A Mile High Club Not To Belong To

I tried skydiving once. Even with my fear of heights a guy was able to talk me into taking the class. I did pretty well until my last practice landing fall which was about an eight foot drop. As my eyes went past the stage I had just jumped from my brain screamed "Are you crazy? What are you doing? You are going to die!" I flubbed the landing and decided that skydiving was not for me. Not normal to be that high off the ground.

CNN.com - First-time skydiver falls to her death - May 28, 2006: "The 44-year-old woman from West Chester, Pennsylvania, was participating in a tandem jump, her first with the AerOhio Skydiving school near Sterling, about 40 miles south of Cleveland, according to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.

The victim's name was withheld pending notification of her family.

During tandem jumps, a novice skydiver is harnessed to the chest of an experienced jumper. When the parachute is deployed, the experienced skydiver guides the team to the ground.

A preliminary investigation by the sheriff's office indicated the woman slipped from the harness after the parachute opened."

It sounds like their was too much weight on the harness and when the chute snapped open it was enough to bounce her loose. I've met someone whose chute didn't open and they have...problems. In addition to brain damage her face was pretty messed up and she moves very slowly. As the years have gone on, she aches more and more.

Falling would be my worst nightmare. Unfortunately, it isn't the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.

Tags: parachute, skydiving, tragedy