Sometimes luck is on your side!
Photo by Muzammil Soorma on Unsplash
I remember for the longest time wanting to try skydiving. My friends and I would often ask each other if we wanted to try it, and the answer was always a resounding “yes!” It’s funny as we age and see our sense of mortality start to take a stronger hold. I still think I could be convinced to take the plunge so to speak, but then you see and read about instances like this:
Florida Skydiver Experiences Double Parachute Malfunction by Francis Xavier
When you see a headline like that, you can’t help be think; maybe skydiving isn’t that important to me. Of course, your next thought is, “Did they live?”. It’s like a train crash you can’t turn your head away from. There is good news out of Deland, Florida, as this particular person escaped death and, surprisingly, any harm by falling into a tree. At least, that is what it looked like in the head camera video as he was filming during the entire ordeal. This person was lucky, but it ends for the worst in some cases.
65-Year-Old Experienced Skydiver Dies After Apparent Parachute Malfunction: ‘Greatly Missed’ by Jason Duaine Hahn
In this instance, this “experienced” skydiver, after performing no less than 6790 jumps had a parachute malfunction and there was no tree to save her.
Update: 02/20/2022- As of this writing it was reported another tandem parachute ended in a fatality in Houston, Texas. As reported by click2houston.com Skydiving instructor dies from injuries after parachute malfunctions during tandem jump in Waller County.
According to the United States Parachute Association, over the past five years, the number of annual civilian skydiving deaths has been on the decrease. Ten people died making sports skydives in the U.S. in 2021 as opposed to the 11 from the year previously. This was the fewest number of U.S. civilian skydiving deaths since record-keeping began in 1961.
So what this shows us is it is becoming safer each year, but accidents do happen. I must be honest and say, if I do decide to “take the plunge” I will always have it in the back of my mind, why do I want to jump out of a perfectly good plane?
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