Friday Freakout: Failed Swoop, Skydiver Skims Rooftop & Misses Power Lines

Zej Moczydlowski
ago

What happened

This jumper explains that this video was his first attempt at a 270° turn. Well, he was still pretty far away from the dropzone, started his turn pretty high, and then as he levelled out he was looking straight at some power lines! He did a dangerous low turn to his left to set down between the power lines and a building, and was lucky to walk away.

Why did it happen

Poor Planning

This jumper explained that he was trying to learn how to do a 270° swoop. Someone who is just learning a turn, and arguably anyone who isn't a super experienced and current canopy pilot that knows exactly how much altitude and room they need, shouldn't be doing a turn over a ton of dangerous obstacles like buildings, cars, roads, and power lines!

How could it be prevented

Coaching and Common Sense

Everyone wants to learn how to fly their canopy across a pond and impress all the gals and guys on the dropzone. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to take their time, spend some cash, and learn from the professionals who know the ins and outs of how to swoop well and swoop safely. Taking a few canopy courses will prevent incidents like this because professional instructors don't just teach how to handle your wing. They also teach you about the importance of practicing your turns at altitude and ensuring you're setting up in the right air space. Further, they will underscore some common sense stuff like why — especially while learning a turn — you should be doing hop and pops that allow you to practice with minimal canopy traffic, and let you ensure that you exit in a spot from which you'll be able to do your turn and land safely on the dropzone!

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What happened

This jumper explains that this video was his first attempt at a 270° turn. Well, he was still pretty far away from the dropzone, started his turn pretty high, and then as he levelled out he was looking straight at some power lines! He did a dangerous low turn to his left to set down between the power lines and a building, and was lucky to walk away.

Why did it happen

Poor Planning

This jumper explained that he was trying to learn how to do a 270° swoop. Someone who is just learning a turn, and arguably anyone who isn't a super experienced and current canopy pilot that knows exactly how much altitude and room they need, shouldn't be doing a turn over a ton of dangerous obstacles like buildings, cars, roads, and power lines!

How could it be prevented

Coaching and Common Sense

Everyone wants to learn how to fly their canopy across a pond and impress all the gals and guys on the dropzone. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to take their time, spend some cash, and learn from the professionals who know the ins and outs of how to swoop well and swoop safely. Taking a few canopy courses will prevent incidents like this because professional instructors don't just teach how to handle your wing. They also teach you about the importance of practicing your turns at altitude and ensuring you're setting up in the right air space. Further, they will underscore some common sense stuff like why — especially while learning a turn — you should be doing hop and pops that allow you to practice with minimal canopy traffic, and let you ensure that you exit in a spot from which you'll be able to do your turn and land safely on the dropzone!

Coming Soon

Hang tight, our new comments system and community features will be live soon.

to join the conversation.

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