Australian BASE jumper killed at Kjerag in Western Norway after failing to open parachute

Aftenpolten - News from Norway ^ | July 20, 2005 | Nina Berglund

[FraudFactor.com]

BASE jumper killed at Kjerag in Western Norway

An Australian BASE jumper was killed Tuesday when he didn't manage to open his parachute. The man had jumped off a cliff at a popular BASE-jumping site in western Norway.

Western Norway is popular with BASE jumpers from around the world. On Tuesday, one of them met his death at Kjerag. PHOTO: TONE GEORGSEN

"Witnesses have told me that he had problems getting hold of the lever that opens the parachute," said Vibeke Knutson, vice president of the Stavanger BASE Klubb. "When he finally did, it was too late."

Sølve Tanke Hovden of the state rescue service for Southern Norway (Hovedredningssentralen) confirmed that the man "landed out of control" on a pile of stones and died immediately.

Police in Rogaland County said the man was in his late 30s and was a citizen of Australia, but lived in Stavanger.

Knutson said he was an experienced BASE jumper who had logged "around 550" jumps. "BASE" is an acronym that stands for buildings, antennae, spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs).

The area around the Lysefjord, just east of Stavanger in western Norway, is popular with BASE jumpers because of its scenic and dramatic cliffs that plunge down to the water.

Knutson said more than 200 persons jump actively off Kjerag, with many of them coming from outside Norway. Tuesday's fatal accident is the ninth at Kjerag since the first jump was made in 1994.

She claimed, however, that her BASE club stresses safety, and BASE jumpers wanting to hurl themselves off Kjerag must document that they've parachuted out of planes at least 250 times. If they've executed less than 15 BASE jumps, they're also required to take a course before jumping at Kjerag.

Witnesses to Tuesday's accident were offered crisis counselling, and several gathered Tuesday evening to talk about the fatality among themselves. It wasn't expected to quell jumpers' enthusiasm for the high-risk sport, however. Knutson said her club would be prepared for anyone who wanted to make a new jump today.

Aftenposten English Web Desk
Nina Berglund/NTB

This is an article from www.aftenposten.no.
Updated: 20. juli 2005 kl.11:22
It can be found at this address:
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1083014.ece

Related stories:
Helicopter rescues base jumper - http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article818905.ece - 28.06.2004
American BASE jumper dead - http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article399047.ece
Base jumper found dead - http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article393949.ece
Russian base jumper stuck - http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article393293.ece

[FraudFactor.com]

Very unfortunate. Not a good way to end a vacation.

[RichInOC]

GRAVITY: HOW ARE YOU MY FRIEND!!
GRAVITY: ALL YOUR BODY ARE BELONG TO US.

[Rodney King]

An Australian BASE jumper was killed Tuesday when he didn't manage to open his parachute.

Note to self: When base jumping, open parachute.

[Rakkasan1]

all your base are splat to us.

[whd23]

"She claimed, however, that her BASE club stresses safety..."

Does not compute!

If they really stressed safety, they may want to suggest that folks not jump off a perfectly fine cliff.

[dfwgator]

He's pinin' for the fjords.

[Niteranger68]

Mineral poisoning? Deceleration syndrome?

[Lockbar]

"Hold mu Beer" alert.

Don't jump unless you can find the rip cord.

[ClearCase_guy]

My snake-handling club stresses safety. In over 1000 snake-handling demonstrations, we've had fewer than 50 fatalities. Some people think we're dumb, but I think our track record speaks for itself.

[FraudFactor.com]

A September 13, 2002 article stated that an American was the fourth person to die in a base jumping accident in Norway in the past two months:

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article399047.ece

Aftenposten

News from Norway

First published: 13 Sep 2002, 11:39

American BASE jumper dead

A 30-year-old American man died during a jump in Kjerag on Thursday evening. He was the last of a group of four to jump. His colleagues saw him hit the cliff face, newspaper Aftenbladet reports.

"I can confirm that the deceased is a 30-year-old American citizen. We are now speaking to his friends to clarify what happened during the jump," said operation leader Atle Skretting of Rogaland police district. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the man's parachute did not open. A rescue helicopter was dispatched to the scene to pick up the man's body.

The American is the fourth person to die in a base jumping accident in Norway in the past two months. On July 23 a 37-year-old American woman died in Kjerag. On Sep. 3 a 27-year-old Russian died during a jump in Nesset, Moere and Romsdal. A week earlier a 42-year-old was killed jumping from Hårstadnebba mountain in Sunndal, also in Moere and Romsdal county.

The name base jumping derives from the acronym BASE - Building, Antennae, Span, Earth and is a hazardous brand of parachute jumping from sheer heights.

Aftenposten English Web Desk
Jonathan Tisdall/NTB

[Blue Jays]

Hi All-

The attached pictures look pretty cool. It would be a truly wild sensation to run towards the edge of a cliff at full-speed and just jump into the bright blue sky.

I'll probably never experience that thrill in reality.

~ Blue Jays ~

[zipper]

Darwin Award alert

[HighlyOpinionated]

Gives new meaning to the phrase "hitting rock bottom" doesn't it?

[hattend]

Most BASE jumpers I have watched have the pilot chute in their hands.

What "lever" couldn't he find?

[DeltaZulu]

Sounds like he was down on his luck. Regardless, I don't think we should jump to any conclusions.

[tickmeister]

BASE jumping is extremely dangerous and therefore it is extremely dumb to do it without a very important reason. (Such as the cliff is on fire). When people do extremely dumb stuff repeatedly, the tend to die a premature death.

[Never2baCrat]

Did anyone see a programme on tv not too long ago about base jumping? Two jumped but one of them hit a bridge on the way down at maximum velocity, which I think is around 127mph. Bet it made his eyes water!

[hattend]

That wasn't a BASE jump, they jumped from an aircraft but they were trying to fly UNDER the bridge. One guy miscalculated.