# Using parachutes: why jumping to conclusions was wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247 "2018-12-17T03:13:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/1 "2018-12-17T03:13:57Z")
It has long been taken for granted that people jumping from airplanes wearing (and deploying) parachutes suffer less trauma than those without parachutes. This kind of anecdotal evidence lacks scientific rigor. Finally, a respected publication (the British Medical Journal) has published [a randomized controlled study](http://bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5094?fbclid=IwAR06Atq6yiy9FXFQf2leMDoc_dPDFw1Z5UfP3W_f5XP1h2AIDu1YsiErP6E) to examine the issue, with surprising results. \ ***Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial** Discussion: We have performed the first randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of parachutes for preventing death or major traumatic injury among individuals jumping from aircraft. Our groundbreaking study found no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome between the treatment and control arms. Our findings should give momentary pause to experts who advocate for routine use of parachutes for jumps from aircraft in recreational or military settings… Should our results be reproduced in future studies, the end of routine parachute use during jumps from aircraft could save the global economy billions of dollars spent annually to prevent injuries related to gravitational challenge.\* One hopes this groundbreaking study will prompt reexamination of assumptions about other widely held but untested beliefs, such as commonplace recommendation for surgery when someone suffers a ruptured viscus (i.e. appendix or bowel), or for routine vaccination starting in infancy. Surely (as in the parachute study) we can find willing volunteers to be randomized into medical intervention/no intervention groups and thus truly bring medical practice into the 21st century. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/2 "2018-12-17T03:24:21Z")
Heh. > [@](#): > > Compared with individuals screened but not enrolled, participants included in the study were on aircraft at significantly lower altitude (mean of 0.6 m for participants v mean of 9146 m for non-participants; P\<0.001) and lower velocity (mean of 0 km/h v mean of 800 km/h; P\<0.001). ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/3 "2018-12-17T03:50:41Z")
[Examination of documentation is essential.](https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/suppl/2018/12/13/bmj.k5094.DC1/yehr046626.ww1.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/4 "2018-12-17T03:59:11Z")
It’s a myth that you need a parachute to skydive. You just need one to skydive twice. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/5 "2018-12-17T07:05:01Z")
From the linked study. > [@](#): > > However, the trial was only able to enroll participants on small stationary aircraft on the ground, suggesting cautious extrapolation to high altitude jumps. And > [@](#): > > The PARACHUTE trial satirically highlights some of the limitations of randomized controlled trials. Nevertheless, we believe that such trials remain the gold standard for the evaluation of most new treatments. The PARACHUTE trial does suggest, however, that their accurate interpretation requires more than a cursory reading of the abstract. Rather, interpretation requires a complete and critical appraisal of the study. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/6 "2018-12-17T07:15:24Z")
[Relevant video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qF_fzEI4wU) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/7 "2018-12-17T14:13:26Z")
I see an IgNobel in the future of this team. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/8 "2018-12-17T23:48:11Z")
Wonderful! Thanks for that link. I will be sharing it widely. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/9 "2018-12-18T00:04:06Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > [Examination of documentation is essential.](https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/suppl/2018/12/13/bmj.k5094.DC1/yehr046626.ww1.pdf) You don’t even need to dig that deep. It’s right there in the abstract under “results” if you read carefully. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-parachutes-why-jumping-to-conclusions-was-wrong/826247/10 "2018-12-18T02:07:15Z")
Even from .6 m, you should be better off with a parachute if you arrange to land on it.