I'll find some webspace for this list, but in the meantime, here's the most updated version. This includes all the updates I have recieved through December 3, 2001. Thanks to all who responded.
THE LIST . . .
(BASE Fatality List)
Date December 3, 2001
List Version 3.1.2
Copyright 2001
by Nick Di Giovanni
Below is a world wide list of BASE jumping fatalities. This list is not 100% accurate. Please send updates, additions, corrections, or comments to: nickafloat@hotmail.com
(Please type “BASE Fatality Update” in the subject line).
Currently there are 50 BASE jumping fatalities in this report:
This list is being published for its educational value:
These fatalities are not necessarily in order of their occurrence:
I’ve flushed out the circumstances surrounding some of these fatalities since the last time the list was published. However, para-historians please take note; Two people can see the same thing yet disagree on what they saw, so be careful.
The comments in quotes are nothing but my opinions based on my own knowledge and reports received from the field:
#1 Frank Donnellan, BASE 12, June1982
Building Jump
Residential Tower Block, London, England
Impact
“This is the first recorded “modern” BASE jumping fatality and the first death of a BASE number holder. Frank had total malfunction while static-lining from 330-feet."
#2 Larry Jackson, 1982
Cliff Jump
Black Canyon, Colorado, USA
Cliff Strike
“This is the first USA BASE fatality.
#3 Jimmy Tyler, BASE #13, 1982
Cliff Jump
Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Cliff Strike
“This is the first Yosemite fatality and the second death of a BASE number holder. Jimmy Tyler was an interesting character. He was an Internal Revenue Service agent who just before he died was being investigated for various malfeasances, including drug dealing, misappropriations of funds, etc. Jimmy was the first person to parachute from a moving vehicle while it was crossing a low bridge. (With a round parachute over land). This jump can be seen in some of Carl Boenish’s early BASE films.”
#4 Michael Glenn Williams, 1983
Age: 25
Bridge Jump, Bridge Day 1983
New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia, USA
Drowning
“This is the first Bridge Day fatality. Michael had a slow main deployment and pulled his reserve rather quickly. With two canopies out he landed in the river and signaled he was alright. He made no attempt to get out of his gear and his reserve caught the swift current and pulled him under the surface. There was only one rescue boat that year, and it was busy pulling another jumper from the water. Since this fatality Bridge Day Jumpmasters don’t release jumpers until the boats are free and standing by.”
#5 Carl Boenish, BASE #4, June 7, 1984
Age: 43
Cliff Jump
Trollwall (Stabben) Norway
Cliff Strike
“Carl Boenish is the father of BASE jumping. He organized the trips to Yosemite’s El Capitan that resulted in the first “modern” BASE jumps in 1978. The term modern refers to jumps made using ram-air canopies and the ability to track. All fixed object jumps previous to these had been one time stunt type jumps. Carl showed us that fixed object jumping was not only possible for an experienced jumper, it was repeatable.”
“Carl Boenish (his family always called him Ronnie) began jumping at Lake Elsinore, California in 1960 at the age of 21. One day, in 1966, while heavily involved in filming the West Coast RW scene, he hears the story of two skydivers, Michael Pelky and Michael Shubert who went to Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan and jumped off using their Para Commander round parachutes. Both are badly injured by hitting the wall under canopy on the way down. The idea, however, stuck in Carl’s mind and years later in 1977, while in Yosemite Valley filming hang glider pilots, Carl looks around at all the vertical granite and thinks of those two back in 1966, and more importantly, it's a time when he truly begins to believe . . .”
“Tuesday, August 8, 1978 is the day BASE jumping as a sport is born. Carl is lowered over El Captain’s rounded brow on a rope. While looking down he proclaims his now famous, “Eureka, we can jump here!” The first person off is Kent Lane. Kent is followed five minutes later, in order, by Tom Start, Mike Sherrin and Ken Gosselin."
"Carl later names the new sport BASE Jumping and starts the sequential BASE number award system we still use today. Carl and his wife Jean also published the very first BASE magazine. Carl was killed jumping in Norway by hitting a outcropping in freefall. (No one saw it, but that’s how it figures). The BASE community is stunned by his death and some say the progression of BASE jumping, the very thing Carl loved and nurtured, was set back as a result of his death. In any case most American BASE jumpers shied away from Norway for the next ten years or so.”
#6 Jorgen Hakansson, August 18, 1985
Age: 19
Cliff Jump
Trollwall (Bruraskaret) Norway
“There are no other details.”
#7 Jari Mynttinen August 29, 1985
Age: 32
Trollwall (Bruraskaret) Norway
“There are no other details.”
#8 Jeb Williams, 1986
Antenna Jump
Tennessee, USA
Total Malfunction and Impact
“This jump first brought the cause for larger pilot chutes and longer bridles to BASE jumping.”
#9 Marylyn Ettma, 1986
Cliff Jump
Wollomombi Falls, NSW, Australia
Cliff Strike
“Marilyn's last jump was from a technically difficult waterfall. Apparently she went off head down, caught her feet in her lines during deployment, had an off heading opening, and then experienced a wall strike.”
#10 John Raymond “Fossie Bear” Foster, June 30, 1986
Cliff Jump
Trollwall (Trollspiret) Norway
Cliff Strike
“Ray was an experienced skydiver making his first BASE jump.”
#11 Rick Stanley, 1987
Bridge Jump
New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia, USA
Drowned
“Rick had a line over malfunction and wasn’t using the line over modification. He made an uncontrolled decent into the fast moving New River and drowned. Rick could not swim a single stroke and he had trouble just staying afloat. This is the second New River Gorge Bridge fatality, however, this did not occur during a “Bridge Day.”
#12 Michael Gibbard, 1987
Cliff Jump
Chedder Gorge, England
Total Malfunction and Impact
“This was reported to be a static line failure.”
#13 Steve Gyrsting, 1987
Bridge Jump
New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia, USA
Total Malfunction and Impact
“This is the third New River Gorge Bridge fatality and the second to occur during a “Bridge Day.” Steve was making his 3rd jump of the day using a small skydiving pilot chute and short bridle. When told by the Bridge Day Jumpmasters this wasn’t the way to go Steve replied, “It’s always worked before.” Ten seconds later Steve is killed hitting the New River with his pilot chute in tow. This jump began the process whereby larger BASE pilot chutes and longer bridles became mandatory at Bridge Day.”
#14 Marlen Buford, 1988
Building Jump
The Palace Hotel, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA
Impact
“Marlen hit a seawall on final approach under canopy. High winds were reported in the area at the time. Marlen was not wearing a helmet.”
#15 Mitch Reno, 1988
Cliff Jump
Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, California, USA
Impact
“Mitch over-delayed and impacted the talus just as he was getting line stretch. This is the second Yosemite National Park fatality.”
#16 David Dunblazier, 1989
Bridge Jump
Royal Gorge Bridge, Colorado, USA
Cliff Strike
“David hit the steep cliffs of the narrow Royal Gorge with multiple line twists after he was instructed to hold his large hand held pilot chute by its base instead of folding it for a planned 3 second delay. The upper half of the pilot chute inflated during the freefall and pulled David over on his back. This caused the line twists he couldn’t clear before hitting the cliff walls. (This bridge is historic in the sense it is the first bridge jumped by a semi-modern BASE jumper when Ron Boyles jumped it in 1975 using standard gut gear).”
#17 Richard (Dick) Pedley, BASE 263, 1989
Building Jump
Century City, California, USA
Building Strike
“Dick was an experienced skydiver (5000 jumps) and a respected early freefall photographer in Southern California. He took up BASE jumping late in life after making a legal El Capitan jump back in the early days. He was the oldest to receive a BASE number (at the time). He had 26 BASE jumps when was killed after a buddy assist jump that resulted in line twists (and from looking at the gear, a premature brake toggle release on one side). This fatality brought to light the need for BASE body armor (helmets and pads). This is also the first recorded fatality using BASE specific gear.”
#18 Jean-Marc Bovine, 1990
Cliff Jump
Cliff Strike
Angle Falls, Venezuela
“Jean-Marc did a very short delay and after opening hit the wall.”
#19 Mike Heron, 1990
Bridge Jump
Total Malfunction and Impact
“Mr. Heron’s associates believe part of his bridle became lodged under the lower corner of his BASE rig and caused a pilot chute in tow.”
#20 Bobbie Morris, JR.
Building Jump (Mellon Bank Building)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Total Malfunction and Impact
“Bobbie experienced a pilot chute in tow. His jumping partner later admitted they didn’t do a final gear check that would have turned up Bobbie’s bridle was under a leg strap. This taught jumpers to put their leg straps on before pulling out the pilot chute in preparation for a BASE jump. This is in the days of B-12 snaps rather then today’s step thru harness designs.”
#21 Darren Newton
Building Jump
Hilton Hotel, London, England
Building Strike
“There are no other details.”
#22 Jonathan Bowlin, BASE 76, 1993
Cliff Jump
Impact
“Entanglement with another jumper’s canopy after opening. This may have also been a CRW attempt gone bad.”
#23 Unknown (German female)? 1993
Cliff Jump
Angle Falls, Venezuela
Cliff Strike
“The only details here are line twists followed by a wall strike.
#24 Joe Shaw, 1993
Cliff Jump
Bungonia Gorge, Australia
Cliff Strike
“First Australian BASE fatality. Joe was nervous enough about the jump that friends later remarked about it. Apparently he had a off heading opening and failed to adequately
respond. He hit the wall several times and lay injured at the bottom. It was reported with some speculation that if someone on the load had some basic first aid skills, Joe might have survived.
#25 Susan Oatly, 1993
Cliff Jump
El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Cliff Strike
“Susan is the first El Capitan fatality and Yosemite’s third overall. She held a head high attitude for too long and backed into the wall in her 8th second of freefall. This jump began the process of insisting people who begin BASE jumping should have at least 150 previous parachutes jumps. There is also a side issue involving pretty girls without much skydiving experience being handed BASE jumps beyond their abilities. Load organizer Keith Jones is arrested by the Park Service (after staying behind to lead rescue efforts) and charged with manslaughter. The charges are later reduced to aerial delivery.”
Xaver Bongard, April 15, 1994,
Cliff Jump
Staubbach, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Impact
Xaver cutaway a spinning malfunction using a two canopy BASE container. The reserve opened with line twists and did not clear in time.
#26 Theresa Tran, 1995
Cliff Jump
Riverside County, California, USA
Total Malfunction and Impact
“Theresa was doing a static line jump from a 180-foot cliff. At the last moment, instead of leaving the tied off pilot chute on the ground next to her launch point, she decided to place the pilot chute into the BOC pouch on her BASE container. When the static line became taught, it applied forces to the pilot chute at a right angle and the break cord prematurely parted before extracting the pilot chute and bridle from the pouch. Theresa was a well liked live wire to all who knew her. She was a local radio personality under the name of Gina Davis and was responsible for the first corporate sponsored BASE jumps when she organized the demo BASE jumps at California’s Magic Mountain.”
#27 Sebastian Dectot, August 16, 1996
Cliff Jump
Impact
Lysbotn, Norway
“Sebastian over delayed in a back to earth position while filming other jumpers.”
#28 “Maggilla”
Cliff Jump
El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, California, USA
Cliff Strike and Impact
“This is the second El Capitan fatality and Yosemite’s forth BASE fatality overall. He was called “Maggilla” after the cartoon character Maggilla Gorilla and was one of those warm and fuzzy people who are a joy to be around. I knew him from working at his DZ for a time in Buckeye, Arizona. One night he asked if I like to see a video of his one and only BASE jump. The jump was from El Capitan, and from looking at the video, and from what he told me later, the jump seemed to have spooked him so bad he swore, “he’d stick to the DZ and never go BASE jumping again!” So it was with some surprise, I learned a few months later, he did indeed return to El Capitan for another jump. Witness accounts differ with some saying he did a short, out of control, delay and deployed unstable and hit the wall. Others said his parachute was hooked up backwards.”
Peter Torben, August 4, 1997
Cliff Jump
Bungonia Gorge, Austraila
Cliff Strike
Torben possibly died from exposure after spending several hours/the night on the wall where he struck the cliff and became trapped. I have since been told there was no way he could have survived the massive head and other internal injuries he suffered in the initial wall strike. He had been repeatedly told, by other jumpers, to be more responsive during the canopy opening sequence. He had also been repeatedly advised to apply deeper brake settings to his non-BASE specific canopy in order to avoid its excessive surge and drive. Eyewitnesses claim he had ample room and time to employ commonly practiced evasive maneuvers but allowed his canopy to drive into the cliff. There was also an inference that the Police/National Parks authorities would not initiate their own rescue effort or let several reasonably equipped jumpers abseil to Torben and extricate him from the cliff. Authorities say it’s because the rescue is too dangerous, jumpers say they were motivated by other reasons.
#30 Stina-Ulla Ostberg, July 29, 1997
Cliff Jump
Lysbotn, Norway
Impact
“This jump began with an unstable exit and it took the jumper 12 seconds to recover stability and to deploy her main pilot chute. However, impact occurred at 12.7 seconds.
It is reported this jumper was offered instruction prior to the jump and that she refused it.”
#31 Valentino Ventori, August 5, 2000
Age: 30
Cliff Jump
Lysbotn, Norway
Impact
“This jumper launched unstable and remained so all the way to impact. It is reported this jumper was offered instruction prior to the jump and that he refused it. This fatality and the one above (Ulastina Ostberg) are eerily similar down to the same impact spot.
#32 Gary Dawson
Cliff Jump
New Zealand
Cliff Strike
“Gary was a popular Southern California camera jumper who went to work in New Zealand for a season to film tandems. Gary hit the wall under canopy and fell the rest of the way.”
#33 Terry Forrestal, June 11, 2000
Age: 52
Cliff Jump
Lysbotn, Norway
Cliff Strike and Impact
“This is Terry’s 8th BASE jump. A videotape shows him having trouble with directional control and tracking. He deploys with a 180 whereupon he hits the wall very hard. Terry comes to rest on a narrow ledge 600 meters up and probably watched a rescue helicopter approach and turn back because of thick fog developing in the immediate area. The full extent of Terry’s injuries are unknown at this time but speculation suggests, that at least, both his legs are broken. At this point, but unknown to Terry, a foot launched rescue effort is advancing on his position. However when they arrived, 10 hours later, Terry is gone from the ledge. No one really knows if Terry tried to self rescue himself by jumping from the ledge and using his reserve canopy (this was done by another jumper once before several years earlier) or if sometime during the night he simply fell. Friends say Terry probably thought rescue was not in the immediate future. The 52 year old former member of England's Special Air Service, they said, “was the type to take matters into his own hands.””
#34 Paul Thompson
Cliff Jump
Lake Powell, Arizona, USA
Cliff Strike
“This was an experienced skydiver who went along on a BASE trip as a helper and ground crew. Later in the week he expressed an interest in making a BASE jump himself. His jump resulted in a wall strike, he was pulled from the water and later he died. This is the jump that resulted in manslaughter charges and law suits between jumpers and Park Service officials. The jumper’s contention is Lake Powell is legal for sea plane landings so should be legal for parachute landings as well.”
#35 Thor Alex, July 7, 1999
Age 32
Cliff Jump
Norway
Cliff Strike (?)
“Thor was reported to have jumped into a fog bank and may have lost his bearings once under canopy. Thor was a popular BASE jumper and was the 4th person to ever jump from the now-gone World Trade Center in New York City. (The other three are Owen Quinn, Nick Feteris and John Vincent).”
#36 Daniel Twomey, August 8, 1999
Cliff Jump
Trollwall (Trollspiret) Norway
Cliff Strike
“Daniel had an unstable head down launch. He then tried out tracking the ledge and hit the wall at eight seconds. His canopy deployed, it hit the wall, and deflated. Daniel tumbled down and came to rest under the ice at the top of the talus. It took 45 days to recover Daniel’s body.”
#37 Unknown (Possibly from Spain).
Cliff Jump
Mt. Brento, Italy
Cliff Strike
“Unstable exit and line twists on deployment led to wall strike.”
#38 Erin Engle
Cliff Jump
Mt. Brento, Italy
Cliff Strike
“Erin was making only her second or third BASE jump. Reports indicate an unstable short delay and a wall strike under canopy.”
#39 Kirill Goretov. August, 15 1999
Age 30
Cliff Jump
Lysbotn, Norway
Cliff Strike
“It’s reported this jumper made no control inputs after canopy deployment and hit the wall and came to rest on a ledge. He appeared to have died from severe head injuries in the initial impact with the wall. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.”
#40 “Bromo” (Bob Neely)?
Antenna Jump
Florida, USA
Impact
“There are no other details on this fatality.”
#41 Unknown (French)?
Cliff Jump
Verdon, France
“Reports describe this person has having no BASE jumps, no training, no experienced jumper with him, etc. He got himself some gear, chose and under-hung location to exit from (not even one of the Verdon regular exit points), pivoted off the exit point, went on his back, and struck the cliff in freefall.”
#42 Andrea Quarisa
Cliff Jump
Arco, Italy
Impact
“Andrea over delayed in a back to earth position while filming other jumpers and impacted on talus as his canopy was opening.”
#45 Alex ? (German)?
Cliff Jump
Magland, France
Cliff Jump
“The only detail in this fatality notes the jump took place at night.”
#44 Joshua Michael McVay, August 8, 1999
Age: 25
Cliff Jump
Crown Point, Columbia River Gorge
Cliff Strike
“Joshua was jumping alone and friends reported him overdue to return. They found his car at Crown Point and called in search-and-rescue teams. Searchers found his body about 450 feet from the top. He appeared to have died after hitting the wall under canopy.”
#46 Joe Shaw, (English)
Cliff Jump
Bungonia Gorge, Australia
“I have no other information on Joe except that he has 4 prior BASE jumps.”
#46 Christopher Kennedy, December 2,1997
Age: 35
Antenna Jump
Tucson Arizona, USA
Impact
““Christopher was dead when his feet left the tower,” is what other jumpers said after this fatality. Using a skydiving rig not modified for BASE in any way, and without any prior BASE training or experience, he climbed 364-foot up a 450 tower and jumped only to find a bungee controlled collapsible pilot chute doesn’t work well at slow airspeeds. A passer-by found Kennedy's body near the tower the next morning. He pulled his reserve prior to impact.”
#47 Trevor Yates 2000
Cliff Jump
Big Glassy, Wollemi National Park, Australia
“Trevor was a much loved and respected skydiver, and he’s also the first Australian born BASE jumper to die on a BASE jump in Australia. He may have also been the first BASE jumper to jump the Cable Car in the Blue mountains. Apparently he was found at the impact site with his canopy (Fury 220) at line stretch, and the slider at the top of the lines. It was an old skydiving rig with a 30 inch chute. Jumpers report that while Trevor had been around the sport for a long time he was caught in a time warp as far as BASE equipment was concerned.”
#48 Jan Davis
Cliff Jump
El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California
Total Malfunction and Impact
“This is El Capitan’s 3rd fatality and Yosemite’s 5th fatality overall. This occurred during a planned protest jump in front of Park Rangers and the media. By prior arrangement Park Service officials agreed not to prevent the jumps but insisted jumpers would be arrested upon landing and their gear would be confiscated. This caused some jumpers to switch to their “B” gear. Jan jumped a system with an older style leg mounted pilot chute pouch when she was used to jumping a pilot chute stowed in a BOC pouch. After a normal delay she instinctively reached for the bottom of the container and after she failed to find the pilot chute handle ran out of time before figuring things out. In fairness it should be noted these kinds of things happen at the drop zone fairly frequently and result in nothing more than routine reserve rides. Also this jump, because of the press and Ranger presence was maybe too pressure packed for Jan, who while experienced, may not have been current enough at the time of the jump. I helped spread Jan’s ashes at Lake Elsinore and she’s missed by all who knew her”
#49 Roger Butler, February 2000
Age: 29
Bridge Jump
Hansen Bridge, Snake River, Southern Idaho, USA
Drowning
“Friends said it was too dark, the wind wasn’t right, and the water was too high. However, Roger, who had 600 BASE jumps, elected to jump. He jumped from the west side of the bridge and opened normally. It wasn't immediately clear what happened, but shortly after landing in the water Roger and his gear disappeared below the surface. Neither has been seen since.”
#50 “Schleffy” ?
Cliff Jump
Courthouse, Arizona, USA
“Off heading deployment and wall strike.”
The following are not BASE jumping deaths per se, but they do involve BASE jumpers and may be a bit of a glimpse into what sort of people we really are:
Mike Allen, BASE 163
Automobile Accident.
“Mike was killed in a head on collision with a truck while traveling between jumps on a notorious Florida road called Alligator Alley”
Alf Humphries
Suicide
“Alf shot himself months after a BASE jump that left him severely disabled. Alf did a night tower jump and during deployment, he believes, his pilot chute caught and entangled with his still descending mesh slider. This jump taught jumpers that BASE bridles shouldn’t be so long in length as to allow this to occur.”
John Carter, BASE 118
Plane crash
“John was in plaster casts after being injured during BASE jump but managed to wiggle onto an aircraft, just for the ride, that later crashed with him aboard during an air show routine. John made some high profile jumps worth remembering such as his jump from Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa, which he said resulted in being chased off by the locals. “I landing okay, and ran my butt off with this bawling Italian shrew in tow.””
Brad “Banzi” Buffington
Suicide
“Brad was a BASE jumper who was stopped while driving by the police. For unknown reasons, as the policeman approached his car, Brad pulled a gun and shot himself in head.”
Bradley Smith, BASE 8 1997
Suicide
“Brad was an early BASE jumper who jumped with Carl Boenish during the formative years of the sport. He was also at the very first Bridge Day. Brad had an accident from a Arizona bridge when he impacted at line stretch and from this he received brain injuries. Brad later committed suicide for unknown reasons.”
Mark Sechler, BASE 34
Impact
“An early BASE jumper who left the sport and went back to the DZ. He was killed while skydiving in a low altitude entanglement with another jumper at the Perris DZ in California.”
Rick Shillabeer, BASE 43
“Rick died from natural causes. (A rarity among BASE jumpers).”
Mike Perron, BASE 5
“Plane crash.”
Levi Green, BASE 51
Impact
“Levi was good natured and well liked BASE jumper who died skydiving.”
Jim Dias, BASE 67
Cancer
Jim succumbed to cancer and started people thinking that climbing around on live AM antenna towers may not be the hot idea.
Andrew Thorton, BASE 78
Impact
“Andrew was said to be a friend of “Cowboy” Dave Williams. Dave was the first to bring a Cessna Caravan to skydiving. The same Caravan later crashed on takeoff due to fuel contamination killing Dave and a full load of jumpers. Just previous to this event Andrew Thorton was found dead in the backyard of a doctor’s house after a night jump. He’s found wearing black garb, night vision goggles, armed with a handgun, and carrying bundles of cocaine attached to his harness. It’s been theorized that Andrew’s drug delivery gone bad and the plane crash later were connected, but nothing has ever been proven.”
Jason Rooney, 1993
Blues Point Tower, Sydney, Australia.
Impact
“I originally had Jason on the BASE fatality list. However I received enough reports to see his death was not due to an intentional BASE jump. One report stated, “Jason died because he was skylarking in front of his friends on the edge of a building and fell. He was wearing a parachute but, it would be drawing a very long bow indeed to insist he died whilst BASE jumping. Rooney believed he was invincible and yet was really only a beginner and far from being deemed a competent jumper.””
“Dead” Steve Morrell, BASE 174
Impact
Steve died while skydiving. He picked up the nick-name “Dead” Steve from a very low opening from Yosemite’s El Capitan where friends thought he went in. Incidentally Steve later broke his legs after an off heading opening on a cliff jump while stationed in Saudi Arabia with the U.S. Air Force. His injuries caused him to miss his flight home on Pan Am flight 103. This was the doomed flight brought down by terrorist bombs over Scotland.
Larry "Blowhole" March
Larry survived a cliff strike at Crown Point with some level of brain damage. He died a few years later from unknown reasons.”
Steve Mulholland
Impact
“Steve was a BASE jumper who died after misjudging his altitude during a skydive at the South Pole.”
Manual Gonzales, BASE 203
Impact
““Manny” died while skydiving.”
Shane Revitt, BASE 235
Impact
“Shane died after a rock climbing accident.”
Frank Gambalie
Drowning
“Frank ran from Park Rangers after a successful jump from Yosemite’s El Capitan. During the course of that escape he attempted to swim across the Merced River and drowned.”
John Mjøen,. August 16, 1996
Age: 40
John was a well known BASE jumper from Norway. He died doing tandems in Denmark after a main/reserve entanglement.
Earl Redfern, BASE 300, July 18, 2000
Age: 43
Airplane Crash/Cliff Strike
Earl was an experienced and well known BASE jumper as well as a commercial pilot. Along with another BASE jumper, Clint Walker, they were scouting for new jumpable sites in the Moab area when they crashed in an AA-5 Traveler when they clipped a canyon wall.
Clint Ford, July 18, 2000
Age: 22
Airplane Crash/Cliff Strike (Same incident as above)
Clint had just received his pilot’s license when he was killed along with Earl Redfern in a crash of an AA-5 Traveler. They were scouting for new jumpable sites in the Moab area.
Matt "Kevin" McMannes
Automobile Accident
Matt was a BASE jumper who died in a car accident on his way to the World Free Fall Convention.
Jay Johnson, January 14 2001
Airplane Crash
This BASE jumper was killed in a King Air crash at Tooele Valley
END
“As soon as there is life, there is danger.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
C-ya,
Nick Di Giovanni :P
BASE 194
Copyright 2001
by Nick Di Giovanni
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