This past weekend I sat at the USPA winter board meeting in San Diego, CA working to assist our board in continuing to improve our CP competition/rules. About 80 miles away the first meet of the California Canopy Piloting League was kicking off on Saturday morning at Perris. There were 16 competitors in attendance which is a great start to their Cali season. During the first pass of the first competition round on Saturday, Sean Carey, an experienced jumper from the San Diego area with approx 8,000 jumps had a tragic incident. Sean performed a 270 degree approach to the course but all didn’t go as planned. He impacted the water at a high rate of speed causing serious injury. After receiving medical attention, Sean later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
As competitors I think we should all take a serious look at how we approach our runs. The more aggressive approaches that are tight on the gate greatly decrease options for the competitor if you end up low and tight on the course. Ten years ago people when people came out to watch swoop meets and they crossed their fingers in hopes that someone would catch a knee and splash into the water. The speeds then were slower, and the approaches looked quite different. A chow into the pond was a funny event. The water impacts in our discipline are no longer laughing matter, they no longer bring high fives and laughs. They break bones and kill. Why? I think the increased speed have contributed somewhat, and people’s ability to manage that speed. But we’re also pushing our approaches to the gates tighter and steeper than ever before. This greatly reduces options, and options are good when you’re traveling 70+miles per hour at the ground.
Please take a moment, even if you think you’ve got your approach all figured out, to look at how close you are to the edge and if there’s anything you can do to improve the safety margin on your approach.
Our thoughts and prayers go out Sean’s family, friends and the entire southern California skydiving community.
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