Posted on 05/30/2008 7:30:50 PM PDT by RDTF
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Nine skydivers leapt from a plane in eastern Spain on Friday when the aircraft lost a wing and plunged to earth, killing the pilot and one passenger, according to the country's Interior Ministry.
The News network Cadena Ser, citing local witnesses, reported that four of the parachutists were injured, two of them seriously.
A 23-year-old man suffered a back injury and a 52-year-old man was being treated for a neck injury, Cadena Ser said in its radio and Web site news reports.
Two other skydivers suffered light injuries and the remaining five were unhurt, the network said.
A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry said the plane, which was used for skydiving practice, burned on impact, killing the pilot and a passenger.
Three of the jumpers were hospitalized, the spokeswoman told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in keeping with ministry rules.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Wow..what are the odds..
My dad was a master parachutist with 85 or more jumps in the 11th Airborne before it was deactivated and he said he’d rather jump out of a C119 than have to land in one of them.
This was not a “perfectly good airplane”.
Indeed! My daughter told me that she and a friend decided that skydiving would be a big thrill. During the flight prior to their flight, the plane crashed and killed two people. What are the odds?
The really good news here is that "skydiving" appears to be permanently off the "thrill" agenda.
“Lost a WING ? ? ? ? ! ! !”
Wonder what make and model of aircraft it was?
A major structure failure like that means either really bad airframe inspection (either policy or execution) or a major overload.
Speaking of daredevils in Spain, check out this AMAZING video!
Brightcove is like utube, with maybe a little better res. A buddy just sent this to me. This is an incredible video of a guy walking a crumbling 100+ year old cliff walk somewhere in Spain. According to some comments below in Spanish, the path was created for the king of Spain circa 1901, and has never been restored.
Looking closely, it appears to me more that while the king of Spain may have walked it, it was probably built to get workers to various rail tunnels and water aqueduct projects. One of the commenters said it was used in the WW2 flick “Von Ryan’s Express.”
It’s closed to the public but not guarded, so a lot of daredevils walk it, and some die. Clear 7 minutes of your time, preferably after an adult beverage, turn up the sound, maximize the screen, and prepare to blow your mind. Note that where the rusty safety cables exist, the guy with the camcorder is not using them. He’s just trucking right along.
Enjoy!
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1438490562
There’s a guy that flies skydivers out of a grass strip about a mile from my house. Every good weekend day you can hear that little 4-place Cessna labouring up to 10,000 feet with a full load, maybe more. What he’s doing to that engine makes me cringe. Normal flight you’d hold full throttle for maybe one minute directly after takeoff, if that. This guy seems to have the throttle in the firewall for 20+ minutes every flight.
The plane had one of those garage door doors that would slide up. One of the experienced jumpers opened the door before my tandem instructor buckled me into the harness. I started shaking right there. I refused to wuss out... sitting over the edge with my feet tangling the jump master asked if I was ready to go... I yelled "yes" and that was all she wrote... I love tera firma.
I wanted to ping everybody to this cringe-inducing video.
Travis Pastrana skydiving without a parachute strapped to him.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lDBrdl2sZWs
You’re right. My cringe was induced. What an absolutely insane thing to do.
There is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane.
Only one that has not crashed, yet.
Thanks for the link! I’ve done that sort of thing many times...in video games!
High speed Internet is allowing us to vicariously visit the places only rare daredevils saw before.
Vertigo City!
Some people have a mighty death wish.
If you had ever sat freezing and going deaf in a C119, waiting for the “Stand up, Hook up, Face the Hatch” commands — you’d know why your dad was eager to get the hell separated from those flying death boxes.
Good point!
That was amazing, T. Nerves of steel to walk the pipe where the path crumbled.
I might be crazy, but I’m not stupid enough to try something like that.
Squadron mate died at the end of the runway at TSN in a C-119 with a load of ARVN paratroopers. Lost power on take off. When they belly land they apparently just roll up into a ball. At least that’s what this one did.
Long time ago now. Still sad.
Daredevil bookmark
I had never heard of Travis Pastrana but if he’s going to have kids I think he needs to do it soon.
Thanks for the tip.
And I get nervous on top of a not too tall ladder.
that was sick....I’m sitting down and my hands are sweating...what a dumba##.
My dad had a great story about his first free fall jump and passing people who had jumped before him and then being chewed out by the DZ officer after landing.
My dad was a great and funny guy. Much braver than me.
You must have been Airborne.
My dad died from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, but near the end, he could still say “Geronimo” with a smile on his face. He was “Airborne All The Way”. RIP
It’s an amazing feat of construction. I’m glad that climbers can use it to get to amazing cliffs, but I will leave that for the young!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.