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Old 09-29-2018, 09:57   #1
JJ_BPK
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Tamdom Jump goes South??

The instructor became separated from the student??
How does that happen??

Quote:
Body found of skydiving instructor who disappeared during tandem jump

LEBANON, Maine -- Authorities in Maine on Friday found the body of a skydiving instructor who became separated from his student during a tandem jump. Brett Bickford, 41, of Rochester, New Hampshire, and his student participated in a jump about 2 p.m. Thursday near Skydive New England in Lebanon, officials said. The student called police after he landed safely and couldn't find his instructor.

A search team found Bickford's body shortly before 5:30 p.m. Friday about 750 feet southwest of the Lebanon Airport runway, said Cpl. John MacDonald, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service.

Bickford was found as the team was completing one of the few remaining grid searches for the day, MacDonald said. Authorities suspended Thursday's search around 9 p.m. and resumed Friday morning.

Investigators say Bickford and the student became separated about a mile above the ground, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said. Bickford didn't have a backup parachute, McCausland said.

Bickford and the student used the same parachute in the jump, which is typical of a tandem jump. Police weren't sure how the skydivers became separated.

The investigation to determine what caused the fatal skydiving accident is ongoing, MacDonald said.

The Maine State Police, Maine Warden Service and members from search and rescue squads were involved in the search for Bickford on Friday.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brett-b...CNM-00-10aag7e
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Old 09-29-2018, 11:01   #2
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That was a really good trick! Too bad it can only be done once...........
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Old 09-29-2018, 11:19   #3
rsdengler
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Wow....I better be more aware when I go Tandem Jumping next month after I get back from Vacation......Hello, Instructor Bob are you still there....I feel light as a feather......
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Old 09-29-2018, 11:46   #4
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The only way I can envision the instructor coming out of the rig with an attached student is if the instructor was wearing the main lift web/harness loosely on himself.

During opening shock, if a jumper bends at the waist ( imagine reaching down and touching your toes with both hands) from a hard opening, it is possible for the jumper to slide out of the harness, butt first, followed by legs leaving the leg straps and the upper body sliding down the main pack tray and back into freefall until impact.

From the way the article is written, this is what I think may have happened. Another unanswered part is if this did happen as I described, how did the student fly the tandem system he was still attached to back to the DZ? One would assume the student had enough knowledge on how to unstow the brakes and fly the canopy to the DZ.
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Old 09-29-2018, 15:33   #5
Swoop
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????

Was this a Student training to become a Tandem master and the “instructor “ was flying in the “passenger “ position????
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Old 09-29-2018, 16:14   #6
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One of the team members used to bring in the "Parachutist" magazine and we'd go right to the back pages and read the "cause of death" obits........

Cause of death: Impact

Cause of death: Impact

Cause of death: Impact

Cause of death: Impact

Cause of death: Impact

Cause of death: Hanging

Some of them should have read: Cause of death: Stupidity.

I'm betting the base jumpers have a really fun to read cause of death section.......
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Old 09-30-2018, 04:13   #7
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I wonder what info he had on Hiliary...
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Old 09-30-2018, 16:14   #8
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I never tandemed but understood the instructor was strapped in and the student was strapped to him. How in the world could an instructor fall out first. Remind me to never go tandem..
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Old 09-30-2018, 18:59   #9
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I never tandemed but understood the instructor was strapped in and the student was strapped to him. How in the world could an instructor fall out first. Remind me to never go tandem..
And you wonder why I said it was a a great trick?
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Old 10-01-2018, 09:05   #10
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There is a long and tragic history of students falling out of the harness. It is almost always a result of the instructor failing to properly fit the harness on the ground, failing to properly adjust the harness prior to hookup, and failing to do a proper check after hook-up and prior to exit.
When the tandem pair exits the aircraft it is possible that the student could be ejected soon after exit, or during canopy deployment because of improper equipment fit.

There is a long a tragic history of solo skydivers falling out of their parachute harness during canopy deployment. It almost always a result of the jumper failing to properly route the chest strap. It also suggests a failure to get a proper gear check before loading the aircraft and a failure to do a proper gear check prior to exit.

I have never heard of a tandem instructor falling from a harness. Catastrophic equipment failure is a possibility, but it is almost unheard of for jumpers to fall from a harness because of catastrophic equipment failure. Not to mention, catastrophic equipment failure of the harness container in a way that allowed enough structural integrity for the STUDENT to safely land the parachute. Incidents like this are almost always a product of jumper/instructor error. Accidents are a tragedy but they happen.
So – now for the tinfoil hat angle – when things aren’t an accident they must be intentional…
…is it possible that the early departure was intentional?

If the instructors harness was so loose that he was ejected during deployment, how did the student get the toggles? The article specifically said “after he landed safely"

That’s what I can’t wrap my head around. The student had to have had those toggles in his hands to land safely. That tells me that the instructor must have passed the toggles to him at some point. If you have ever “front-rode” a tandem you would know it is nearly impossible to secure and unstow the toggles without help from the instructor.

I've made hundreds of tandem jumps; I'm not proud of it, but I've made a few where I may not have properly adjusted leg straps or main lift web. To have it so far out of adjustment that an instructor could fall from the harness is something I just can't visualize.

There has to be a LOT more to this story than any of us will ever see in the newspapers.
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Last edited by Box; 10-01-2018 at 09:09.
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Old 10-01-2018, 09:10   #11
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This sounds like a case for Columbo.
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Old 10-01-2018, 09:48   #12
rsdengler
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Box View Post
There is a long and tragic history of students falling out of the harness. It is almost always a result of the instructor failing to properly fit the harness on the ground, failing to properly adjust the harness prior to hookup, and failing to do a proper check after hook-up and prior to exit.
When the tandem pair exits the aircraft it is possible that the student could be ejected soon after exit, or during canopy deployment because of improper equipment fit.

There is a long a tragic history of solo skydivers falling out of their parachute harness during canopy deployment. It almost always a result of the jumper failing to properly route the chest strap. It also suggests a failure to get a proper gear check before loading the aircraft and a failure to do a proper gear check prior to exit.

I have never heard of a tandem instructor falling from a harness. Catastrophic equipment failure is a possibility, but it is almost unheard of for jumpers to fall from a harness because of catastrophic equipment failure. Not to mention, catastrophic equipment failure of the harness container in a way that allowed enough structural integrity for the STUDENT to safely land the parachute. Incidents like this are almost always a product of jumper/instructor error. Accidents are a tragedy but they happen.
So – now for the tinfoil hat angle – when things aren’t an accident they must be intentional…
…is it possible that the early departure was intentional?

If the instructors harness was so loose that he was ejected during deployment, how did the student get the toggles? The article specifically said “after he landed safely"

That’s what I can’t wrap my head around. The student had to have had those toggles in his hands to land safely. That tells me that the instructor must have passed the toggles to him at some point. If you have ever “front-rode” a tandem you would know it is nearly impossible to secure and unstow the toggles without help from the instructor.

I've made hundreds of tandem jumps; I'm not proud of it, but I've made a few where I may not have properly adjusted leg straps or main lift web. To have it so far out of adjustment that an instructor could fall from the harness is something I just can't visualize.

There has to be a LOT more to this story than any of us will ever see in the newspapers.
Ahhhhhh....Thanks, that makes me feel confident when I go on my Tandem Jump....but...you better believe I will be riding my tandem instructor on safety checks.....
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Old 10-02-2018, 08:49   #13
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Quote:
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This sounds like a case for Columbo.
My thought exactly.

Although these days I guess it would be CSI (or NCIS if there's any seamen involved) Did I spell that right?
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Old 10-02-2018, 10:20   #14
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Originally Posted by Utah Bob View Post
My thought exactly.

Although these days I guess it would be CSI (or NCIS if there's any seamen involved) Did I spell that right?
If a bunch of seamen hit the ground at full speed from a mile in the air - there would be a mess splattered all over the place.
NCIS would have their hands full.
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Old 10-02-2018, 13:45   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Utah Bob View Post
My thought exactly.

Although these days I guess it would be CSI (or NCIS if there are any seamen involved) Did I spell that right?
You should dress up your blue-ish vocabulary...
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