A woman in British Columbia was given hang gliding lessons by her boyfriend for their anniversary. On her very first trip she plummeted 1,000 feet to her death because her instructor did not properly put her in the harness. The instructor said that as soon as they took off he knew something was wrong but could not do anything about it. Apparently her boyfriend was video recording the flight which must have been the worst thing to ever tape.
Sad.
ReplyDeleteThis is heartbreaking. I can't understand the desire to hang glide, bungy jump, or skydive. Add to that roller coasters with drops. I hate the feeling of falling.
ReplyDeleteU actually don't get that feeling skydiving
Deletepeople are in denial about how dangerous these things are. even if she were strapped in properly, she could have collided with something.
ReplyDeleteI worked with someone who was a avid sky diver. her friend, also an avid skydiver, fell into a tree and was very seriously injured. to the point where I think that she might not have been able to walk again.
icarus, etc.
Awful. Just awful. And I hate that even though it's an unspeakable tragedy, this is the risk she took. These kinds of things happen rarely, and it's so awful when they do
ReplyDeleteRisk or no, this is still such a tragedy. I'm sure her boyfriend blames himself as well.
ReplyDeleteI love skydiving but I'm super particular on where I'll do it. If there are any trees, buildings, towers, anything around, it's not worth the risk. I'd rather drive a long way to have a safer location for landing than do it somewhere closer and more convenient. I don't like any activities of this nature that don't involve training and a lot of information beforehand. I need to know how my equipment works and be responsible for my own harness.
ReplyDeleteIt's just sad, so so sad and to get it on tape...
that is awful. stories like this that erase that tiny urge inside of me to go on adventures such as bungee jumping, skydiving, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to her boyfriend who is surely beating himself up over this.
That is so sad. Counting down the hours to the lawsuit...
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend bought me a tandem skydive jump for my birthday long ago. It is something I always wanted to do and got to do it and I'm glad I did.
That said, standing in the airplane doorway seconds before jumping was one of the scariest moments of my life. And, yes, I did check my pants when I landed, and they were still dry! ;)
actually it hasn't been decided by the Coroner if it was pilot or equipment failure.
ReplyDeleteand the boyfriend stopped taping before she fell. Tragic. Definitely a lawsuit possibility but really, that doesn't bring her back.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is why I don't do crazy dangerous things.
ReplyDelete@jax
ReplyDeleteThanks, that's what I was going to say. According to the The Globe and Mail, "RCMP couldn't say if pilot error or equipment failure were to blame."
@jax
ReplyDeleteThanks, that's what I was going to say. According to the The Globe and Mail, "RCMP couldn't say if pilot error or equipment failure were to blame."
Saw this on the news this morning *shudder*. I am so not an adrenaline junkie.
ReplyDelete96 stories? That's take a good long time... not how I want to go.
ReplyDeleteI was walking down the pier here in town watching someone take off parasailing. Then he dropped into the water and died instantly. It was horrible to watch. Same thing. A larger person had gone before him and they didnt properly tighten the harness.
ReplyDeleteThe pilot was charged with obstruction. I think it is likely he screwed up and didn't clip her harness to the glider.
ReplyDeleteJust horrifying. I am with Rose .. I cannot stand it when I am in a car that goes down a low hill. This other stuff - rollercoasters, hang gliding, paragliding and the like - just scares the crap out of me.
Sorry .. should be steep hill.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin's ex-wife used to paraglide. Her club used to have a fatality every couple of years due to catching bad thermals, etc. And I thought I did crazy things...
ReplyDeleteWil, is that why you live in Minnesota? The land of 10,000 lakes and 0 hills? ;)
ReplyDelete