BFL
Austrian

BFL322 · 5.7.2017

Siegfried Schenk

48-Year-Old Austrian

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10

BASE seasons

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BASE jumps

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WS BASE jumps

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Skydives

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WS skydives

Incident

Incident category:
BASE Fatality
ID:
BFL322
Object:
Earth
Cause of death:
Impact in terminal freefall
Date:
05. 07. 2017
Time:
10:00
Exit point:
Italy › Dolomites › Monte Civetta
Exit type:
Vertical

Personal

Name:
Siegfried Schenk
Gender:
Male
Nationality:
Austrian
Age:
48
Experience:
—

Equipment & Setup

Canopy:
—
Canopy size:
—
Container:
—
Suit:
Phoenix-Fly › Vampire Alpine
Packing:
Slider Up
Deployment:
BOC

Circumstances

Weather:
Sunny Winds light and variable
Factors:
Proximity flying

Description

The Jumper did his second wingsuit jump from Mt. Civietta on this day
(05.07.17). The meteorological conditions were good with a light wind
from the left (south to north), same like at the jump before.
Several lines are possible to fly from the exit point to the landing
area. A direct flight path would be easy, others are more challenging
to the left sector.
As he was the last jumper out of a group of 9 wingsuiters, nobody was
able to witness his final jump. After he didn’t show up in the landing area, nor called, search and rescue was informed
Later he was found approximately 2km in front of the exit point on a
rather left flight path line. He must have striked a ridge with trees
in freefall/full flight and he come to rest in the gulch behind. It is
confirmed that there was no attempt to pull and he must have died
instantly.
Despite the tragic, it might just have been a terrible error in judgment.
Thoughts for relevance:
He used a suit which he had only jumped 10-12 times (not that critical at this spot if you choose the right line). Also, he was wearing a selfie stick camera mount on his helmet
which may disturbed his vision and depth perception. Plus he did his
second flight that day from almost the same spot and might have been pushing it to fly further over the hill in front of him.
Sad but real, another good one is gone…

Gallery

Lost, but not forgotten...