The Wingsuit crowd are having a bad month - in fact, a bad year

[onetrack]

I note in the news article below, that the death toll amongst the Wingsuit crazies has reached 15 just in the last month alone, and 20 over the last year.

 

At this rate, does this now make them an endangered species?? Do we need to take serious steps to try and preserve this death-wish mob, before they become extinct??

 

Or should we just let them continue to rush to their total extinction? Answers on a postage stamp, please.

 

Wingsuit base jumping death toll rises

 

P.S. - I'd like to make it clear, I do admire Yves Rossy and his clever little jetpack and his daring stunts - but he actually puts a lot of thought into what he's doing - and he's got little 4 rocket motors helping him, with the control aspect - unlike all the wingsuit jumpers, who just seem content to let gravity do what it does best.

 

http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/wiki/BASE_Fatality_List

 

 

[DrZoos]

Damn the on thing i REALLY REALLY want to do

 

 

[pmccarthy]

What was that movie back in the sixties about a crazy guy in a wing suit? He died, as I recall.

 

 

[farri]

At this rate, does this now make them an endangered species?? Do we need to take serious steps to try and preserve this death-wish mob, before they become extinct??Or should we just let them continue to rush to their total extinction? Answers on a postage stamp, please.

To my mind,there is no answer to the situation that would fit on a postage stamp!

 

Why do so many still want to climb mount Everest, when so many have died, attempting it, in the past?...Why do so many still want to race motor bikes, at the Isle of Man TT races when the possibility of someone being killed in the next race, is extremely high?

 

If the objective is to save every individual, from themselves, then I doubt very much there is an answer, but as with most things, lessons will have been learnt from those who have taken the first steps.

 

Franco.

 

 

[Robbo]

Do we need to take serious steps to try and preserve this death-wish mob, before they become extinct??

I guess you don't understand the base jumping/wing suit sport.

 

You think they just strap on a wing suit and go jump outta or off something?

 

Well your wrong, it is practised constantly and it is very safe and remember a lot of base jumpers and wingsuit flyers are highly experienced skydivers with thousands and thousands of jumps under there belt.

 

Before you make comments about these guys I would do a bit of research on the sport.

 

Trust me I know what it takes and whats involved !!

 

 

[Yenn]

If they want to jump to their death, who are we to stop them. I worked for 11 years in a dangerous job, at least everyone else said it was dangerous. We worked at making it safe and not by the current human factors waffle. The company had 2 fatalities in that time. One was a man who I had refused to take on my job, because I thought he was dangerous. The other was a very similar person, who I hardly knew.

 

The wingsuit crowd probably give safety a lot more thought than the average pilot.

 

 

[spacesailor]

When you stop legal flying BY BEAUROCRASY, I know of one young would be pilot who borrowed a chute, & with a few other,s jumped off the bridge, north of the Hawksbury river,

 

That was his first parachute jump,

 

I knew he wanted to train for a pilots licence as he came to see my HummelBird.& talked of the cost of training.

 

He said he had a problem keeping jobs.

 

Spacesailor

 

 

[facthunter]

Best you don't jump to conclusions and do the research. Make attempted suicide a capital offence. No one should be able to get out of paying debts that easily,( as the English say). Nev