Jumper Accidents
This section describes incidents which happened because people did
jump jump correctly, understand what is going on or were being
stupid.
It is a sad fact that sometimes the person being stupid or making
mistakes is not the one to be hurt (or even killed) which is why it is
a good idea to jump with reputable companies. Make sure you ask
questions about things you're not sure about.
This from Colin:
PRR - Practice, Rehearsal and Repetition - mentally prepare
yourself for every jump. Before breaking my ankle I had performed many
successful jumps previously. In one bungee jump I did from a bridge in
Twin Falls, Idaho (Perrine bridge - 500 feet high) I performed PRR. I
had performed several bungee jumps before this, but this was my first
bungee jump from this height. At this height certain things were
required from me that I hadn't done before. For instance since I would
be hitting terminal velocity it was important I fell in a "head-down"
position. It was also important I tucked on recoil. Because my
previous jumps had been performed at lower heights these requirements
had not been necessary and as such had not been mentioned by my
previous jump masters.
How the hell was I to prepare myself for this jump then? PRR! I
mentally performed the steps required of me in my head again and
again. I walked around the jump site familiarizing myself with what I
would be standing on (the railing) and how I would get myself on that
railing. I familiarized myself with the equipment and talked to the
people operating it. The more I mentally performed these steps the
less fear I seemed to have.
I still had a healthy dose of fear when I stood on that railing,
but because of my mental PRR I was in control of it. I performed two
perfect jumps from the bridge that day - the second jump being
performed backwards! I learned that even if you can't physically
practice for an activity you can mentally practice for it. The
simplest skills can be the most difficult to perform in difficult
situations if you aren't mentally prepared for them.
When I jumped from the Navajo Bridge I assumed I knew what to do
since I had performed a perfect jump from the Perrin bridge and a
helicopter. In both the Perrin and helicopter instances I had mentally
prepared myself for the jump - mental practice and familiarization
with procedure and equipment. I thought I didn't need to prepare
myself this time since I had the knowledge and experiences from my
previous jumps - wrong! I fractured my foot and broke my ankle. Even
if this bridge was the same height as the Perrin it was still a
different bridge. Even if it was the same bridge PRR is important to
practice everytime. I learned that PRR doesn't stop once you learn how
to do something - it is an on-going activity that should be performed
everytime you do something. The brain forgets - PRR makes sure it
doesn't. Don't jump if you aren't mentally ready.
Colin has since gone on to jump many more times, Check out his photos.
Hangman!
This from Emily:
I was watching a television show a couple of weeks ago and saw this
accident. It was somewhere in the states. A woman was jumping off of a
crane. As she came up on her first bounce, the cord wrapped itself around
her neck and she went unconscious. They had to lower her down and revive
her. She ended up being ok.
I have seen Photos of this in an article in the Lancet (medical
publication). It's a good reminder to keep your arms and body tucked
tight (fetal) during rebound.
Be careful, Singer!
This from Macho:
this one, 1st bungee accident in 2000 happened just the afternoon
2nd of April in Chung Pyung, Gyunggi-do, Korea. Lee, A new
teenage-singer hurt her face during a 35 meter Bungee Jump for a local
TV program. During her 1st jump she rebounded, the bungee cord hit her
face, smashing her left cheek. The injuries also included a swollen
wrist. Her injuries will take more than 2 weeks to heal
completely. Anyway she stopped all her schedule for a while for her
medical treatment.
TV Ad tradegy
This from Macho:
A 10 yrs old Indian child died during an attempted monkey Bungee
Jump somewhere in India during the middle of July 1997. He wanted to
copy a jump, so tied his ankles with his mom's long scarves and jumped
off from a 10 story veranda of the flat that his family lived in. He'd
seen a new very famous drink ad on local TV in which a guy bungee
jumped from a cliff and swipes a drink from a driving truck on the
highway.
Need more details please contact me; macho@machobat.com
12 Screws - Broken Arm
I heard about this while jumping with the Dangerless
Aerial Sports Club and Dave (12 Screws)
Rowlinson kindly wrote a version for me (It's not my fault he
doesn't spell it bungee). Are we sitting comfortably... good, then
he'll begin
It was jump number five. My previous four jumps were all from the
same site, and they sort of figured I knew what I was doing. The jump
I performed was an Elevator. They strap you tightly into a waist
harness, attach the bungy and get you to hold onto it. Failure to hold
on generally results in the testicles ending up round your throat
region, so I held on. You then stand backwards on the platform and
step off.
On jumps one through four I had had some sense of adrenaline
rush. Jump number five seemed to have forgotten to tell the adrenaline
people to turn up, and just invited fear. Therefore I was holding onto
the rope just a little more tightly than I should.
5-4-3-2-1 Jump..... Fear was loving the fall. I was not. I hit the
end of freefall and my right arm fell off the rope. 'Oh' I said to
myself, 'Better hold back onto the ... better put my arm.. That's
strange it's not moving... Something's wrong here'. I hit the bounce at
the bottom and sprung back up. At the top of the first rebound my arm
came up and slapped me in the face. It also had a funny looking joint
somewhere between the shoulder and the elbow that I'm sure I didn't
have before. It was at this point that I realised that my arm was
broken. Non of the jump masters believed me, and it wasn't until I got
one of them to feel the rather large bump in my arm that they did
believe me. An ambulance was duly called and I spent three days in
hospital recovering from an operation which resulted in me having a
six inch metal plate and twelve screws inserted into my arm.
Apparently when the rope had tightened it had whiplashed a bit, and
that, added to the fact that I was tense with the fear, caused my arm
to snap in two places. I later found out that I had Radial Nerve
Palsy. The Radial Nerve is the one that controls the muscles in your
fingers and wrist so I lost the use of my right hand for six
months. My Occupational Therapist built a marvelous contraption to go
on my arm so I could use my hand. I looked like robocop.
I've jumped since and I MIGHT jump again, although I recently
wimped out of a 600ft jump in France. Anyway, don't let me put you
off. Go bungy jumping 'cos it's Grrrrrrreat(tm).
Of All The People...
From: bOaZ
This one happened just last week here in Israel. The details:
(Saturday, 18/1/97) Ravit Naor, a reporter working for the Israeli daily
newspaper "Maariv", went to write an article about a new bungee site in
Ein-Vered, operated by Air Bungy Ltd. She boarded the bungee crane and
jumped three times, attached from the waist. The first time - to get the
idea. The next two - in order to get good pictures. In her third jump
she rebounded in such an angle, that the bungee chord hit her face,
smashing her nose, jaw and right eye-socket.
Damage list: 1 broken nose, 3 broken teeth, torn lips, 2 deep cuts in
the left cheek, broken sinus, smashed right-eye.
Who's fault was it? Well, probably the bungee operators, who operated
without the necessary license and legal papers. BTW, the article that
was published after the incident didn't do them any good...
The Water's Safe, Right?...
From: Simon Andersson
I heard about some guys in Australia that bungee-jumped into a river
(they would come down head-first and dip their heads before being pulled
back.) They ended the practice after one guy died hitting a drifting
log.
Not sure if this belongs here or in the club
accidents
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