In both skydiving (jumping from aircraft) and BASE jumping (from stationary objects), instability in free fall is a fatal risk factor. Jumping from an airplane into the wind rushing by feels roughly like diving into a swift current of water, and there is a risk that beginners will lose control and start tumbling around in the new environment, which can lead to unstable activation of the parachute with subsequent tangling of its lines and even late parachute activation.
When you jump from the ledge of a cliff, itās not as windy, but this can in fact be a danger, since for the first few seconds you donāt get any help from rushing wind to control your body and straighten up if you should fall forward and start tumbling around. Just as in skydiving, there is a risk of unstable or late parachute activation. An extra risk factor in BASE jumping is that a wing parachute can open in such a way that it steers you toward the object you jumped from.
The fatality risk in Swedish skydiving between 1994 and 2003 was roughly one death per one hundred thousand jumps. The fatality risk in BASE jumping appears to be about 60-90 times as great as in skydiving, and the dissertation urges jumpers to be cautious in pursuing this activity.
Wing parachutes are formed in different ways for different types of parachuting. BASE parachutes are constructed for landing at low speeds in difficult terrain, whereas certain types of wing parachutes for skydiving are designed for opposite reasons, for flying and landing at speeds of over 100 km per hour, roughly like small sailplanes made of cloth. They place great demands on the judgment and skill of the parachutist. The dissertation shows that many injuries are a result of āpilot errorā on the part of the jumper. Besides miscalculated landings, collisions between wing parachutes have also led to injuries and deaths.
Further fatal and non-fatal risks are described in the dissertation, with suggestions for dealing with each. Injury prone body parts include legs, feet, the spine, and shoulder joints. Beginners run a greater risk of getting hurt, but the most serious injuries are described among the most experienced jumpers. An interview study describes the views of a number of parachutists regarding the risk of injury and their motives for pursuing the sport. What stand out are depictions of its recreational value, of āhaving fun,ā as a main reason.
On Friday, March 27, Anton Westman, Dept. of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, will publicly defend his dissertation titled Dangers in Sport Parachuting.
External examiner: Prof. Inggard Lereim, Division of Preparedness, NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Norway.
The public defense will take place in Hall D, floor 9, School of Dentistry, NUS (Northern Sweden University Hospital).
The Web presentation of this press release includes a brief introductory film about parachuting:
http://www.umu.se/om-universitetet/pressinformation/pressmeddelanden/
Press images concerning the dissertation are freely available at:
http://www.presskontakt.umu.se/pressbilder/aktuella.html
Anton Westman is an emergency physician and doctoral candidate at the Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Division of Surgery. He can be reached at cell phone: +46 (0)702-202 557, e-mail: anton.westman@surgery.umu.se
8 December, 2021 - UmeƄ universitet
Asymmetric sex chromosomes were independently shaped during evolution in many species, and different strategies evolved alongside to overcome the resulting imbalance in genetic information. Molecular biologist Marie-Line Faucillion has studied this in her dissertation defended at UmeƄ University, Sweden. Her findings can be useful to better understand how sex chromosomes are regulated, but also to
9 March, 2021 - UmeƄ universitet
Large asteroids or comets hitting Earth, massive volcanic eruptions and other single, deadly events are usually the focus for scientists seeking to reconstruct Earthās past mass extinctions. In a new study, researchers from UmeĆ„ University and the University of Florida instead uncovered a new major transition between past marine faunas that could not be explained by a single catastrophic event.
8 December, 2020 - UmeƄ universitet
On 10 December, the Nobel Prize Ceremony will take place at which Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna will be awarded their Nobel Prizes in Chemistry. Emmanuelle Charpentier made the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 when she worked at UmeƄ University.
22 October, 2020 - UmeƄ universitet
The Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM) in UmeƄ has been granted SEK 170 million in operational support and another SEK 68 million for recruitments into data-driven Life Science by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
Expertsvar, The Swedish Research Council, Hantverkargatan 11B, Stockholm SWEDENPhone +46(0)8 546 44 000
P.O. Box 1035, SE-101 38 Stockholm, expertsvar@vr.se
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