BFL307 | 28.8.2016

Diogo Amarante

from Brazil37 years

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Unknown

BASE SEASONS

Unknown

SKYDIVES

Unknown

WS SKYDIVES

Unknown

BASE JUMPS

Unknown

WS BASE JUMPS
  • Date & Time: 28.8.2016, 16:09
  • Location: Grotto Mountain, Alberta, Canada
  • Category: BASE Fatality
  • Object Type: Earth
  • Cause Of Death: Impact subterminal (near exit)
  • Clothing - Suit: Vampire SukhoiExpert Wingsuit by Phoenix-Fly
  • Canopy: 265 OSP7 Cell - Vented by Atair Aerodynamics
  • Container: LD32 Pin by Adrenalin BASE
  • Packing & Setup: Slider Up BOC Vertical
  • Weather: Sunny
  • Possible Factors: Crosswinds on exit, Not enough forward seperation on exit, Unstable exit

What do we believe happened?

Early morning a group of 3 jumpers went up Grotto mountain, Canada. Grotto is a 3600 ft Mountain, with 150 meters down to to a 50 meter ledge, that jumpers need to clear. The location has been jumped countless times without incident by local jumpers. Jumper struggled a bit, turning the 3-hour hike into a 5-hour trip up.
He was made aware of the technical details and difficulty of the jump on multiple occasions, but felt confident in his motivation/choice to jump. He had a good amount of experience on the wingsuit model he jumped. The previous day Jumper made an uneventful base jump with a controlled and smooth exit at a different location using the same gear, which boosted confidence in his ability. Arriving at the exit point, clouds didn't allow for clear visibility, so the jumpers waited around 4 hours for conditions to improve then
Visibility improved, with clear view from exit till landing, with a tailwind over the mountain creating a slight downdraft.
Jumper 1 was comfortable jumping, and started getting ready. Jumper also decided to jump, exclaiming "I'd rather jump than hike down." due to being tired. Jumper 3 decided to go back down, not being comfortable with conditions combined with a new wing suit.
Jumper 1, flying the same wing suit model, had an uneventful exit and flight, clearing the ledge nice and high. Jumper jumped second, and exited with a normal push, but 45 degrees head high. Instead of a normal start he started falling down upright/knee first.
He was observed by jumper 3, not moving forward but going flat, creating a very steep recovery arc.
He started flying too low, and impacted the ledge with his chest. He then tumbled down the mountain, coming to a stop on a ledge another 500ft lower. The severity of the impact shows death was instantaneous.

Contact

Missing something?

Can you help us with incident interpretation? We are interested in any details regarding personal experience, gear, weather conditions and any other circumstances related to the incident.

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