Brian Stout's Death on June 15th

[guest]

I am Brian's father. I have been reading your posts since about the 1st of July. I have refrained from posting as I did not want my emotions to spew out on all of you. I would suspect that the majority of Base Jumpers are decent human beings and some of the posts would support that. However, there are a few of you out there that would not meet that definition.

I wish to say as little as possible; but, much needs to be said. Brian had a family - a family that loved him very very much. We miss him more than we enjoy life. I for one wish that I could have had an option of dying in his behalf. My life has changed since Brian's death and right now, I am not confident that my life will ever be whole or worth living again.

The entire family reads this base board on a regular basis. Some postings immediately after Brian's death were well received. They came across as a tribute to him and as a sincere and tragic loss to mankind. While we were hurting, we were still able to hold our heads high and be proud of the men and women that Brian associated with in this sport.

Then the posts got ugly. Different levels of ugliness and at different times different family members would be angry at what was being said. I asked each family member to hold their tongue and to not lower ourselves to the level of the author of the ugliness. I asked them all to refrain from posting. The family has abided by my request.

But, I have to say that the posting that I read this morning about "Who is the Most Hated Base Jumper" authored by Thomas Mauch is the most sick and disgusting piece of editorial production that I have seen in my 53 years on this earth.

To Mr. Mauch: If you wanted to hurt me, you did so. I cried. I actually cried as much today as when I went to Twin Falls to retrieve my dead son and have him cremated on Father's Day.

If you wanted to make me angry, you did so. Because after I cried, I got angry, a very unhealthy killing type of angry.

If you wanted to just tease me and make me think, you did so. Because after I cried and after I got over my initial anger, I felt a great deal of contempt for you; but, odly enough I felt sorry for you. You must be a very sad and bitter human being to start this post in the manner you did. For the life of me, I can not imagine why you would put Brian's name in this post as a hated base jumper when Brian was so new to the sport.

I am not going to go into the many questions I have with regard to your post. I actually think you are too sick to carry on a conversation of this magnitute. I also don't want to give credence to your post by repeating any part of it. I simply wish you to know that your post hit a target that you probably were aiming at or didn't care about.

I do however wish to point out something that is relatively important in your post. You stated in a couple of different posts that Brian either "screwed up" or "made a mistake" and is "dead for his stupidity." (If the quotes are not exact, they are at least the meaning.)

There have been many requests by many Base Jumpers for knowledge of Brian's death and the potential cause. I was awe struck by how quiet everyone involved was. Mr. Mauch, your irrational comments might make most people conclude incorrectly that indeed, Brian did do something stupid.

I want the entire Base Jumping community to know what killed Brian. There were two official investigations into Brian's death and nothing was ever posted concerning the outcome. I will tell you that both of those investigations concluded that there was no conclusive evidence of what caused the equipment failure. In other words, Brian's pilot chute was in tow for the majority of his jump and .4 seconds before he hit the water, his pilot chute inflated - obviously too late.

The investigations correctly identified Brian's equipment that he was using; but we are again awe struck as to a lack of reason for his pilot chute opening failure in their conclusions.

Two of the major manufacturers of Base equipment have internet sites with training information posted for their clients. Both of these sites would suggest that Brian was dead before he walked out on that bridge to jump with the other 7 jumpers.

Brian was using a 38" Pilot Chute, a 6'9" Bridle, went stowed, and was assigned a 1-2 second delay for deploying his Pilot Chute. Any one of these factors alone would not be a major cause for alarm - all of them in tandem were a death sentence for Brian. Brian had jumped that rig 3 or 4 times during that weekend and all went well because he did a 3-4 second delay. We have the tapes of his jumps and you can easily count 3 seconds on each jump.

The assignment of the 1-2 second delay is, in my mind, the biggest factor in Brian's death. I doubt that I have to educate the Base Jumping community about Pilot Chute size, the smaller Bridle, and a 1-2 second delay. But, if you go to the training sites, you will find that one company would suggest a 3-4 second delay with poor performance and the other would require a 4-7 second delay with his Pilot Chute and his Bridle.

Brian was a "low-timer" as you would call him. He really should not have been on that load at all. He actually had less than 20 Base Jumps to his name when he jumped his fatal jump. His stupidity, Mr. Mauch, was to trust his friends and the more experienced Jumpers on that load. Brian's inexperience in Base Jumping did not ring an alarm in his mind when assigned the 1-2 second delay. He knew nothing about the "Birble" created by the lower speed, he knew nothing about how the 6'9" Bridle would interface with a 1-2 delay. Lastly, he knew nothing about how a 38" Pilot Chute would be considered too small of a chute for 486 feet when all the other factors were in tandem.

So, Mr. Mauch, I was forced to react to your disgusting commentation concerning Brian's death as I do not want another Father or another loving family to lose a Base Jumper as we have. Brian's death was preventable. A couple of Saturday's ago, there was a Base Jumping article in the Time News there in Twin Falls. It also made the on line edition and made a posting on this site. But, on the same date, there was an article on Brian. It, however, did not make the on line edition. Too bad, as I proposed a procedure that could save lives and it was not posted on your board.

It might well be worth your time and effort to review that article. Among other things, it will tell you that Brian had a family that loves and misses him. Additionally, it proposed to the residents of Twin Falls a procedure that could be called "Brian's Paper" or the "Stout Paper." What it does is outline the proper combination of gear and delay for the most optimum of jumps at the Perrine Bridge. Somthing this simple would have saved Brian's life as it would have told him that his equipment, at best was marginal for that jump, at worst, was not allowed unless a 3-4 second delay was used.

Mr. Mauch, I really do feel sorry for you. But, your caustic post has spurred action on my part in the form of this post and between the two of us, perhaps someone will read this thread, think about it seriously, and maybe a life will be spared. I actually hope it will be yours as your after life will be unpleasant.

Please, please, please, to all who read this post. You don't have to like what I have said; but please do not be ugly. If you have something to say, be it positive or negative, you have the right to post it. But, I truly would love to hear from you if you have something positive to say.

For all the decent Base Jumpers who go out and perform this sport - please be safe!

Wayne Stout

[460]

my feelings are with you.

i would have responded angrily to Thomas Mauch if i actually read his incoherent ramblings.

blue skies.

[guest]

No doubt about it, a one and a half second delay with a stowed, 38-inch PC and 6 foot 9 inch bridle simply does not pass the common sense test! This was my personal take on the matter two months or so ago when the details were FINALLY released. Yet, I'm ashamed to say, I did not have the courage to say it outright here (as Mr. Stout, a nonBASE jumper, has).

We all have, of course, made our most egregious jumping misjudgements/oversights at one point or another (and have become better for them, hopefully: such that safe jumping results thereafter). This case though, ended in irrevocable tragedy. Your profound sadness is indeed appreciated Mr. Stout, for whatever that's not worth coming from me, or anybody else here. I'm sure it is of similarly little solace, but I think it is fair to suggest that the individuals involved that day (though experiencing nothing like what you have) will never be quite the same as a result of the event. Thankyou for your candid thoughts. Chuck Ramsay

[guest]

Mr. Stout ,
You are so very very correct on everything you have said here. Brian's death was avoidable and when he placed his faith in his peers apparently proved to be his biggest mistake.
This has been the worst year in the sports history for fatalities. Unfortunately it has been coming for a long time. The sport has gone through several changes over the last decade. The gear has evolved faster than the ability to fully understand it by many of the new comers into the sport. I have designed and built gear for the last 15 years and have been more and more reluctant to make it available. The gear that is being made available today is state of the art but sometimes can be equated the same as selling state of the art automatic weapons. Without the absolute understanding of the sport itself, the gear, what and why it does what it was designed for and what you are doing with it has (as we are realizing this year) created this illusion that if I buy BASE specific gear it will work just fine.
This sport is much more complex than many of the new comers realize. This year (which I can't really believe we have made it this long) has been and is going to be a wake up call that this sport is a very dangerous game for many different reasons.
There are many many grieving folks this year over lost loved ones to the sport. I have lost good friends and it hurts to know they are gone. It also drives me crazy knowing what happened that caused these accidents and they all could have been avoided.
You are correct about most BASE jumpers being good people. In fact most BASE jumpers are very special Kindred Spirits. Most whom you never see post a word on this forum but who regularly monitor it.

Be assured that this incident has made an impact as a learning experience and wake up call for future jumpers.

Your words and your attitude speak volumes that I hope reaches many. I offer my condolences to you and the rest of Brian's family.

dennis

[guest]

I don't know you or your son Mister Stout. My eyes are still welled with tears after reading your message. Thank you for such a well thought out post. I shouldn't speak for others but think that I can do it sincerely "we applaud and thank you for bringing a sense of reality back to this sad event" This is very real. The one's who suffer are Brian's friends and family.

Please honor Mr Stout his Son and his family and friends. Brian was out there to "Live" and live he was doing. When I told my Mom I was base jumping, she backed me on that decision. She backed me on it because she knows how much I like to live life. Mr Stout, I believe you may have backed your son's choices too.

Thanks Mr Stout. I will be a safe as I can be. I will ask many questions and share what I learn with others.

Tim Mattson

[guest]

My heartfelt sympathies to Mr. Stout and his family.

Of course though these sympathies are separate from the disgust that Robin Heid has poisoned and misinformed yet another mind. Mr Stout don't believe everything Mr Heid tells you, he has his own agenda.

And don't even give that Thomas as*ho^e the time of day, he is a nutcase and everyone knows it.

[guest]

>I am Brian's father. I have been reading your
>posts since about the 1st of July. I have
>refrained from posting as I did not want my
>emotions to spew out on all of you. I would
>suspect that the majority of Base Jumpers are
>decent human beings and some of the posts would
>support that. However, there are a few of you
>out there that would not meet that definition.
>
>I wish to say as little as possible; but, much
>needs to be said. Brian had a family - a family
>that loved him very very much. We miss him more
>than we enjoy life. I for one wish that I could
>have had an option of dying in his behalf. My
>life has changed since Brian's death and right
>now, I am not confident that my life will ever
>be whole or worth living again.
>
>The entire family reads this base board on a
>regular basis. Some postings immediately after
>Brian's death were well received. They came
>across as a tribute to him and as a sincere and
>tragic loss to mankind. While we were hurting,
>we were still able to hold our heads high and be
>proud of the men and women that Brian associated
>with in this sport.
>
>Then the posts got ugly. Different levels of
>ugliness and at different times different family
>members would be angry at what was being said.
>I asked each family member to hold their tongue
>and to not lower ourselves to the level of the
>author of the ugliness. I asked them all to
>refrain from posting. The family has abided by
>my request.
>
>But, I have to say that the posting that I read
>this morning about "Who is the Most Hated Base
>Jumper" authored by Thomas Mauch is the most
>sick and disgusting piece of editorial
>production that I have seen in my 53 years on
>this earth.
>
>To Mr. Mauch: If you wanted to hurt me, you did
>so. I cried. I actually cried as much today as
>when I went to Twin Falls to retrieve my dead
>son and have him cremated on Father's Day.
>
>If you wanted to make me angry, you did so.
>Because after I cried, I got angry, a very
>unhealthy killing type of angry.
>
>If you wanted to just tease me and make me
>think, you did so. Because after I cried and
>after I got over my initial anger, I felt a
>great deal of contempt for you; but, odly enough
>I felt sorry for you. You must be a very sad
>and bitter human being to start this post in the
>manner you did. For the life of me, I can not
>imagine why you would put Brian's name in this
>post as a hated base jumper when Brian was so
>new to the sport.
>
>I am not going to go into the many questions I
>have with regard to your post. I actually think
>you are too sick to carry on a conversation of
>this magnitute. I also don't want to give
>credence to your post by repeating any part of
>it. I simply wish you to know that your post
>hit a target that you probably were aiming at or
>didn't care about.
>
>I do however wish to point out something that is
>relatively important in your post. You stated
>in a couple of different posts that Brian either
>"screwed up" or "made a mistake" and is "dead
>for his stupidity." (If the quotes are not
>exact, they are at least the meaning.)
>
>There have been many requests by many Base
>Jumpers for knowledge of Brian's death and the
>potential cause. I was awe struck by how quiet
>everyone involved was. Mr. Mauch, your
>irrational comments might make most people
>conclude incorrectly that indeed, Brian did do
>something stupid.
>
>I want the entire Base Jumping community to know
>what killed Brian. There were two official
>investigations into Brian's death and nothing
>was ever posted concerning the outcome. I will
>tell you that both of those investigations
>concluded that there was no conclusive evidence
>of what caused the equipment failure. In other
>words, Brian's pilot chute was in tow for the
>majority of his jump and .4 seconds before he
>hit the water, his pilot chute inflated -
>obviously too late.
>
>The investigations correctly identified Brian's
>equipment that he was using; but we are again
>awe struck as to a lack of reason for his pilot
>chute opening failure in their conclusions.
>
>Two of the major manufacturers of Base equipment
>have internet sites with training information
>posted for their clients. Both of these sites
>would suggest that Brian was dead before he
>walked out on that bridge to jump with the other
>7 jumpers.
>
>Brian was using a 38" Pilot Chute, a 6'9"
>Bridle, went stowed, and was assigned a 1-2
>second delay for deploying his Pilot Chute. Any
>one of these factors alone would not be a major
>cause for alarm - all of them in tandem were a
>death sentence for Brian. Brian had jumped that
>rig 3 or 4 times during that weekend and all
>went well because he did a 3-4 second delay. We
>have the tapes of his jumps and you can easily
>count 3 seconds on each jump.
>
>The assignment of the 1-2 second delay is, in my
>mind, the biggest factor in Brian's death. I
>doubt that I have to educate the Base Jumping
>community about Pilot Chute size, the smaller
>Bridle, and a 1-2 second delay. But, if you go
>to the training sites, you will find that one
>company would suggest a 3-4 second delay with
>poor performance and the other would require a
>4-7 second delay with his Pilot Chute and his
>Bridle.
>
>Brian was a "low-timer" as you would call him.
>He really should not have been on that load at
>all. He actually had less than 20 Base Jumps to
>his name when he jumped his fatal jump. His
>stupidity, Mr. Mauch, was to trust his friends
>and the more experienced Jumpers on that load.
>Brian's inexperience in Base Jumping did not
>ring an alarm in his mind when assigned the 1-2
>second delay. He knew nothing about the
>"Birble" created by the lower speed, he knew
>nothing about how the 6'9" Bridle would
>interface with a 1-2 delay. Lastly, he knew
>nothing about how a 38" Pilot Chute would be
>considered too small of a chute for 486 feet
>when all the other factors were in tandem.
>
>So, Mr. Mauch, I was forced to react to your
>disgusting commentation concerning Brian's death
>as I do not want another Father or another
>loving family to lose a Base Jumper as we have.
>Brian's death was preventable. A couple of
>Saturday's ago, there was a Base Jumping article
>in the Time News there in Twin Falls. It also
>made the on line edition and made a posting on
>this site. But, on the same date, there was an
>article on Brian. It, however, did not make the
>on line edition. Too bad, as I proposed a
>procedure that could save lives and it was not
>posted on your board.
>
>It might well be worth your time and effort to
>review that article. Among other things, it
>will tell you that Brian had a family that loves
>and misses him. Additionally, it proposed to
>the residents of Twin Falls a procedure that
>could be called "Brian's Paper" or the "Stout
>Paper." What it does is outline the proper
>combination of gear and delay for the most
>optimum of jumps at the Perrine Bridge.
>Somthing this simple would have saved Brian's
>life as it would have told him that his
>equipment, at best was marginal for that jump,
>at worst, was not allowed unless a 3-4 second
>delay was used.
>
>Mr. Mauch, I really do feel sorry for you. But,
>your caustic post has spurred action on my part
>in the form of this post and between the two of
>us, perhaps someone will read this thread, think
>about it seriously, and maybe a life will be
>spared. I actually hope it will be yours as
>your after life will be unpleasant.
>
>Please, please, please, to all who read this
>post. You don't have to like what I have said;
>but please do not be ugly. If you have
>something to say, be it positive or negative,
>you have the right to post it. But, I truly
>would love to hear from you if you have
>something positive to say.
>
>For all the decent Base Jumpers who go out and
>perform this sport - please be safe!
>
>Wayne Stout

[feral]

Mr Stout i am very sorry about your sons death.



"Please, please, please, to all who read this post. You don't have to like what I have said; but please do not be ugly. If you have something to say, be it positive or negative, you have the right to post it. But, I truly would love to hear from you if you have something positive to say." <<Mr Stout>>




This is how i feel people can help this stop happening ,Back in Australia when i stated you had to have someone to be your teacher or mentor if you wanted to base jump they looked after you made shore you knew about gear about what can kill you and what can save you , and the other jumpers that you jump with but thats back in Australia where the base jumps are base jumps,I finally travelled to twin falls this year to see it.

Was you son jumping there by himself and not with his teachers ,did he have teachers or a group of jumpers to help him along they should have been the ones that told him that he was not ready mabye he would have lisened to them .They should have know that the short bridle was not good...

bsbd feral






:-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(

[guest]

Mr Stout

My sincerest condolences for your loss.

Every life is worth living, no matter how much heartache is suffered. Remember that you still have family and friends who want to share their friendship and love with you.

As for Thomas Mauch - there are many opinionated people on this BASE board. Some opinionated people have insufficient intelligence and sensitivity to contribute positively at the best of times. Their contributions border on the inhumane during tragedies. It sounds very much like Thomas is one of those people. There seems to be a general concensus in the BASE community that Thomas does not have an ounce of respect in him. Just remember that when you consider his writings.

As human beings, we are ALL prone to make mistakes. This does not make us lessor people. This would certainly be true for your son. To his immediate friends and family, HE IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE A WONDERFUL PERSON. To others, he was just another stranger. You should remember all the positive experiences that you have had in your lives together. Do not tarnish these memories with the inconsiderate an ill considered thoughts of a stranger.

Regarding who is responsible for your sons accident. I don't think it is fair to apportion blame to anyone in particular. it is not Brians fault, it is not the other jumpers faults. It is not . . . It seems that there were a number of factors that contributed to the accident. There are probably a number of people who contributed to each of these factors. But no individual is totally at fault. But blame will not bring Brian back. It will not enrich your lives or the lives of the jumpers who were with him. In fact, blame tends to heighten the level of anger and hatred. It will not make the sport or he world a better place.

There is a wealth of information available about the sport of BASE jumping, and this is available to ALL people. You mentioned the web sites of the manufacturers regarding pilot chutes versus delays. This has been available for a long time. ALL new jumpers can access this information and use it to quiz their instructors or themselves about whether or not they are doing it right.

BASE is an activity where each individual is TOTALLY responsible for their actions. You do have to put some faith in the people who are guiding you. But, you are still ultimately responsible for your own actions.

For all new jumpers out there, the best thing that you can learn from this experience is that it is up to you to assimilate as much information as possible before you start jumping and whilst you are learning (which is always).

The Wayne and the remainder of Brians family and friends, and to those that were on the jump or watching, Keep strong. Take care of one another.

[FLsurfer]

Mr. Stout,
I agree with you 100% about how wicked and evil some of the posts have been on this site. I can't even imagine the pain they must have caused for you and your family. And for anyone who would like to say that the Stouts can choose not to read these forums, remember, this is most likely one of the ways to for them to retain some sort of connection with Brian. I never met Brian or his family but they seem like the kind of people that I would choose to call friends and his father's post has affected my deeply.
All of my family knows and accepts the fact that I choose to participate in dangerous activities, like BASE jumping and surfing. I also made them promise to do exacly like you did, Mr. Stout. Which is, should I die performing one of these LOVES of mine that after an initial investigation, to release all findings. Whether it be my fault, equipment failure or just one of those things. I would rather the info be made public so that it could be discussed, argued, debated etc... so that no one else would die the same way.

[Rigalo]

I am new to the sport as well, and frequently visit this site for information. I try to be off, and practice the advice I got from some respectable Jumpers on this site, at my local DZ. However, much of the times I visited this site, I were unable to get any value out of it. There are a lot of BASE jumpers at my DZ, and I wonder if any of them ever visits this site. As time increases, it becomes less and less valuable to me as person, in my pursuits, because of all the un-information on it. Some of it would be offensive to a mere stranger, not to talk about a father who lost a son.

As it is every BASE jumpers responsibility in life, to be sure why he jumps, and about his gear, so it is your responsibility, when monitoring this site, about what your choose to read. Every person in life, even your wife, has in them what our preacher called ‘bait’. If you take it, you pay the penalty. Most of the times, you can smell bait a mile off. Don’t take it. No body knows the truth better than you. No body, knows better what happened, knew your son better than you and your family. I am pretty confident, that this site does not provide you any more information that you already got. The BASE community is big, and growing every day, and the number of people on this site, is almost insignificant. (I am not referring to those who make an un-missed contribution to BASE.)

Most of all, I believe it to be your and my responsibility, to move forward, not to be offended by evil, and to live the truth.

Rigalo

[Mark K]

Mr. Stout
I am also very sorry for your loss and pain. I can only guess how much worse stupied posting on this board make it for your family. I travel to AZ for work and had the opportunity to meet up with Brian and his girl on a bright sunny day doing water jumps off some clifffs. My mermoies will always be of a smiling easy going young energetic friend who was having fun with the group. The loss is felt all the way over here to the east coast. I'm glad to having meet Brian and that I have some video to see still him. I hope these words help you a little. We are not all jerks. But we do have some amoung us.
Peace.
Mark K #680

[BASE_689]

Mr. Stout,
I agree with every single word you wrote. My feelings are with you.
Please, accept my sincere condolescences to yourself, to the rest of your family and to all Brian's friends.
I am so sorry for your loss and I hope now Brian is flying free high up there in the sky.
At the same time, I am so sorry that someone may have offended Brian's memory and yourself, too. I would have never wanted to read those offensive posts.
The main reason I wrote this post is to make you, Mr. Stout, understand that the great majority of us, BASE jumper of world community, are really good people, taking care each other, helping friends in many different ways, even if belonging to different social statuses, different age, different work, different behaviour during the normal life, but we have all this common feature of love for freedom and for the flight. And for our friends.
And we all are so sorry when a beloved friend, even if we do not know him personally, even if we live in the other part of the world, passes the way.

Still my feelings are with anyone of Brian's family and friends.

Peace to Brian

Stay safe out there
Blue Skies and Soft Walls
BASE #689

[Yuri]

Dear Mr. Stout,

In the last month i have had to personally deal with, in one way or another, 3 BASE fatalities. It is probably unfair for me to compare the pain, but our community is very small and we do feel like a family, despite the image this Board often projects. I have lost a very good friend i knew for many years, another very good friend i just got to know and one more jumper i was hoping to meet for the first time after he landed... It really hurts and makes me angry. I cannot stop thinking of why and what exactly has happened. We only know certain facts and details, but a lot about this accidents will never be known exactly. The truth is, what usually bites us comes unseen. Everything we prepare for we can deal with, but what kills us sneaks in from behind. There are multiple scenarios possible based on the known facts, and speculating about them only adds to the pain but does not bring answers. I am very sorry about your loss, it is also my loss even if on a different scale. Please forgive those who post trash here if you could, as they usually do so because they fight their own pains and demons, wherever those come from. Anger comes from pain, and weaker people have to vent it out on others. This is for all of us: please, be strong!

On a technical side: a smaller PC (such as 38") generally inflates quicker and more reliably than a bigger one. You are absolutely correct when talking about a proper PC size/delay combinations - a bigger PC creates more drag at lower airspeed. However, in case of this particular accident, PC did not inflate and therefore i believe that PC size was not a factor.

bsbd!

Yuri.

[guest]

Ditto on everything that Yuri said. These are wise words from a very experienced jumper who does not live or jump in a bubble.

Also one more tech note to add to Yuri's is that 4 second delay at Twin Falls would put a round canopy jumper into the water at about line stretch I would think. I am not sure if Brian was doing 4 plus seconds each time like his father said, but if that is true it seems like that's a very deep delay with a round canopy from a 480 foot bridge?

Another thing on pc size is that the posted charts on gear manufactures sites are suggestions for conservative and proven size for delay range and are more often than not not followed exactly.

[guest]

Mr Stout and family

You have earned the respect of the international BASE family with your letter, although that will be of little value to you at this time. Mausch has now, I believe, lost any small, remaining scratch of respect he may have had, not only within the BASE community, but hopefully, within himself as well, although that will be of little value to you at this time. What I hope may be of value, is that your feelings are being felt beyond the borders of the USA, they are being felt by jumpers in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and wherever this board is being read. And most importantly, I believe that your feelings are being felt and appreciated with enormous pride by Brian. I too, cried when I read you letter, but it was a response which will reach your son.
From another country, I offer hopes for your comfort, and I offer respect, Sir.

[guest]

Four seconds of free fall would be around 256 feet down and about 70 MPH, according to the charts. The typical round canopy takes about 120 feet to fully open on a buddy assist (lowest air speed). At that air speed it may well open in just another 100 feet or so. Thus, a jumper would still be under the round canopy around 380 feet down, at very most, after four seconds and a toss. This leaves 100 feet to spare at the Perrine, for sure. Though three seconds is all I've ever been interested in there, or have seen anyone do, I have actually heard of one rather well known jumper who did a five second delay with a smaller round canopy. Four seconds on a round would certainly be scary (and not something to be in any way advocated, much less to make a habit of) but it ain't gonna put your feet in the water unless you're a slow counter.

[base311]

>I am Brian's father.

Dear Mr. Stout,

Foremost, my sincerest condolances to you and your family, as well as to Brian's friends. This is tragic and I am certain no amount of discussion surrounding this incident will lessen the pain you are all feeling. My heart goes out to you all.

I too am thoroughly disgusted with the hate-filled tripe that has been posted to the board in the past few days.

But I do have several points of contention with some of what you have posted, so I will take the opportunity to constructively add my opinion to this subject. I certainly do not mean to be inflammatory, and I hope that some of the arguments I am about to make do not further your anger.


<stuff snipped>
>I want the entire Base Jumping community to
>know
>what killed Brian. There were two official
>investigations into Brian's death and nothing
>was ever posted concerning the outcome. I will
>tell you that both of those investigations
>concluded that there was no conclusive evidence
>of what caused the equipment failure. In other
>words, Brian's pilot chute was in tow for the
>majority of his jump and .4 seconds before he
>hit the water, his pilot chute inflated -
>obviously too late.
>
>The investigations correctly identified Brian's
>equipment that he was using; but we are again
>awe struck as to a lack of reason for his pilot
>chute opening failure in their conclusions.
>
>Two of the major manufacturers of Base
>equipment
>have internet sites with training information
>posted for their clients. Both of these sites
>would suggest that Brian was dead before he
>walked out on that bridge to jump with the other
>7 jumpers.
>
>Brian was using a 38" Pilot Chute, a 6'9"
>Bridle, went stowed, and was assigned a 1-2
>second delay for deploying his Pilot Chute. Any
>one of these factors alone would not be a major
>cause for alarm - all of them in tandem were a
>death sentence for Brian. Brian had jumped that
>rig 3 or 4 times during that weekend and all
>went well because he did a 3-4 second delay. We
>have the tapes of his jumps and you can easily
>count 3 seconds on each jump.
>
>The assignment of the 1-2 second delay is, in my
>mind, the biggest factor in Brian's death. I
>doubt that I have to educate the Base Jumping
>community about Pilot Chute size, the smaller
>Bridle, and a 1-2 second delay. But, if you go
>to the training sites, you will find that one
>company would suggest a 3-4 second delay with
>poor performance and the other would require a
>4-7 second delay with his Pilot Chute and his
>Bridle.
>
>Brian was a "low-timer" as you would call him.
>He really should not have been on that load at
>all. He actually had less than 20 Base Jumps to
>his name when he jumped his fatal jump. His
>stupidity, Mr. Mauch, was to trust his friends
>and the more experienced Jumpers on that load.
>Brian's inexperience in Base Jumping did not
>ring an alarm in his mind when assigned the 1-2
>second delay. He knew nothing about the
>"Birble" created by the lower speed, he knew
>nothing about how the 6'9" Bridle would
>interface with a 1-2 delay. Lastly, he knew
>nothing about how a 38" Pilot Chute would be
>considered too small of a chute for 486 feet
>when all the other factors were in tandem.

I do seriously mean this with all due respect, but perhaps Brian should not have been jumping _AT ALL_ if what you say is true about his knowing, "...nothing about [a] 'birble' (sic)," or "...the 6'9" bridle," OR that, "...he knew nothing about how a 38" Pilot Chute would be considered too small of a chute for 486 feet when all the other factors were in tandem." And while I am not familiar with Brian's training background nor how much time he spent in personal preparation to begin BASE, I stare in blank disbelief that he could have been so unprepared as to overlook the extremely common recommendation to use a long bridle and a big pilot chute, and not made his own measurements to ensure that those items did in fact exist on his equipment (or to determine that it was a problem). Perhaps he knew, and did nothing about it. The fact is we don't know if he did or not. And as you point out, the freefall delay/pilot chute size recommendation charts are available as a _guide_ to proper selection of a pilot chute, but each jumper is responsible for configuring his gear correctly for a given jump, and those recommendations are just that: recommendations. They are a starting point, and the various configurations plotted on the charts are not separated by hard and fast lines - there is an overlapping grey area between all of those size/speed recommendations that may be adjusted based upon site factors. Evidence of this grey area comes to light when one manufacturer recommends one thing, and another manufacturer recommends something slightly different, as you point out. Irregardless of the nuances of pilot chute sizes, the pilot chute size recommendation charts were __just as available__ to Brian as they are to anyone else in this sport, as was the information regarding bridle lengths. So while you may choose to believe that the assignment of a 1-2 second delay was the biggest factor in Brian's death, I choose to believe that the biggest factor may well have been the _first time_ he stepped off of a 486' bridge with a 6'9" bridle and a 38" pilot chute. In a tragically insidious twist, it worked the first few times - which may have lulled him into a sense that it was okay to continue jumping. On the contrary, he would have been no better off had the problem come to light in a similar fashion during his first jump. Nevertheless, he was jumping non-standard gear. I don't think anyone can deny that. And, while the gear he was jumping may well have worked time after time after time, we are nevertheless here discussing this today, most unfortunately.

The use of a short bridle and small pilot chute is in stark contradiction to popular BASE jumping wisdom adopted after a fatality from the 876' NRGB in 1987 (in fact a longer bridle and bigger pilot chute were likely already in use by most BASE jumpers at that time - see #14 @ http://juliabell.att.net ). My point here is that these aren't the kinds of major technical advances in the sport to which Mr. McGlynn was referring; rather, these are basic guidelines from which to begin in this sport - guidelines that have been around since _at least_ 1987. Not to further inflame you, but if Brian had read those charts on those manufacturer's websites to which you referred, and the basic rigging guidelines listed here on this board and many other places where this information is readily available on the internet, then perhaps he might have questioned his gear prior to ever going to the perrine.

At a final point the ultimate responsibility comes to rest squarely on the shoulders of anyone who jumps off of anything with a parachute as to whether the parachute will perform its intended purpose. It is not the responsibility of each and every jumper to ensure that each and every other jumper's gear is configured correctly.

Sure, Brian was a 'newbie' and, in my OPINION, may not have been prepared to be on that load. But the fact that he died during his participation in an 8-way does not necessarily mean that the 8-way was a contributing factor. You appear to use the term 'assigned' in an effort displace responsibility from Brian and attach it to the other jumpers who were there on that load AND, in a way, to everyone else who was there who didn't notice that his bridle was too short or his pilot chute too small. This idea you have that they 'assigned' him a delay that resulted in his death is something that I cannot leave unattended. First and foremost, there is a fundamental philosophy in BASE: you are not obligated to jump - EVER. Nobody in this sport will tell you what to do and what not to do. People will hand out a bazillion suggestions and spout all kinds of opinions about what's right and what's wrong, but apart from a few general recommendations, people are free to do what they will. Even at nearly 25 years old, this is still a new sport with new discoveries being made everyday, and by participating in this sport you become a test jumper... and for the most part we don't all go around doubting or second-guessing other people's gear configurations. In other words, had I been there and if I had asked Brian how many jumps he had and he had told me fifteen, that does not automatically sound an alarm in my head to demand that he unpack all of his gear in front of me so we can go over it piece-by-piece to ensure that it is up to snuff. He could have been a 5000 jump skygod skydiver for all I might have known...

There is an expectation that people who come to this sport are already prepared - or at least already have the basics in mind. None of this is not to say that we aren't on the lookout for other people's safety, just that we don't really second-guess each other's packjobs and gear configurations. Finally, without a smoking gun or a busted fanbelt (as was used in past posts), we (READ: I) don't know if the 6'9" bridle and the 38" pilot chute was even the culprit, but, certainly, trying to cast any amount of blame onto the other jumpers is just as cavalier and short-sighted as jumping non-standard BASE equipment or jumping to conclusions that anyone else had any responsibility for Brian's death other than himself. Perhaps you didn't mean to use the term 'assign' in such a fashion as to imply blame, but I am being extra vigilent in ensuring that a dangerous precedent is not set herewith.

>So, Mr. Mauch, I was forced to react to your
>disgusting commentation concerning Brian's death
>as I do not want another Father or another
>loving family to lose a Base Jumper as we have.
>Brian's death was preventable. A couple of
>Saturday's ago, there was a Base Jumping article
>in the Time News there in Twin Falls. It also
>made the on line edition and made a posting on
>this site. But, on the same date, there was an
>article on Brian. It, however, did not make the
>on line edition. Too bad, as I proposed a
>procedure that could save lives and it was not
>posted on your board.
>
>It might well be worth your time and effort to
>review that article. Among other things, it
>will tell you that Brian had a family that loves
>and misses him. Additionally, it proposed to
>the residents of Twin Falls a procedure that
>could be called "Brian's Paper" or the "Stout
>Paper." What it does is outline the proper
>combination of gear and delay for the most
>optimum of jumps at the Perrine Bridge.
>Somthing this simple would have saved Brian's
>life as it would have told him that his
>equipment, at best was marginal for that jump,
>at worst, was not allowed unless a 3-4 second
>delay was used.

Mr Stout, I cannot begin to know what you are experiencing, but I do have an 8 year old daughter myself - and if I were to lose her I am sure I would find myself in a similar condition as you.

As I believe we all owe it to Brian to learn something from his death, I'll make a promise to you, and would ask the BASE community to adopt a similar stance: to each and every person I meet from now on, whom I discover has fewer than 20 BASE jumps, regardless of whether the person is my student or not, I will ask the following questions - even if it offends them and makes me look like a jerk for asking:

1. "Would you like to unpack your rig and let me go over your gear configuration with you to verify that you are jumping standard gear, that it's properly assembled and has no obvious signs of possible failure?"

2. Have you given consideration to the altitude you're jumping, the delay you intend to take, the size of the pilot chute you're using and whether or not you think it will work?

If someone answers no to the first question and yes to the second question, then I will conclude that the jumper knows what he is doing.

If they answer yes to the first question and no to the second question, I will take the time to do an inspection, help with a repack and discuss pilot chute sizes and maybe it will save a life one day.

As always, I am happy to lend my thoughts to any jumper's questions.

>Please, please, please, to all who read this
>post. You don't have to like what I have said;
>but please do not be ugly. If you have
>something to say, be it positive or negative,
>you have the right to post it. But, I truly
>would love to hear from you if you have
>something positive to say.

I really do hope that I have not come across as mean, condescending nor ugly. I certainly do not mean any disrespect - I'm just defending freedom (which by default implies full acceptance of responsibility for one's actions).

I wish you and your family and Brian's friends peace. Feel free to respond to me here or off-list at base311@basejumper.net

>For all the decent Base Jumpers who go out and
>perform this sport - please be safe!

Thank you, and we will.

Sincerely,
K. Gardner Sapp
BASE 311
Atlanta, Georgia

[d-dog]

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and knowledge, Gardner.

Mr. Stout, as a father myself I can only empathize partially with your loss of Brian. I knew him for only a few days, and even at that it hurt so much to say goodbye and not a day goes by that I do not think of how he shared his positive energy with me and how much I appreciated knowing him.

I have been torn on whether to write what I am now going to write. However, your words of courage and caring for the BASE community - even after a careless renegade said such horrible things about your son - have convinced me that I must say what I have to say. These are simply my words and opinions, nothing more.

Brian did not die because his pilot chute was too small, his bridle was too short, or his delay was not long enough. He did not die because of a combination of all three of these things.

I believe, based on everything I have seen and everything I understand about this incident, that a packing error caused his death. I was the only person to watch him in freefall from less than 100 feet away, and I was the only person who watched his pilot chute inflate when it finally did from a distance close enough to see the details of the inflation.

While his bridle was slightly shorter than what most of us jump, and his pilot chute was a bit smaller than the 42 inch pilot chutes many of us jump from that object with regularity, his gear configuration did not cause the PC in tow.

I'm not going to go into a drawn-out argument of why I believe this to be so. I am no technical expert, but I have spent many hours reviewing all the data I have had available, and I have my own personal observations as well.

To emphasize what I am saying, I would gladly jump the same configuration (same size PC, same bridle length, same delay, stowed) 20 times from the Perrine. I know many other very experienced jumpers would do the same. What I believe is that we might experience a slightly slower canopy extraction, but (particularly with a round parachute) nothing dangerous.

I am only one man, and this is my opinion. Whether I am right or wrong will not bring Brian back. My internal guilt that I did not catch Brian's packing error is far greater than it would be if I believed he simply jumped a bad gear configuration. While I am not responsible for any other jumper's packing techniques, that doesn't make me feel any better - I wish with all my heart I would have seen his error, and corrected it.

I am sharing my opinion here only because I feel very, very strongly that other jumpers who use this packing technique are at terrible risk of death themselves. It is such a a small error, but one that has a high probability of causing a fatality. There are many jumpers in our country who use this packing technique, and they need to know that their chose technique will kill them if they make this one small error.

Please, fellow jumpers, whether you believe my analysis or another analysis, DO NOT USE A RUBBER BAND TO PACK YOUR PILOT CHUTE. It is a crazy technique, and adds unnecessary risk of error for no concomitant increase in packing safety. It is a single point of failure that has no other precedent in any other BASE packing technique. It should never be used, and NEVER be taught to another jumper as an accepted technique.

As others have said, those of us who were on Brian's final load are changed forever. There isn't one of us who would not give almost anything to go back and prevent what caused Brian's death - whatever that cause was. There is not one of us who has not dealt with the after-effects of watching a fellow jumper die in front of us. We have each dealt with it in our own way, but none has found an easy path.

All of our pain is nothing compared to that felt by his family and close friends, but that knowledge has not lessened our pain.

Mr. Stout, I applaud your courage and strength. I mean no disrespect to you, and none at all to Brian. As jumpers, we have ALL made mistakes and we are ALL alive today only because, usually, these mistakes have not been fatal. Any of us could have been Brian that day, and my belief that a packing error caused his fatality in no way takes away from my respect for your son. He was a man of courage, as are all jumpers, and a man who was living a life true to his heart and his soul - a testament to his parents and the values they clearly instilled in him.

Nothing prepares us for the loss of a loved one, and nothing replaces the hole in our soul that their passing leaves behind. I now know this from firsthand experience. I am almost ashamed to tarnish this loss with a debate about gear and technical matters. Even so, I believe this debate is positive for our sport and everyone who participates in it.

I hope that we can all take some small piece of learning away from this tragedy, as we all must do from any BASE incident. Ours is a sport that is painfully unforgiving of error, perhaps more so than any other sport. Let us all remember this when we jump, and let us all heed Gardner's fine words to watch out for our fellow jumpers, no matter what their experience or skill level.

BASE is, on one hand, a purely individual sport. At exit point, we are each irrevocably alone. However, we are also each so deeply dependant on one another, as well: for knowledge, for support, for comraderie, and for caring.

Peace,

Douglas B. Spink
doug@wrinko.com

[guest]

Unfortunately Tomas Mauch convinced me that even in the sport like BASE jumping we have narrow minded individuals. I feel bad knowing that our small community is not ''TALIBAN FREE''
I hope I am not the only one who feel bad about it....
Regards
Robi

[guest]

Well Mr. Spink,
You certainly seem quiet the eye witness. I am somewhat puzzled as to why you never gave any consideration to the question that I asked you via private email. I am still waiting for an answer. If you have forgotten the question I can post it for you here in forum.

Thank you for your time,
Cheryl Stout, mother of Brian Stout

[d-dog]

While I recall several conversations we had in person and via email, I don't recall a question that you asked that I did not answer.

Mrs. Stout, please email me directly (doug@wrinko.com) and I will answer any and all of your questions to the best of my knowledge.

Peace,

Douglas B. Spink
doug@wrinko.com
www.wrinko.com

[guest]

I thought this thread should be brought back up to the top. Mr. Stout's words need to be read (twice by some). Thomas, you seem to comment on _every_ post, but I don't see any of your "discourse" on this thread...
You constantly complain about others choosing anonymity in this forum--I'd like to point out that signing your name to a post doesn't make what is said any more or less valuable. I think you hide behind the computer as much as anyone (like me) who doesn't sign their real name to a post. Many of your attacks (such as the one referenced by Mr. Stout) are unwarranted and chicken #####. If you want to stir a pot, why don't you get in the faces of those you want to attack? I would love to have been there if you had had the gumption to do this to Earl before he died. Then we'll see if you have the courage to stand behind the words you spew forth.
This thread should be a reminder to us that this forum is not just viewed by the BASE community. There are most likely WAY MORE non-BASEjumpers that read this forum than those that are. With the high number of fatalities we have had this year, I for one fear that even more marginalization of our sport is coming down the pipes in the form of laws and other restrictions that we just don't need. Before this happens, even more visitors will come to this site. Do we want to present ourselves and our sport to the world as a bunch of bickering dipshits? If we want to stand a chance in the upcoming war on BASE, we need to show some unification publicly. If you have a problem with another BASEjumper, take it to privte e, or have a good ol' T&F party, or whatever--just keep it out of the public eye.
.02
-----*-----

[guest]

Enough as been said. The pot does not need to be stirred and brought to the forefront again. Many very good points and some healing words as well, have been stated here. Let this rest please. Mr Stout asked us to be as safe as we can so lets do just that. Read the good points left on here and let it be. Keep it with you.

Fly Free Brian S... Fly Free

[guest]

This is Brian's Father again. I want to thank each and every one of you for your kind and courteous responses. Everyone has been so gracious with their respect and comments. Even those who seemingly disagreed did so with a great deal of respect.

Doing this post has been somewhat therapeutic for me and your responses added to its therapeutic value.

I think I see a need to debate this and every other accident in this sport and some of the posts did come across in debate form. I personally do not want to debate the issues of this or any other tragedy over a media such as this forum because I think debates lose their effectiveness if one can not immediately and effectively refute or cross examine what is being said.

Sometimes "Specialists" come across as "Experts" when they have the capacity to speak without interference. They certainly have something worthwhile to say; it's just that people reading it might read it as "actual," "factual," or "truth" instead of what it is - their opinion.

I must, however, respond to two of the posts. These gentlemen are certainly good teachers for the sport and probably well respected in the sport for they appeared to have a great deal of knowledge. They provided a response which was indeed very respectful, thought provoking, yet short of my belief of what happened. They certainly are entitled to their belief; but, I do not want the reader of this entire post to walk away thinking that their view is correct in an absolute fashion.

To Mr. Gardner Sapp. Thank you for your insightful post. Your post would seemingly give great weight that we are all absolutely responsible for our own well being in the sport of BASE. Your commentary centered around that theme. And for that, I would agree. Brian walked out on that bridge and jumped. His amount of training and experience was too little in my opinion; but, he jumped. I will not argue that point with you.

However, you seemed to have a great deal of grief over the word "assigned." To quote, you stated: "You appear to use the term 'assigned' in an effort to displace responsibility from Brian and attach it to the other jumpers who were there on that load...." I truly wasn't attempting to do that; but your point is valid in that I guess I was doing just that.

I could have used another word - perhaps the word could have been, asked, requested, told, directed, suggested, et al. My point, Mr. Sapp, is that the use of a 1-2 second delay was not Brian's idea. I wasn't displacing responsibility from Brian, I simply was suggesting that "in tandem" this was but one more thing that added to Brian's demise.

You suggested you were being extra vigilent in ensuring that a dangerous precedent is not set herewith. I really do not think a precedent can be set in this forum. We are not in a court of law - I would think that is where we should worry about that.

Please let me have my understanding and beliefs without prejudice at this point. I will point out that there were two investigations - each speak to the 1-2 second delay given to Brian. Therefore, the words are theirs, not mine.

To "D-dog." I would also like to thank you for your well thought out post. It was kind, respectful, and showed a lot of class. You are however, completely and irrevocably incorrect in your analysis that a packing error caused his death. I must say that your "throw away" of my analysis of the events was a little caustic. It tends to give the reader of this post a thought process that is completely wrong. You must understand that I have 2 investigations, hours and hours of research, and discussion with many people in the sport.

Let me attend to your rubber band theory. This is the second time that someone has thrown this out in the mix. Perhaps it was you that did so the first time, I can not remember.

Brian's mother was sitting with him at the picnic table when he packed the Pilot Chute that he jumped at his death. Brian was proudly showing his mother his training and packing skills. Brian specifically told his mother that one must never leave the rubber band in the pack job. He then took it off and handed it to her and said something to the effect jokingly that she was his witness. They laughed; but, the point is, there is no rubber band left to cause his Pilot Chute to be in stow.

I truly hope that I have dismissed this from your thought process because that is not what killed Brian and I don't want you or anyone else to minimize the real reasons which I stated in my post. Now, would I argue that using a rubber band is a good technique in packing a Pilot Chute? Absolutely not! But, that is not the issue here. Again, I have my beliefs and understanding based upon a lot of "stuff." You were there and witnessed his death; but, I have the investigations and I would hope that someone inquired of you at that point. If not, I would be extremely disappointed in the investigators.

Again, to all, thanks for reading my post and please be careful out there.


Wayne Stout

[Alabanana]

Mr. Stout:
Thanks for your time and input. It is therapeutic for us, as well as for you. It might be a bad analogy, but it reminds me of Fred Goldman during the O.J. Simpson trial. He vented his spleen, and it worked for him and for those of us who were watching nightly.
I did not know your son, but I bet he was a heck of a good guy, with parents as loving as you. May you heal well from your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Joe Lee
Birmingham,AL

[d-dog]

Mr Stout, your words on this subject and obvious caring for our sport and its participants are both moving and deeply appreciated.

I also appreciate the additional data you have added to the discussion. While it is no compensation for the loss of your son, this discussion has most certainly caused many jumpers around the world to carefully re-evaluate both their packing technique and their choice of equipment. For this, we all owe you a debt of gratitude.

At this point, I think it best to let the technical debate rest; there is perhaps no final, uncontested resolution to this question, though I understand your position and supporting data.

My respect for your son runs deep. As I have said before, each and every active BASE jumper in the world has made many mistakes in their jumping; through good fortune alone, most of us have survived our mistakes, learned from them, and become safer jumpers. There is NO jumper who has never made a packing error, a gear configuration error, or an error during a jump that could have (had things taken another course) killed him or her. It is a fact of our sport.

Whatever mistake caused Brian's incident, it takes nothing away from his courage or the respect we grant him as a BASE participant. Each and every time we jump, we take our life in our hands in a very tangible way; Brian had the courage to follow his heart into our sport, and from what I saw of him during the weekend in which we jumped together, he was a careful and competent jumper. He was not reckless or careless in what I saw, not at all.

I am honored to have shared time with your son, and wish you and his entire family the best in learning to cherish his memory while moving on with your own lives in positive directions. Brian's memory also lives on in the hearts of those with whom he jumped, even if only for a few days.

Peace,

Douglas B. Spink (aka "D-d0g")
ddog@wrinko.com
www.wrinko.com

[never 2 old]

Let me first introduce myself. I am Brian's mother. I was with my son the last 3 days of his life and I witnessed his last jump.

I would first and foremost like to thank all of you who have expressed kind words and condolences. I don't believe in my son's wildest imagination , when he comtemplated the possibilty of his death, that he would have thought that his death would have reached around the world.

I, like Brian's father, have been monitoring this forum for some time now. I have read things which have touched my heart, made me angry and just down right hurt me. For those of you who fall into the latter two categories, you have my pity.

I would like to reiterate Brian's fathers statement about the rubberband. There was none. The very object which was so quickly blamed is at this very moment in my possesion and will remain so until I draw my last breath.

The next thing I would like to address is the question of blame. Do I blame anyone? The answer is no. If I tried to place blame my son would have to be the first in line. However, there is the question of responsiblity. Had my son lived he would have been the first to have taken the responsiblity for his poor judgement and lack of training. The sad part of all of this is that others who also have responsibility in this drama have chosen not to own up to it. They also have my pity, for they are the ones who have to live with themselves.

My son would have made a fine addition to your community and there are those of you out there that I would have been proud to have him jump with.

My thoughts and prayers are with you. Be safe.

Cheryl Stout

[K]

Dear Wayne, Cheryl, and all of Brian's family and friends:

I just took a call from a BASE jumper who, from the very beginning, was an indifferent packer. This gentleman hates packing, has always paid a packer at the dz, and was a less than enthusiastic student to BASE packing. I figured he'd either get to like packing or suffer the consequences of off-heading openings.

Since I formed my opinion of this man's packing, Brian died. I guess this really impressed my friend, because he just told me that he now packs his BASE rig "stitch perfect", and gives the credit to his changed attitude to Brian. He thanked Brian for the influence that helped him come to the realization that he could encounter serious difficulty or worse from a packing problem. Twice during our phone call he mentioned his flawless packing and both times said "thank you Brian". I'm sure he contributes his newfound respect for packing to Brian when ever he talks to people.

I thought you might want to know that people are taking Brian's incident to heart. This man did a complete 180 regarding his feelings about packing; I was amazed to hear the change in him. So, some good is already coming of Brian's sacrifice to the sport. I know that I, too, have much more respect and regard for my assessment process, whether a certain jump is ok for me at this time, or not.

I wish this was more well-written, but I'm short on time and just wanted to get this post to you where maybe it will instill some nice feelings.

Thanks for your time.

c'ya,
K

[guest]

I would like to thank you for taking the time to share this story. When I first started reading the BaseBoard this is the kind of thing I had hoped for, not the finger pointing, just honest open discussion.

Myself, and the rest of Brian's family, have our theories and beliefs as to the cause of his death. Unfortunately, thats all they will ever be.

The only good that can possibly come from my son's death would be that someone, or maybe a lot of someone's, will live a longer and fuller life because they remember what happened to Brian and take extra time and give extra thought to what they are about to do.

This is my son's legacy to the basejumping community.

Thank you again for your post, and take nothing for granted.

Cheryl Stout

[chris-fs]

dear cheryl
i dont know what to add
but just thought id say my heart goes out to you and to say that from what you've written im sure that brian loved you as much as you love him......