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From: SKYDIVE@f15.n233.z1.FIDONET.ORG (SKYDIVE)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: AFF Fatality
Message-ID: <2809.28158962@ehsnet.fidonet.org>
Date: 23 Apr 91 03:17:35 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 53

Reply-to: Mike.Johnston@p0.f2.n265.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Johnston)
Fido-To: dale southard

As I promised, here is the answer to your question. Sorry about how long 
it's taken me to post this.  An AFF instructor's (and JMs) job is to take 
care of the student as best he can.  He does this by first giving good 
training, and that includes making sure the student knows that he alone 
is responsible for saving himself.  The instructor might be able to help 
out, but the student must rely upon himself.  Second, provide the student 
with good equipment that includes an AAD, square main, RSL, etc. Third, 
accompany the student in freefall and help as much as possible. 
Instructors are thoroughly trained and tested. They must show the ability 
to teach and to skydive. They are even tested on their ability to catch a 
non-performing "student."  But everyone should remember that instructors 
are taught to REMEMBER THAT THE INSTRUCTOR HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO NOT 
ENDANGER HIMSELF. The best skydivers in the world (with gold medals to 
prove it) have been unable to catch a tumbling, spinning student. And 
they went lower than they should have, but they did save themselves. With 
some students, it is quite hard to draw the fine line between staying in 
control and giving the student too much room. Yes, the instructor is 
supposed to pull for the student who doesn't. But he can't always do so, 
he is not superman. The instructor is also always responsible for 
opening his own parachute, about 2000. If you can't save the student, at 
least save yourself. AFF has such a good safety record because the 
instructor's performance in the air is only one third of the safety 
system. The fact that this was only the second (yes that's right, second) 
AFF fatality, shows how difficult it is for the reaper to beat all three 
levels of safety.
There are about 275,00 student jumps made in the USA each year. AFF must 
account for at least 10%, probably more like 20%.  These estimates are 
very conservative when you consider that about 7% of all first time jumps 
are AFF and that many DZs require all students to start with a tandem or 
two before advancing to AFF training. It is true that about 50% of the 
2500-3000 new skydivers each year trained in the AFF method. There are 
alot of AFF jumps being made each year, more than most people realize. 
This has been going on for ten years too.
The first AFF fatality involved a non-rated JM. In fact, he had failed 
the course a couple of months earlier (he didn't have very much 
experience either). That jump was an AFF jump as distinguished from a 
simple harness hold jump. That is the distinction we always made. The 
fatality with the non-rated JM just shows that the instructor training 
system works pretty well, it did screen this guy out. It also shows that 
those early levels require TWO qualified instructors.
To that guy's credit, he called me and confessed the whole thing even 
before he told his partner on the jump.


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