipment failure was the apparent culprit in
the accident, but it was still under investigation. If the decision is made
to nix jumping off the bridge, it will probably fall not to the county, but
to the Idaho Transportation Department -- which owns the Perrine Bridge,
Hempleman said. ITD apparently isn't planning to shut jumping down anytime
soon, said Scott Malone, the assistant district engineer at the agency's
regional headquarters in Shoshone. "We have not had time to really discuss
it, because it just happened," Malone said. But it is still likely ITD will
continue its hands-off approach to BASE jumping from the bridge, he said.
"We certainly haven't encouraged it." BASE is an acronym for building,
antenna, span and earth. The Perrine Bridge is a popular span for BASE
jumpers because of its height -- 486 feet -- and it's one of the few legal
places to jump in North America. And the notoriety of the bridge alone
might be enough to keep the sport going here, Hempleman said. "It's just
another point that we're noted for -- as a place to come BASE jump."
Times-News reporter Mark Heinz can be reached at 735-3238 or by e-mail at
mheinz@magicvalley.com.
[Side Bar Article]
Accident roster
Some other recent BASE jumping accidents in the Magic Valley have included:
* In October 1999, Nanette Studebaker suffered serious back, neck and leg
injuries after her chute tangled and opened late during a jump from the Perrine
Bridge, but she survived.
* In February 2000, Roger Butler, 29, of Ogden, Utah, died after attempting a
jump from the more difficult Hansen Bridge. Daylight was fading, and despite
objections from friends, he made the jump and was pulled under by the swift
river. His body was found nearly two months later.
* In September 2000, BASE jumper Tom Aiello, of Davis, Calif., suffered massive
chest, back and lower abdominal injuries after opening his parachute too late at
the Perrine Bridge. He was flown to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in
Boise and survived.
June 18th, 2002 It's been a sad couple of weeks for BASE in Florida and Idaho. Condolences to family and friends.
Too bad everyone starts talking about "shutting it down" when it incidents such as this rarely happen. If they took this same attitude with other things in life, there would be no mountain bikes, boating, motorcycles, water skiers, rock climbers, alcohol, swimmers.....you get the point.
If other jumpers ever wanted to thank the TF Sheriff, the county, ITD, etc. now is the time.
June 18th, 2002 Do you have an e-mail address for the local sheriff. I would love to thank him for keeping it legal.
BASE RIGGER
June 19th, 2002 Witnesses at the scene said the bridle was only 6 feet. It was at bridle stretch, but the PC may have been in the burble.
June 19th, 2002 Can anyone post a complete description of the equipment that was in use including pilot chute size and construction, container mfr/model, etc?
There is nothing that gives me the willies like the prospect of a PC in tow on a BASE jump. I'd like to see a definative assessment of the cause of this death ASAP.
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