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Scariest Skydiving Video Ever!
For many people skydiving is one of those bucket list items you do following a monumental birthday just to cross it off your list. That's what Lavern, the woman in this video, did after she turned 80. The problem is, once she got up in the air she decided she really wasn't sure she wanted to jump after all. Clinging to the open doorway on the airplane, the man that was jumping tandem with her forced Laverne out of the plane and in doing so she became dislodged from her harness. The result is one scary plunge back to Earth with the instructor clinging on to the woman for dear life and a clearly panicked cameraman desperately wanting to help. Warning: this one is not for the faint of heart!
Filed under: Video
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Bryan Hobcroft May 26th 2012 10:50AM
An instructor should NEVER FORCE someone out of a plane when a student, such as this woman did, clearly resists. At a minimum, the school should be re-evaluated by the FAA, and some form of punishment issued to the "pushy" instructor. They're only lucky they didn't kill that woman...
stanwaters May 26th 2012 3:00PM
Forcing an old woman out of the plane? Unbelievable. It was like watching a comedy starring Will Ferrell as the parachute instructor. And she should be so tightly harnessed in that becoming dislodged would be impossible regardless of the circumstances.
Celtic Puck May 26th 2012 10:49AM
Clearly a setup stunt, weak and with bad music
ken May 26th 2012 10:55AM
I bet that depend was full!
jane May 26th 2012 10:56AM
She was trying to listen to that little voice that tells you something is not right and not to go...like people who, at the last minute, do not take a flight that crashes. Harness clearly loose. Dude shoving her out of plane doesn't belong in this line of work. She is not obligated to jump...just let her sit down.
larry berger May 26th 2012 10:08PM
Thats one slippery Grandma!
bob40wil May 26th 2012 11:44AM
Next for Memaw, a HALO jump.
tom May 26th 2012 11:13AM
I jumped for 12 years with 500+ jumps, but never instructed. Some of my best friends are AFF instructors / tanem-masters. Based on what is visible on the video..... The actions of this tandem-master are about the most irresponsible I've ever seen. This was just WRONG -- in every sense. It appears from the video; that the only reason the tandem master FORCED this woman out the door AGAINST HER WILL; is becuase the type of aircraft was such that the rest of the jumpers would have been obstructed from leaving, had she not exited. This is WRONG ALSO, procedurally from the standpoint of the drop-zone operator. THEY MUST ALWAYS, have a provision for a jumber to ABORT a jump before exiting.....particularly in the event a jumper recognizes a defect in their rig BEFORE exiting. Finally, in SKY-Diving.... Just because it ends well....doesn't mean ALL IS well. The procedure of the operator, and the actions of the tandem-master; were BOTH unsafe and irresponsible. This was a 80-year old woman for pete's sake. This tandem-master should have his license revoked; and the drop zone suspended from operations until their procedures and safety protocols reviewed with corrective actions implemented so that somehting like this NEVER happens again. This could have ended VERY badly, and it is a very UNFORGIVING sport.....they are both VERY LUCKY. Survival in this sport, should never depend on LUCK.
Tom May 26th 2012 11:47AM
I just watched this again, and I have no words....really. My previous post was slightly in error. This looked like a King Air....a common jump plane. There was plenty of space aft of the jump door; where the tandem-master should have taken this reluctant woman to sit out the jump; while the others exited the plane in front of them. He also clearly did not check her harness properly before making what amounted to an improper exit.
Also, in the video, it appears that the woman was shouting "No"...."No", and even looked down at her face to communicate. I'm not an expert lip-reader, so I can't say that's a legally admissable assertion, but it looked like she was shouting NO. At the end of the day....this woman CLEARLY, had changed her mind. This tandem-master intentionally FORCED this woman out the door. There is no reasonable excuse for this, especially since they had a perfectly safe alternative to abort. He's lucky she didn't have a heart-attack or stroke in-flight. Imagine this was your mother, your granmother, or your wife.
D GESSLER May 26th 2012 11:17AM
ABUSE!!!!!! THIS GUY IS AN ASS, TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE HE MUST GO...
Patty May 26th 2012 11:22AM
what an asshole! how cruel-glad this was caught on film.
Eliwatney May 26th 2012 11:45AM
After having been in a similar situation at the door on the plane, but not in the air with a fouled harness thankfully, I can see a layered problem. A friend had told two of us on the ground that under no circumstances were we allowed to let him back out. We were doing a HALO jump and he knew he might freeze up and wanted to make sure he did the jump. Odd? Oh hell yeah, but people do that stuff. If she said something similar on the ground, she has no grounds for suit. But if she did not? She may end up owning the plane. She is a paying customer and has the right of refusal, it may still cost her for the experience but she can still change her mind about the jump. In plain language, no means no.
Angel May 26th 2012 12:01PM
in training the first symptom we learn how to recognize is, fear or insecurity.
check her body language before boarding !
Andy May 26th 2012 11:30PM
It is suppose to be fun and instructors are suppose to teach. I went solo at 48 and had very good instructions. I am sure if I changed my mind in the doorway they would have pulled me back in. Like they told me it is a sport but unlike other sports you can't just sit on the bench and say I don't want to play anymore.
She should not have gone up and the instructor should have pulled her back in.
Marjorie May 26th 2012 12:20PM
I laughed all during the show. An eighty year old woman should not be skydiving....maybe horseback riding since it's a shorter distance to fall. When I'm eighty I want to be home sipping margaritas, pink champagne, screwdrivers, and Mexican beer.
joeythebroom May 26th 2012 12:28PM
sometime the saying "theres no turning back" comes into play. she was already committed and thats that! she's the blame for what happened. give props to the instructor for saving both of there lives. consider him and the camera guy heroes for there quick actions.
Sophie May 26th 2012 12:31PM
She got scared and didn't want to go! What the f*@% was he thinking?!! The video clearly showed he forced her out!
Nicole May 26th 2012 12:33PM
I've been 3 times over the years and it is fun, and a bit frightning. I did it to overcome my fear of heights, implosive therapy. I'm afraid to do it on my own, though. I did it tandem all 3 times. I want to get the courage to jump on my own. If I can do it anybody can. It is the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. If you ever wanted to do it.......I encourage you to do it. If I can do it, anybody can. You will always wonder if you don't. Things like this rarely happen. The odds of you getting in a fatal wreck are greater odds than a skydiving accident. Get an experienced diver with tons of clocked diving hours and you will do fine. Make sure they are sober. A lot of alcoholics (AA members) are skydivers. Seriously! It is a statistical fact.
Nicole May 26th 2012 12:36PM
Age has nothing to do with it. Former president Bush, Sr. is an avid skydiver and he is in his 80's. Again, age doesn't matter. He is know to do it on his birthday.
Jenny Hagan May 26th 2012 1:08PM
This is crazy. I have been skydiving before and they should have never forced that woman out of the plane. You are allowed to make a last minute decision. They have NO business being a skydiving instructor!! Could have killed them both.