Basically I take full responsibility for Brian’s participation on the 8-way. If I had to (that is, when I have to) make a future call in a similar set of circumstances then I’d make the same call.

I believe that the 8-way are Brian’s fatality are two separate incidents that are not related (ie. The 8-way did not contribute to the p/c malfunction).

I am not posting this as a justification for placing Brian on the 8-way. I am posting this as a means of education in regards organizing big ways on BASE jumps. It is unfortunate that a fatality occurred on the example given here. There are many other multi ways that I have organized or participated in which had similarities in regards to experience levels (including the 24-way from Kjerag and the infamous 11-way from the "High Point" in Australia).

As always in BASE there are generalized rules which work very well (eg. Don’t allow low experienced people on big ways or don’t jump walls when it is windy), however there are also times when the combination of many factors make some of those generalized rules obsolete. The ability to make the decision to decide when the generalized rules do not apply comes from extensive experience in that realm.

I believe allowing somebody with Brian’s experience level (which was more than 12 BASE jumps) is perfectly acceptable from an object with zero object strike potential provided certain parameters are met. Basically the parameters are that the low-experienced person can in no way interfere with the other jumpers (in freefall or under canopy), and in turn, that the other jumpers can in no way interfere with the low-experienced person, regardless of how badly the planned delays or exit order are made.

Brian was placed in a position on the 8-way so that when he exited (early or late), or the delay he did, was of zero consequence to the other jumpers in freefall or under canopy. In multi way terms he was basically doing a solo.
I had observed Brian jumping his round over two days many times. He would consistently take about a 2 second delay. He showed excellent body position in freefall and control of his round canopy. His allocated delay for the 8-way was 2 seconds but it didn’t really matter what he did.
On either side of Brian the two most experienced jumpers on the load were placed (myself and RL with almost 600 BASE jumps and lots of big-way experience). Both RL and myself were also jumping rounds with maximum delays allocated. Given the glide ratios of round canopies and horizontal separation, there was no way a canopy collision could have occurred regardless what Brian did.
With the exception of Brian, I knew everybody else on the load very well. I knew their strengths and weaknesses in regards to BASE and had jumped on many multi-ways with them in the past. A few of the jumpers on this load had previously participated in an 8-way and 10-way from the Perrine. Nobody voiced any objection to Brian’s participation given that he was jumping a round.

The spread on the 8-way was as follows (from left to right facing the bridge if you were a spectator at the bottom). The horizontal spread was as large as I could make it given the flight plan. Jumper #1 and #2 exited over land. The rest exited over water. Jumpers #1, 2 and 4 were the only people landing on land (to minimize flight congestion).

Jumper #1 (200+ BASE jumps): Square canopy slider down. Delay: Go ‘n throw.
Jumper #2 (450+ BASE jumps): Square canopy slider down. Delay: 3 seconds.
Jumper #3 (120+ BASE jumps): Square canopy slider up (packed for a snivel). Delay 3.5 seconds.
Jumper #4 (150 BASE jumps): Square canopy slider down. Delay 1.5 seconds.
Jumper #5 (500 BASE jumps): Round canopy. Delay: Deck
Jumper #6 RL (almost 600 BASE jumps): Round canopy. Delay: Deck.
Jumper #7 Brian (around 20 BASE jumps): Round canopy: Delay: 2 seconds.
Jumper #8 Myself (1000+ BASE jumps). Round canopy. Delay: Deck

The most critical positions on the 8-way were jumper #2 and #4. My knowledge of their abilities gave me faith that they would do the delay they were allocated. I spent extra time with them prior to the jump discussing their delays. However given their horizontal separation we all felt a canopy collision would be easy to avoid if indeed they botched their delays and had off-headings towards each other.
As with all multi-ways the flight plan was extensively discussed as well as contingencies if something went wrong on the exit (eg. If somebody with a shorter delay next to you exited early, then abort your jump). The timing of the exit was planned many times before the jump.
I then placed each jumper on the bridge and once again asked them the following questions (these are standard questions to ask at the exit point on big ways):

“Are you OK jumping from this location?”
“Are you OK with your delay?”
“Are you OK with the people jumping next to you, their planned delay, their equipment configuration and their horizontal distance from you?”
“Do you have any other concerns?”

The trick here when organizing big ways is to pick up on the vibe of each person before the jump and to spot any potential dangers. You need to have total confidence that everyone will do their job.
On this load everyone did indeed seem confident and in a good frame of mind.
I spent the most time with Brian. He seemed confident, in a good frame of mind and focused. I told RL privately to keep an eye on Brian to make sure he didn’t exit early and if he did that RL should consider aborting his jump (although given the horizontal distance and equipment configurations I didn’t see a problem developing regardless).
On exit Brian left a little late (maybe half a second) which was fine. His delay was somewhere between 1.5 and 2 seconds. He deployed in a stable body position and the p/c hit bridal stretch without delay. On video the pc shows no evidence of ever being in, or effected by his burble (in my own personal opinion).

In regards to the pc malfunction, that is a separate topic. I am not responsible for providing the incident report on this (although I have assisted in the investigation). Anne Helliwell is in charge of this (on request from Brian’s father and the police) and only recently obtained all the equipment involved from the police. Given her rigging knowledge and previous extensive experience in investigating skydiving and BASE jumping fatalities, I can’t think of anybody else in the world more qualified. Anne is still waiting to obtain all evidence (including photo’s of the jump from different locations) before writing her final report. To report on the incident without first obtaining all evidence would be irresponsible and unprofessional. The delay in obtaining all the evidence is frustrating to everyone involved to say the least.
The frequency of jumpers “pointing the finger of blame” at others following a fatality is quiet annoying, given the common view point that as jumpers we take full responsibly for whatever happens to us when we decide to make a BASE jump.

If you wish to post constructive criticism in regards to the 8-way then please do. But please also state your experience in BASE jumping (number of jumps and number of objects) and your experience participating and organizing BASE big-ways in order to give some degree of credibility to your view point. Questions from anyone are most welcome.