Friday Freakout: Skydiver Lands In Busy City, Slams Into Building (Part 2)

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WHAT HAPPENED
This is another video from the city landing in Iraq we posted last week where 12 self-trained, inexperienced Iraqi skydivers attempted to perform a demo jump at a local carnival (watch Part 1 here: bit.ly/3Sx2Hbp). They knowingly decided to jump in decently high winds (around 20 mph), which pushed them 5.9 miles (9 kilometres) from the intended landing area! This jumper only had 68 jumps under his belt. He realized he had few good options and stated that he saw a small park where he intended to land. It appears he continued to drift further with the wind, so he intended to land in a small lot next to a building. Unfortunately he still had too much altitude and ended up slamming into the second storey of the building instead. Despite falling 10-15 feet after bouncing off the wall, he was okay!
WHY DID IT HAPPEN
Insanely Low Jump Numbers
This skydiver only had 68 jumps under his belt before attempting this demo jump. This lack of experience obviously contributed to the fact that, upon realizing that he was landing off, he made some bad decisions and wasn't able to set himself up for success. That being said, looking at the video, there were really no good options and a skydiver with thousands of jumps would also have been hard pressed to find a suitable landing area. Not impossible, but certainly not ideal.
Poor Preparation
As we previously noted in the Part 1 video from this demo jump, these jumpers were very inexperienced and should never have been attempting a demonstration jump. There is a reason why the USPA sets a high standard for allowing people to do demos and it's not just about accuracy, it's also about knowing enough about conditions to know when to scratch a jump and not get out of the plane. That being said, please read the Additional Notes section (below) because the jumpers in this video are in a rather unique situation.
HOW COULD IT BE PREVENTED
Training & Planning
Simply put, these jumpers needed more training and knowledge. If they had the requisite experience for this type of demo jump they would have known that they should have never gotten off the ground, let alone out of the plane. Demonstration jumps require unique considerations and, really, the nuanced planning and coordination that goes into them isn't something that inexperienced jumpers know enough to pull off successfully.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Iraqi Skydiving
As previously noted, these skydivers jump at Firnas Aero Club in Iraq. They're a small self-funded club with 22 skydivers and are all pretty much self-taught. They have no instructors and apparently just bought the gear, got in a plane, and started jumping; learning as they went. A few of them have traveled outside of Iraq to get formal training and have earned USPA licenses, but most have not.
This is obviously a very dangerous way to learn to skydive and we don't endorse it. However, we think it's a pretty amazing testament to the passion of these jumpers who said they didn't care about the obstacles in front of them, they would learn to skydive.
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