Quote:
Originally Posted by stuartj
You may have seen this footage- a free falling sky diver has an epileptic episode. The skill and courage displayed by the jump master in this footage is exemplary. I hope he gets recognised for it.
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In the skydiving world, seeing an AFF instructor dock with a student and deploy their canopy is not uncommon. You can have a student sit through several hours of instruction, "dirt dives", and muscle memory exercises on the ground. Then, when the door opens at 14k ft., it's total brain-lock. If an instructor is forced to pull a student's rip-cord, it's usually what we call "OSB" (other sports beckon), and once on the ground, they are strongly encouraged to seek out other activities other than skydiving.
There are plenty of jumpers that make their instructors "earn their money" while still on student-status. The only stand-out in this instance is that the kid had a seizure (and it was on video). While the instructor's actions were commendable, it wasn't something that was highly courageous or heroic IMO (and I'm sure the instructor would agree). Believe it our not, there are actually less ideal (and more difficult) situations with regard to AFF students. You can have a student in free-fall that totally "losses it" and/or starts to panic and flail wildly. That can make it all kinds of fun to deal with.