# Oops. Name one essential piece of equipment for skydiving. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197 "2008-06-08T03:11:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/41 "2008-06-09T21:22:15Z")
[QUOTE=meek] (Stolen from [this](http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/carkeet.html) page.) “Much will depend on your attitude. Don’t let negative thinking ruin your descent.”. [/QUOTE] Mind over splatter? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/42 "2008-06-09T22:01:50Z")
His death has now been ruled a [suicide.](http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=694628&category=REGIONOTHER&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=6/9/2008) > [@](#): > > Carafello, 29, was 10,000 feet above Duanesburg on Saturday afternoon when he watched three sky divers leap out of the single-engine Cessna 182, pilot Bob Rawlins said. In the three seconds it usually takes Rawlins to close the door after the last person jumps, Carafello was out of his seat, struggling with the door and the force of the wind. > > \< snip \> > > For months, Carafello had unnerved some of his co-workers in the seafood department at the Eastern Parkway Price Chopper in Schenectady. He asked the same question frequently, Dave Bilili, assistant manager, remembered Sunday. > > "He said ‘If you had to die, would you rather jump off a building or jump out of a plane without a parachute?’ " Bilili said. > > They didn’t think much of it, Bilili said, because Carafello often acted strangely. He kept a spiral notebook with him at all times and paused to write in it constantly, Bilili said. No one at work knew the contents, just that it was in very small writing. > > He always rode a bike and he wore a backpack and a blue windbreaker, even when it was hot. He asked coworkers how he could join the Central Intelligence Agency. > > Carafello lived at the YMCA on Schenectady’s State Street, where he kept to himself and didn’t interact with other residents, according to an employee who didn’t want his name used. > > He boxed at a gym nearby and worked out frequently, said James Commarto, the gym’s owner and Carafello’s landlord in Schenectady before he moved to the YMCA. Commarto said Carafello never had parties and kept an immaculate apartment. > > \< snip \> > > Carafello was quiet on the flight Saturday and didn’t interact much with the sky divers, which included an instructor, a student and a videographer, Rawlins said. He said the young man looked out the window and took photos, and was buckled into his seat as he watched the others jump. Then he leaped up and forced open the door, his camera in hand as Rawlins tried to stop him. As he fell to his death, he looked calm and didn’t flail, Rawlins said. He said the videographer from the plane saw Carafello’s camera flash go off repeatedly and he appeared to be taking pictures of himself. So, not just some mope who forgets his chute. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/43 "2008-06-09T22:27:23Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] I thought the key was to become distracted before you hit the ground. Then you can fly. [/QUOTE] Clearly it’s the missing the ground part that is key. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/44 "2008-06-09T22:41:26Z")
> [@](#): > > He said the videographer from the plane saw Carafello’s camera flash go off repeatedly and he appeared to be taking pictures of himself. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/45 "2008-06-09T22:47:54Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I dunno. I’d say a plane is more essential than a parachute. You can go skydiving without a parachute. Once. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but you can go skydiving without a plane [lots of times](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_jumping). ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/46 "2008-06-09T22:52:04Z")
While this was obviously not a case of “Oops, I forgot my gear”, this did almost happen to a friend of mine who was a jumpmaster at our DZ in college. One very busy day I saw him go up in the Cessna with a couple of students. A few minutes later the plane landed and he ran into the building and came back wearing his rig. It was a really busy day. He’d been taking students up all day and he got so caught up in gearing his first-timers up, making his notes on the previous set of jumpers and whatnot that he simply forgot the first safety rule which is Take Care Of Yourself. He was very shook up about it afterwards. He said that they were a few thousand feet up when he realized he didn’t have his rig on. The pilot that day was also the owner of the DZ. This stuff can happen which is why you always check your own gear, visually and by touch (look at your handles, check straps, etc) as well as getting what’s called a “pin check” (which covers much more than pins) from another experienced jumper before you get in the plane. With a load of students that’s one less experienced pair of eyes to catch you before you do something careless. One other note, again this is just my recollection but I thought that the FAA rules state that on any flight where the door will be opened, everyone aboard the aircraft must be wearing an approved emergency parachute system. When I’ve had friends go up as observers they always had to wear a parachute and were given a short ground briefing on how to use it in the event of a problem. If this guy didn’t have a rig on the pilot may be in trouble (not that it would have helped, obviously). Having jumped out of many Cessna 182s and 206s I can say that it’d be unusual to have an actual passenger seat anywhere - there’s one seat for the pilot and everyone else sits on the floor wearing a lap belt. There’s a jumper sitting with his back right up against the control panel and the in-flight door is at his left elbow. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/47 "2008-06-10T00:56:04Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] One other note, again this is just my recollection but I thought that the FAA rules state that on any flight where the door will be opened, everyone aboard the aircraft must be wearing an approved emergency parachute system. [/quote] There is no such **FAA** regulation, although it wouldn’t surprise me if most skydiving operations had such a rule. I’ve flown many times when the door has been off (or in an airplane that just didn’t have doors) without a parachute, but on those flights everyone is strapped into proper seats and no one is intending to leave the aircraft prior to landing. However, the only time it’s legal (FAA-wise) to be in a moving aircraft without being strapped in is, indeed, when you are wearing a parachute. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/48 "2008-06-10T01:40:57Z")
Most of my helicopter flying has been without doors – or a parachute. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/49 "2008-06-10T01:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] I’ve flown many times when the door has been off (or in an airplane that just didn’t have doors) without a parachute, but on those flights everyone is strapped into proper seats and no one is intending to leave the aircraft prior to landing. [/QUOTE] I had the great displeasure of being properly strapped into a seat that then slid back on the floor rails and tossed me out the door, still strapped to the seat. Fortunately, this occured as the plane started to taxi, so only a few bumps and scrapes resulted. ---
**Author:** ![Skylark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Skylark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skylark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/50 "2008-06-10T01:53:06Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] I think you’re both a little confused. I recall threads here asking whether someone with a lot of simulator experience, but no real flying time, could land a jet airliner. And the conclusion of most Doper pilots was what **Skylark** said. That’s different from being talked down over the radio by an experienced pilot who knows exactly what the cockpit of the plane your flying looks like, which is basically what \*Mythbusters \*did. At the end of the \*Mythbusters \* segment, the pilot who successfully talked down both Adam and Jamie said (paraphrasing), “Of course, in many modern jets, all I’d really have to do is tell you to push the autopilot button, and then help you set the autoland coordinates.” [/QUOTE] Avast! Thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/51 "2008-06-10T01:56:36Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] There is no such **FAA** regulation, although it wouldn’t surprise me if most skydiving operations had such a rule. I’ve flown many times when the door has been off (or in an airplane that just didn’t have doors) without a parachute, but on those flights everyone is strapped into proper seats and no one is intending to leave the aircraft prior to landing. However, the only time it’s legal (FAA-wise) to be in a moving aircraft without being strapped in is, indeed, when you are wearing a parachute. [/QUOTE] My ignorance has been fought 😃 I may have mis-remembered the “without being strapped in” part. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/52 "2008-06-10T02:37:10Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] However, the only time it’s legal (FAA-wise) to be in a moving aircraft without being strapped in is, indeed, when you are wearing a parachute. [/QUOTE] You mean on a plane that has an open door, right?, because it would really bother me to strap on a parachute to use the toillet next time I fly somewhere. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/53 "2008-06-10T02:51:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] it would really bother me to strap on a parachute to use the toillet next time I fly somewhere. 😃 [/QUOTE] I should be delighted to be provided a parachute, whether it be a perfectly good airplane or not. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/54 "2008-06-10T03:00:50Z")
> [@](#): > > For months, Carafello had unnerved some of his co-workers in the seafood department at the Eastern Parkway Price Chopper in Schenectady. Woah… the dude went Coastal. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/55 "2008-06-10T03:03:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] You mean on a plane that has an open door, right?, because it would really bother me to strap on a parachute to use the toillet next time I fly somewhere. 😃 [/QUOTE] You must not be one of those really skinny people who are at risk of being flushed out into the wld blue. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/56 "2008-06-10T03:41:12Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] …However, the only time it’s legal (FAA-wise) to be in a moving aircraft without being strapped in is, indeed, when you are wearing a parachute. [/QUOTE] No one’s ever issued me a parachute when I’ve gone to the john. And the stews must have those untra-thin ones. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/57 "2008-06-10T04:03:58Z")
[QUOTE=threemae] …the acceleration from free fall to having a parachute seems pretty extreme from the videos I’ve seen. [/QUOTE] Normal openings rarely feel extreme - IMO they mostly seem rather gentle. Some Googling suggests the typical peak deceleration is something like 4.5G. But I’m skeptical that you could expect to retain a hold on someone through that. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/58 "2008-06-10T04:08:17Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] You mean on a plane that has an open door, right?, because it would really bother me to strap on a parachute to use the toillet next time I fly somewhere. 😃 [/QUOTE] Silly people - I meant _small_ airplanes, not flying buildings! 😛 The only toilet my airplanes have is a leftover 7/11 Big Gulp cup anyway. Or the airsickness bag, but those always seem too small to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/59 "2008-06-10T06:01:25Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] Silly people - I meant _small_ airplanes, not flying buildings! 😛 The only toilet my airplanes have is a leftover 7/11 Big Gulp cup anyway. Or the airsickness bag, but those always seem too small to me. [/QUOTE] Note to myself: bring own drinks when flying with **Broomstick**. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197/60 "2008-06-10T06:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] Note to myself: bring own drinks when flying with **Broomstick**. [/QUOTE] This is a fabulous use of a username in a sentence! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-name-one-essential-piece-of-equipment-for-skydiving/452197.md?page=4)