for spot - beware altzhiemers....

ushere wrote on 6/9/2008, 8:07 PM
DUANESBURG, N.Y. — A 29-year-old man leaped out of a plane at 10,000
feet with a camera but no parachute Saturday. His body was found next to
a house with a damaged roof, police said.

Sloan Carafello of Schenectady, who was observing on the flight,
followed an instructor, student and videographer out the door, wearing
no skydiving gear, officials said.

Police said they did not suspect foul play but would not elaborate.

Robert Rawlins, pilot and owner of the Duanesburg Skydiving Club, said
he was flying the single-engine plane and had begun to close the door
when Carafello jumped.

His body was found next to a house west of Albany.

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 6/9/2008, 8:11 PM
Very familiar with the story. The pilot was unlicensed, 'victim" had apparently been planning this for a while, he took photos of himself on the way down, had a long history of depression, he was not a skydiver but rather an observer. He filled out his waiver with fraudulent information, citing his responsible party as "General Schwarzkopf" and used the address of the Pentagon. Sad that no one caught these two small oddities in his waiver.
There is no question whatsoever that it was a suicide by a non-skydiver who got on the plane with a single mind.
It was not a skydiver who forgot his rig.
The FAA has already investigated their part of the case, and the police have closed their portion of the investigation.
Jim H wrote on 6/9/2008, 9:35 PM
The pilot was unlicensed? Mmmm, comforting. I think I'll jump with that school.... it happens to be right down the road from my mother-in-law's. I think she'd like to "observe" my jump. (Just kidding of course - I love my dear mom-in-law.
Rory Cooper wrote on 6/9/2008, 10:11 PM
Does the pilot take corporate bookings?
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 6/10/2008, 4:49 AM
Vegas can do Motion Blur better than the real thing. If only someone had showed him Vegas.........sigh

Did anyone find the embedded footage?
ushere wrote on 6/10/2008, 5:49 AM
6 centimetres inside his cranium....
richard-courtney wrote on 6/10/2008, 4:28 PM
In a normal aerial shoot , doesn't the pilot have responsibility to make sure a
cameraman has a safety harness/tether?

I see in the Sony XDCAM ads the cameraman does.
Spot|DSE wrote on 6/10/2008, 5:42 PM
In ANY aerial situation, whether someone is jumping, shooting vid, a pax, whatever....the PIC is responsible for 100% of everything.
If I get on an aircraft with an unairworthy camera rig and a part falls off, the pilot is responsible. If I get on an aircraft with an out-of-date pack job on my parachute, the pilot can be fined, but the FAA can't touch me.
You'd be surprised how many pilots don't know how to check camera rigs both mounted to the aircraft (which is a whole book in and of itself) or if it's handheld or temp-affixed. I had one pilot in a 182 harness me in with an open door (illegal), and the harness kept shutting off the fuel. Being over the Grand Canyon, beneath the rim is not a place to run the fuel dry.
PIC/Pilot In Command is a term that far too few people understand.
Taking it one step further...suppose you're on a commercial airliner and you're on the taxiway. You remove your seatbelt even though the pilot has left the light on, or has even said "please remain seated ith your belt on..." The guy sitting next to you is with the FAA. He can't do squat to you. He can, however, stop movement of the aircraft until the pilot tells you to put your belt on. Once you disobey the orders of a pilot, you're screwed, even if he tells you to do something that may normally be considered totally unreasonable. Other side of that responsibility is that he is totally, 100% responsible for your safety from the time the engine starts til it shuts down.
Steve Mann wrote on 6/12/2008, 2:35 PM
PIC also means Pilot in Crap (up to his neck).

There's nothing illegal about a 182 without a door if the owner/operator has the appropriate paperwork and recalculates the weight and balance. But since the fuel selector is in the floor, how did our harness get snagged on it?

jabloomf1230 wrote on 6/12/2008, 6:43 PM
The pilot did not have a commercial certificate and hence should not have been taking passengers for hire. He did have a FAA private pilot license.The pilot owns the skydiving school, which has been operating for many years.
Spot|DSE wrote on 6/12/2008, 8:12 PM
No one said the 182 was illegal, it had the proper STC. What was illegal was that I was in harness, no parachute. FARs require that all passengers in open door wear a rig, including the pilot, w/b not withstanding.
If you fly a 182...think about someone hanging out the door in a harness. the safeties can run straight across the floor next to the pilot, particularly if tied into the cargo tie downs behind the pilot and to the firewall forward of where the pax seat should be. Tie down on a film rig needs to be at least from two, and preferably three points.
AlanC wrote on 6/13/2008, 1:39 AM

So http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2008/skydiver-wing-ride-p1.phpis this[/link] legal or illegal?