BFL
American

BFL180 · 15.11.2011

Holly Brittsan

American

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BASE seasons

BASE jumps

WS BASE jumps

Skydives

WS skydives

Incident

Incident category:
BASE Fatality
ID:
BFL180
Object:
Earth
Cause of death:
Low pull
Date:
15. 11. 2011
Time:
Exit point:
United States of America › Utah › Rock Canyon

Other incidents at this location: BFL539

Exit type:
Vertical

Personal

Name:
Holly Brittsan
Gender:
Female
Nationality:
American
Age:
Experience:

Equipment & Setup

Canopy:
Canopy size:
Container:
Suit:
Everyday Clothing worn › Slick
Packing:
Slider Down-Off
Deployment:
BOC

Circumstances

Weather:
Sunny Winds light and variable
Factors:
Extracted Pilot Chute too late

Description

Holly was BASE #1367

This is the only account of the incident as Holly was jumping alone.
external witness report from The Salt Lake Tribune
I was hiking in the canyon and saw her fall. I heard the sound of her parachute opening. Her parachute appeared to open all the way but unfortunately not in time to avoid a fairly hard landing. She rolled and slid about 20 feet down a steep slope before coming to a stop. There was no movement for a few minutes but then I saw her sit up and then lay back down again. Rescuers arrived in the canyon in just a few minutes and it took another 15 minutes or so to hike to where she was. A biker had already hiked up to her while I directed the rescue crew to the right spot. When the biker came back down, he said she was breathing but couldn't get a response from her. The rescue crew performed CPR but were unsuccessful. The most frustrating part was that she came so close to making a good jump. Her chute was open but she was about 3/4 of the way down when it did. She needed just a few more feet. It did seem to me to be a rather short cliff to make such a jump but I have no experience. The margin for error seemed to be very small.

Gallery

Lost, but not forgotten...

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