Yeah, those pilots were idiots. Theres not another plane in sight when skydiving. Skydive Spaceland has some amazing views of the coast and of downtown on descent from their location.
Had a buddy back in the mf day who took a guided jump. He and his guide were just fine, dude holding the camera pulled his cord.....the **** just came right off his back, "awww ffff*********ck" and like 10 seconds later the emergency parachute opened. The video didn't last much beyond the panic-moment but according to him the cameraman had a much rougher landing. He was ok, but probably defecated.
I took an advanced free fall course and did 3 jumps in the training. the jolt of the chute opening on the 3rd jump aggravated a pinched nerve I have in my back and I knew I'd never be able to jump as a hobby. It is a huge rush and a blast but there is risk like anything else. you have to weight the risk vs reward. I bet the other plane is at fault in this situation. probably in the wrong airspace
My crazy-ass mother-in-law did this on her 70th birthday. (I mean, without the near death part.) She hurt her back a little on the landing but absolutely loved the experience. I'm way too easily entertained to ever try this.
I've gone on guided jumps a few times in various parts of the world, and it's a phenomenal rush every single time. About 6 years ago, I did a jump down in the Gold Coast of Australia, and it was absolutely breath-taking. However, the following week when I was reading the paper, there was a front page story about how someone died the previous day from a jump in the exact same location as I had jumped. Reading further, sure enough, it wasn't only the same company I used, but it was the same instructor that was guiding that jump. I've never had the itch to jump since then, and I don't think I ever will. I've watched too many Final Destination movies to tempt fate.
