Skydiver knocked unconscious during mid-air collision in Ottawa

rk911

rk911

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https://abc7chicago.com/skydiver-knocked-unconscious-during-midair-collision-in-ottawa/5430270/

I confess I did not know that Skydivers needed to be licensed. Glad neither jumper was seriously hurt.
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OTTAWA, Ill. (WLS) -- Two skydivers collided in midair Tuesday in Ottawa. They were among the hundreds of divers participating in Summerfest at Skydive Chicago this week.

The licensed skydiver was knocked unconscious during the collision at about 11:56 a.m., according to a Skydive Chicago spokesperson. One skydiver landed at the airport, while the second landed in the Fox River, north of the Dayton Dam, according to the Ottawa Fire Department. Both were transported to OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center.

Skydive Chicago told ABC 7 that both divers returned and were not hurt. The mid-air collision triggered an Automatic Activation Device safety device called an A-80. "It automatically deploys the reserve parachute once they hit a certain speed and altitude," said Anthony Ebel, Skydive Chicago's Safety Advisor. Experienced jumper Scott Broughton says he's done hundreds of jumps and it's never deployed but he is glad to have it.

"I don't think that somebody else's incident really makes my safety more or else likely, I think it's up to me to take care of that," said Broughton.

Skydivers are not required to use an Automatic Activation Device but a Skydive Chicago spokesperson says they strongly urge jumpers to use them.

Officials say this was the only incident so far of the thousands of jumps that have taken place this week.
 
Lucky SOB.....


Like when I was scuba diving and ran out of air at 60 ft. That Spare Air was my ticket to another days dive. Never even thought about it much at all in 100s of dives.
 
The only licensing is that of the USPA and the only time that it really matters is when jumping into confined areas such as a stadium. In that case the FAA requires licensing by a Recognized Industry Organization which I believe the USPA is the only one. That’s the quick and dirty. There’s a bit more to it.
 
SkyDog58 said:
The only licensing is that of the USPA and the only time that it really matters is when jumping into confined areas such as a stadium. In that case the FAA requires licensing by a Recognized Industry Organization which I believe the USPA is the only one. That’s the quick and dirty. There’s a bit more to it.
Click to expand...

It matters to the drop zone operator as well. There's not a legal requirement for jumpers to be licensed and current, but most drop zones do require jumpers to be licensed and current. Some also require AADs.
 
I've never understood why anybody would want to voluntarily jump out of a perfectly good airplane...:rolleyes:
 
GRG55 said:
I've never understood why anybody would want to voluntarily jump out of a perfectly good airplane...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Having asked this question of a few skydivers, the general response was "Have you ever SEEN a jump plane?" They are not considered perfectly good airplanes...at least by jumpers.
 
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