Thirteen Colorado Skydivers Jump from Burning Plane

Ah the smell of jetA on the sunset load....good times.

5.5 of freefall?? I think that makes you an astronaut! Or a big rock.
 
Cptnchia said:
I was at a boogie one year, as the Otter was climbing out at about 2000 AGL, the right engine crapped itself. The jumpers just bailed out. The pilot told the guy in the right seat to tell the jumpers to strap in, so he looked back, saw only one Teva and a pair of goggles in the back, turned back forward and said, "Tell who?" We were picking up people scattered all over the county that afternoon.
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Ha, a buddy of mine that used to work at a dropzone had that exact same story from one of their pilots, but involving either a 205 or a 182, I forget which.
 
Glad
Cptnchia said:
I was at a boogie one year, as the Otter was climbing out at about 2000 AGL, the right engine crapped itself. The jumpers just bailed out. The pilot told the guy in the right seat to tell the jumpers to strap in, so he looked back, saw only one Teva and a pair of goggles in the back, turned back forward and said, "Tell who?" We were picking up people scattered all over the county that afternoon.
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I would not allow anybody who did that back onto my plane until after a very stern talking to. Luckily I flew at a drop zone that A) flew P206's so the door was next to me under my control, B) had DZO's who would have backed me up and C) had a good group of regular jumpers who weren't selfish idiots.
 
Tyler Pinkerton said:
Glad

I would not allow anybody who did that back onto my plane until after a very stern talking to. Luckily I flew at a drop zone that A) flew P206's so the door was next to me under my control, B) had DZO's who would have backed me up and C) had a good group of regular jumpers who weren't selfish idiots.
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Meh. The pilot thought it was the funniest thing to happen in a while. Personally, I would've beered them all, but then shared it out.
 
Tyler Pinkerton said:
Glad

I would not allow anybody who did that back onto my plane until after a very stern talking to. Luckily I flew at a drop zone that A) flew P206's so the door was next to me under my control, B) had DZO's who would have backed me up and C) had a good group of regular jumpers who weren't selfish idiots.
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TP,

I have to ask, why? I'm a skydiver and an airline pilot. My whole skydiving experience has been anything above 1500 we bail out or somewhere about then. That aircraft was at 2000? Why would you want to keep a plane load of people with one engine out, specially since skydiving airplanes are usually loaded to the max? Sounds to me the Instructors/JM on that load did the cautionary action. Doesn't seem to me the time to get into a pissing contest or try to pull rank. Every skydiving place has a set altitude and if that altitude was reached, good luck keeping me in the aircraft. I know with a high certainty I can live if I bail out, big unknown if I stay in the aircraft. Sounds to me that the jumpers were making things easier for the pilot. As a pilot I rather have a lighter aircraft with no other lives to worry during an emergency.
 
I flew twin otters for a DZ for a few years. Had an engine quit climbing through about 7k. Had the jumper in the right seat tell everyone we were going to make a single pass over the airport, and for everyone to get out like a normal jump. I would have been pretty pissed if people started jumping out on their own since we were 8 miles away from the DZ and over a populated town.
 
Cptnchia said:
Meh. The pilot thought it was the funniest thing to happen in a while. Personally, I would've beered them all, but then shared it out.
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phoenix 23684 said:
TP,

I have to ask, why? I'm a skydiver and an airline pilot. My whole skydiving experience has been anything above 1500 we bail out or somewhere about then. That aircraft was at 2000? Why would you want to keep a plane load of people with one engine out, specially since skydiving airplanes are usually loaded to the max? Sounds to me the Instructors/JM on that load did the cautionary action. Doesn't seem to me the time to get into a pissing contest or try to pull rank. Every skydiving place has a set altitude and if that altitude was reached, good luck keeping me in the aircraft. I know with a high certainty I can live if I bail out, big unknown if I stay in the aircraft. Sounds to me that the jumpers were making things easier for the pilot. As a pilot I rather have a lighter aircraft with no other lives to worry during an emergency.
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First off, the Jump master is NOT in charge of that plane or anyone on it as much as some jumpers would like to think. I, the PIC am. As an airline pilot, how would you like it if after an emergency landing (one not requiring an immediate evacuation) while your still moving one of your flight attendants or passengers decided to start an emergency egress?

As Vheissu started, a normal pass can be made on a single engine. A Kingair/twin otter or any other turbine twin is not going to just stop flying on one engine, even at MTOW. I would wager, the majority of the time the turbine planes are not operating at MTOW, but it really just depends on the fueling situation the DZ has. Hell its not even unheard of in the past that engines would be shut down on purpose for drops. Our hop and pop passes started at 3,500ft AGL, though sometimes slightly lower. They can wait until we get back over the airport to jump out or they can land with the plane if they immediately return to the airport.

Kingair's and Caravans make their jump runs with the flaps extended to help raise the horizontal tails out of the path of the jumpers. A plane in a climb, especially either one of these two, will have a lower tail position which increases the possibility of a tailstrike by a jumper. Plus, if I have a plane on one engine, the last thing I want to have to deal with is a possible weight shift in the middle of securing the engine if everyone stampedes to the back.

Unless the plane is literally coming apart and is going down, there is no reason for them to jump out under no commands by the PIC.
 
Here's a new one:

image.jpeg


http://www.flyingmag.com/news/parachute-jumping-gulfstream
 
digduggy said:
Been around for years, pay thousands to get your plane "approved"... All it includes is a supplement to the AFM! Haha

I wondered if this is more of an attempt to sell glf5's as Search and Rescue birds, more than anything else... ability to drop supplies, rafts, etc...
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I think it's just able to do it. I read that's how they get rid of a burning battery: depressurize, descend, open, toss, close, pressurize, climb, continue.
 
deadstick said:
I think it's just able to do it. I read that's how they get rid of a burning battery: depressurize, descend, open, toss, close, pressurize, climb, continue.
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The problem with that theory, and yes I have learned it for emergency training in type, is getting the burning, spewing hot lava battery to the baggage compartment.

In theory it works, not so sure in practicality.
 
Stone Cold said:
The problem with that theory, and yes I have learned it for emergency training in type, is getting the burning, spewing hot lava battery to the baggage compartment.

In theory it works, not so sure in practicality.
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I'm betting somebody with a G-anything (maybe not G1) wouldn't have a problem dropping $2k on that fire mit/bag kit.
 
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