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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
Personal
- Name:
- Jan Davis
- Gender:
- Male
- Nationality:
- American
- Age:
- 58
- Experience:
- —
Equipment & Setup
- Canopy:
- —
- Canopy size:
- —
- Container:
- —
- Suit:
- Everyday Clothing worn › Slick
- Packing:
- Slider Up
- Deployment:
- Leg Pouch
Circumstances
- Weather:
- Sunny Winds light and variable Hot with thermals producing
- Factors:
- Unable to locate pilot chute
Description
This is El Capitan's 3rd BASE fatality and Yosemite's 5th BASE fatality overall. This occurred during a planned protest jump in front of Park Rangers and the media. By prior arrangement Park Service officials agreed not to prevent the jumps but insisted jumpers would be arrested upon landing and their gear would be confiscated.
This caused some jumpers to switch to their B gear.
Jan jumped a system with an older style leg mounted pilot chute pouch when she is used to jumping a pilot chute stowed in a BOC pouch. After a normal delay she instinctively reached for the bottom of the container and after failing to find the pilot chute handle ran out of time before figuring things out. I helped spread Jan's ashes over Lake Elsinore and over 400 jumpers and friends attended her memorial.
She's missed by all who knew her.
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