bfl-386

Alexandre Girard

BFL#: 386 (4th of the year)

Name: Alexandre Girard
Date: July 15 2020

Nationality: Canadian
Location: Treehouse, Hope B.C, Canada
Object Type: Earth
COD: Impact in flight
Clothes / Suit: A3
Gear / Parachute: Axion/OSP
Age: 42
Skydive Experience: 500
BASE Jumps: 450
WS BASE Experience: 300
Years/Seasons in Base: 8 seasons
Time of day: 10:00
Other factors: Unknown
Exit Altitude: 1590 ASL (LZ 357)
Conditions: Sunny 21°C
Wind on exit: Nil
Description:
We arrived at the exit at 0930 and conditions were optimal. We took our time gearing up and I discussed my flight path with Jumper. He was unsure if he would take the left or right line, and opted to jump after me, offering to film my exit. As we made our way down to the exit he told me he'd be a bit behind me as he still had not decided which line to fly. I had a safe jump and landing and waited in the LZ. I was unable to have a clear visual of the exit or of the lines he would have flown.

I waited for ten minutes before becoming concerned, gave it another five, and decided it was too long for him to be waiting on the exit. There was minimal cell reception on exit and none in the LZ so I drove ten minutes down the road and called him: it rang but no answer which told me that he was no longer on exit but not far enough down to be out of cell reception. I called search and rescue immediately. At this time there is no footage to verify the cause of death, but based on previous flights and the location of his body we can assume he impacted mid flight after a very committing and aggressive turn into a drainage.
Jumper had opened up several big wingsuit jumps in this area in the past few years and had big plans of opening more. He flew these jumps with commitment and intensity and recognized that pushing further would be unsustainable. He talked constantly of the potential here and his passion for exploration in the mountains and opening exits. His last week of life was spent enjoying the fruits of his labour: flying wingsuits in the mountains with friends.
He will be extraordinarily missed.

Though it breaks my heart to write this, I am eternally grateful to have had these last precious days and moments with Jumper.
Things I've thought about:

  • we should have each clarified our flight plan with each other prior to exit
  • we should have had radios; had I known when he was jumping I could have wasted less time wondering
  • if I had binoculars in my van I could have seen him on the exit or where he came to rest, giving me more detailed information to pass to SAR






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