A recent post on PGForum by a student who was injured while under instruction has lead to a discussion about ultimate responsibility and if litigation should be used as a means to change behaviours.
Back in 2007 I would play witness one last time to a skydiving fatality and as a result put virtual pen to paper to share my thoughts.
My thoughts today mirror what I felt then.
"Gravity set the rules. Gravity deals the cards. And the rules say
...gravity always deals itself a king and an ace.
You can never beat gravity at it's own game, the best you can ever hope for blackjack as well and breakeven.
The weekend was ended with lethal punctuation as an unfortunate fellow jumper could not match the cards gravity dealt itself.
For those that wish to dance amongst the clouds and touch the face of heaven, they understand that the earth always takes back what has briefly been taken from it. Some may chose to ignore it and pretend, it'll never be me, others approach it with a fatalistic, when it happens, it happens, I can't change that. But every single one of us who jumps knows that given enough time, you will lose your life to this sport.
It is simply a matter of whether or not old age, disease, accident, murder or suicide will claim us first.
For those that have never tasted the freedom of a world where there are no rules (aside from gravity), they will be left wondering 'why'. Not only why did this happen, but why did the victim choose to do it.
Unfortunately, the explination does not help, "those that don't, can't understand, those that do, can't explain."
The best I can offer....
Its not just the sense of freedom, it's also the sense of responsbility.
Every jump must end with the skydiver willfully saving thier own life. if they wish for it to not be thier last.
Think about this - you have to conciously save your own life. No one else is going to do it for you. No one else is responsible for you. You make the choice, you accept the consequences of your action. If anything goes wrong, you have no one else to blame but yourself.
You could blame the pilot, they flew the plane up, right?
No - you chose to get on that plane.
You could blame the packer.
But you chose to jump thier packjob.
You could blame your instructor from years ago.
But you chose whether or not you stayed on top of the incident reports to learn from the mistakes of others, and to practice your emergency procedures on every jump.
You could blame the container/parachute manufacturer.
But no one forced you to buy or put on that rig.
It all comes down to choice.
I make the choice ...
to drive to the DZ.
to put on the gear.
to get on the plane
to get in the door....
and...
to leave the plane.
Knowing what could happen.
Making a jump is at it's very core, the decision to take control of ones own life.
I make the decision to leave the plane, I make the decision to open the parachute, I make the decision to land....
I make the decision to be happy, I make the decision to be upset, I make the decision to lead or to follow.
Start to finish, birth to death
....exit to landing....
you, and you alone are in control of your life, and your destiny."
Back in 2007 I would play witness one last time to a skydiving fatality and as a result put virtual pen to paper to share my thoughts.
My thoughts today mirror what I felt then.
"Gravity set the rules. Gravity deals the cards. And the rules say
...gravity always deals itself a king and an ace.
You can never beat gravity at it's own game, the best you can ever hope for blackjack as well and breakeven.
The weekend was ended with lethal punctuation as an unfortunate fellow jumper could not match the cards gravity dealt itself.
For those that wish to dance amongst the clouds and touch the face of heaven, they understand that the earth always takes back what has briefly been taken from it. Some may chose to ignore it and pretend, it'll never be me, others approach it with a fatalistic, when it happens, it happens, I can't change that. But every single one of us who jumps knows that given enough time, you will lose your life to this sport.
It is simply a matter of whether or not old age, disease, accident, murder or suicide will claim us first.
For those that have never tasted the freedom of a world where there are no rules (aside from gravity), they will be left wondering 'why'. Not only why did this happen, but why did the victim choose to do it.
Unfortunately, the explination does not help, "those that don't, can't understand, those that do, can't explain."
The best I can offer....
Its not just the sense of freedom, it's also the sense of responsbility.
Every jump must end with the skydiver willfully saving thier own life. if they wish for it to not be thier last.
Think about this - you have to conciously save your own life. No one else is going to do it for you. No one else is responsible for you. You make the choice, you accept the consequences of your action. If anything goes wrong, you have no one else to blame but yourself.
You could blame the pilot, they flew the plane up, right?
No - you chose to get on that plane.
You could blame the packer.
But you chose to jump thier packjob.
You could blame your instructor from years ago.
But you chose whether or not you stayed on top of the incident reports to learn from the mistakes of others, and to practice your emergency procedures on every jump.
You could blame the container/parachute manufacturer.
But no one forced you to buy or put on that rig.
It all comes down to choice.
I make the choice ...
to drive to the DZ.
to put on the gear.
to get on the plane
to get in the door....
and...
to leave the plane.
Knowing what could happen.
Making a jump is at it's very core, the decision to take control of ones own life.
I make the decision to leave the plane, I make the decision to open the parachute, I make the decision to land....
I make the decision to be happy, I make the decision to be upset, I make the decision to lead or to follow.
Start to finish, birth to death
....exit to landing....
you, and you alone are in control of your life, and your destiny."
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