Wingsuiting deaths prompt call for sport to be legalised in Australia

By Daniel Smith, wires
Posted 4 Sep 2014, 5:40pmThu 4 Sep 2014, 5:40pm



Photo: Most locations that are prime for wingsuiting in Australia are private property and require rarely-given permission to use. (Supplied: Clint Dadson, file photo)



BASE jumping and wingsuiting should be legalised in Australia to reduce the number of fatalities in the sports, the president of Australia's biggest BASE jumping association has said.
Australian BASE Association president Gary Cunningham said legalising the extreme sports would "dramatically" reduce the number of deaths.
Two Australians have died in BASE jumping accidents in Europe in less than a month.
In the latest incident, a 26-year-old Australian man died after jumping in the Valais region of the Swiss Alps on Tuesday.
Wingsuit jumping, or wingsuiting, is a type of BASE (Building, Antenna, Span, Earth) jumping and involves wearing special jumpsuits that add surface area to the body, enabling jumpers to glide like a bird before opening a parachute.

Allowing access to jump locations 'would prevent deaths'

The sport is currently difficult to practise in Australia, with most locations that are prime for jumping declared private property and requiring rarely-given permission.
Mr Cunningham said that allowing legal access to jumping locations and increased education was the key to preventing deaths, which were on the rise.
"It would allow inexperienced BASE jumpers to get more regular practice and maintain their skill sets," he said.
"What we're seeing is a lot of new jumpers are going overseas to learn, that they learn for a couple of weeks and come back with very basic knowledge and then try to figure out the rest in Australia.
"Experienced jumpers can't go out and supervise them because it's not legal to jump here, they're committing an offence to help someone.
"So certainly making it legal would make it far more safer in Australia. The amount of jumps compared to incidents would decrease dramatically."

Challenge, camaraderie attracts many to BASE jumping

Simon Plum, a former wingsuit jumper, agreed, saying it was the lack of legal jumping sites that makes the sport needlessly dangerous.
"In Australia we really don't have any legal BASE jumping sites, which in our opinion makes it a lot more dangerous, because we don't have anywhere that people can safely, and in a controlled manner, practice and perform their BASE jumping," he said.
"One of the biggest risks with BASE jumping is not being current, and not having somewhere where it's relatively easy access, easy to judge weather conditions, and where people can practice these things.
"Because it's difficult to find legal access in Australia, it forces people to jump at times and in weather conditions which aren't properly conducive, because some of them are concerned they'll be caught BASE jumping."
Despite the risks, Mr Plum said it was the challenge, the freefall, and the feeling of accomplishment that attracts many to the BASE jumping lifestyle.
"It's very rewarding," he said.
"You forge a lot of close friendships, the camaraderie within the sport is very high, and there's nothing really more beautiful than being able to hike all the way up to the exit point on a cliff, and successfully plan, risk manage, and perform a jump with some of your best mates."
Last year 21 people were killed taking part in the extreme sport, and just last month a 33-year-old Australian man died after BASE jumping from the Brevent peak in the French Alps.
British wingsuit diver and stuntman Mark Sutton - best known for parachuting into the London Olympics opening ceremony dressed as James Bond - died last year when he crashed into a Swiss mountain ridge after jumping from a helicopter.