Skydiver who plunged to death was likely attempting ‘swoop landing’
Posted July 7, 2014 5:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An experienced skydiver who died on Saturday after an ill-fated jump in Georgina, Ont., may have been attempting a high-speed “swoop landing,” the president of the Parachute School of Toronto tells CityNews.ca.
Adam Mabee said the advanced skydiving technique, also known as canopy piloting, was likely a “significant” factor in the death of the 39-year-old man at his school. It marked the third death at the school in the past year.
York regional police said Monday that an autopsy showed the victim died from trauma resulting from the impact of the fall and concluded that foul play was not a factor in his death.
The victim’s name has not been released, but friends told CityNews he was Brad Vale.
In 2011, an Ontario man died in California after attempting a swoop landing. Michael Ungar, 32, was also described as an experienced skydiver.
Swoop Landing/Canopy piloting:
According to the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association’s (CSPA) website, canopy piloting was introduced as competitive discipline in 2003 and carries the “potential for serious injury to the uninitiated.”
The CSPA advises that skydivers entering a canopy piloting competition “should have at least 500 high performance landings – 100 of which should have been in the 12 months prior to the competition.”
How is it done?
“The overall objective of a swoop landing is to essentially skim across the ground, right close to the grass level through the landing area for generally as long a distance as possible,” Mabee told CityNews.ca.
“Many jumpers do this because it’s a lot of fun and many others do it competitively with the objective of going the longest distance within 10 feet of the ground, without making contact with the ground.”
Dangerous Speeds:
Mabee says divers can reach speeds upwards of 80 km/h as they approach the ground.
“There is definitely a reduced margin of error at that kind of speed,” Mabee said.
“There are definitely accidents with swoop landings. They form a significant portion of the accidents in skydiving in general.”
How much experience is needed?
“It’s something you work into very gradually. It’s certainly nothing you would start doing without hundreds of jumps already accomplished. It’s a very advanced manoeuvre.
Mabee adds that swoop landing requires different types of parachutes that are “essentially designed to fly fast.”
An example of swoop landing from a YouTube video
