BFL
American

BFL71 · 12.9.2002

Rob Tompkins

30-Year-Old American

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BASE seasons

BASE jumps

WS BASE jumps

Skydives

WS skydives

Incident

Incident category:
BASE Fatality
ID:
BFL71
Object:
Earth
Cause of death:
Impact subterminal (near exit)
Date:
12. 09. 2002
Time:
Exit point:
Norway › Lysefjorden › 4.5
Exit type:
Short Start

Personal

Name:
Rob Tompkins
Gender:
Male
Nationality:
American
Age:
30
Experience:

Equipment & Setup

Canopy:
Canopy size:
Container:
Apex BASE › Vertex
Suit:
Birdman › Sky Flyer
Packing:
Slider Up
Deployment:
BOC

Circumstances

Weather:
Sunny Winds light and variable
Factors:
Not enough forward seperation on exit Clipped ledge after exiting

Description

This is the second wing suit BASE fatality. Rob has 247 BASE jumps with 92 being with a wing suit on the day he died. A report states: For the last month, Rob had his eye on a particular jump between launch points 4 and 5. We looked at it, doing rock jumps and basically studying the jump. There are two launch points next to this particular jump, one with a 7-second drop and the other with an 8-second drop. Rob jumped the 7-second launch point 10 times always doing a reverse gainer. The place he's looking at now, he dubbed the, RT Hjjrner, and has a rock drop time of 5- seconds. We analyzed this site on video and with other wing suit pilots. In my opinion, the jump is not achievable - and I repeated this to Rob. Other wing suit pilots said the same thing. Rob is convinced he can do it including a reverse gainer. After 7 seconds of freefall Rob impacted the talus ledge. He never tried to deploy his pilot chute, knowing that this would not save him. Rob believed he could out fly the ledge right up until he died. Rob is remembered as a good man, full of respect, and kind to everyone.

Gallery

Lost, but not forgotten...