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Parachuting Shown to be Safer than Some Other Extreme Sports
from: Maxx Sports GuidesMisconceptions still surround both parachuting and skydiving despite a lack of concrete parachuting statistics.
It's widely believed that every year many individuals die or are injured because of parachuting. The public attributes a great number of reasons to such injuries and fatalities; however, the assumptions are generally incorrect.
There are only several reasons why parachuting accidents occur. They include: malfunctioning equipment such as a canopy or a reserve canopy that didn't open, collisions between jumpers, and difficulties during landing.
Operator Error Real Culprit
Malfunctioning equipment is said to have claimed more lives than the other two major causes of accidents. Most of the time, however, operator error is the real culprit.
For example, jumpers use not just one canopy, but a main canopy and a second canopy. This makes it almost impossible for jumpers to get injured because of malfunctioning equipment.
A problem usually arises when lines become tangled, rather than parachutes becoming broken. On the other hand, difficulties in landing usually result from factors and conditions beyond the jumper's control.
Usually, landing accidents are attributed to a poor estimate of the time that jumpers need to perform manoeuvres in the air. The third reason is due largely to the fact that jumpers deploy their parachutes so closely together.
More Experts than Novices Die
It's understandable when people believe that novices are involved in more parachuting accidents than experts. But in reality, the chances are far less that students will get injured or die during jumps.
In fact, more expert jumpers die each year in parachuting than students due to the fact that experts tend to try higher altitudes, thus increasing the risk of accidents.
Studies show that parachuting is considerably safer when compared with perceived less risky sports, such as scuba diving or board surfing.
In fact the average death due to parachuting is only 30 in every 100,000 jumps, compared to a higher rate of 47 deaths in every 100,000 scuba diving exercises every year.
An even higher rate of death occurs in mountain climbing, totalling 50 deaths in every 100,000, while 67 lives are claimed every year in hot air ballooning.
Interestingly, history has proved that parachuting accidents can be deterred even when this seems impossible. Many accounts in the past, particularly in World Wars I and II, proved that people met with accidents while airborne and still managed to escape with minor injuries. And there are those who miraculously survived the feat with only bruises.
In all, 21 people died during 2004 due to parachuting; 25 in 2003; 33 in 2002; and 35 in 2001. Some of these deaths may have occurred because some people jumped without parachutes.
Accidents in extreme sports are inevitable. However, surprisingly people's common perception isn't always right. A sport that may seem less risky actually can have higher risks than sports that are more exciting and exposes people to more hazards.
Parachuting is among sports that are perceived as exciting the emotions because of the thrill, but it actually has a much lower record of injuring or killing people. This is not just another false perception; it's real and is backed by parachuting statistics.
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