Posted on 07/03/2025 11:45:26 AM PDT by CFW
Fourteen people were injured after a skydiving plane crashed at the Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, N.J.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that the plane went off the end of the runway while departing the airport on Wednesday evening, WPVI reported. The small airport is in a populated area with neighborhoods, stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and churches.
The pilot reported engine trouble before the plane crashed into a tree near the runway, investigators said.
Andrew Halter with Gloucester County Emergency Management said that rescue crews found extensive damage to the plane and many victims covered in jet fuel when they arrived.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
Why jump out of a perfectly good aircraft?................
I was gonna take up skydiving and hang gliding when I was in my teens... My Dad threatened to disown me if I did.
Our dad was a pilot in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Thanks to G-d, he survived and returned home to us. Dad used to say: "There are two types of people that jump out of airplanes. Idiots, and people in the armed forces." Yes, our dad had jumped out of airplanes. That said, if he still had two wings, he would fly, glide down instead of jumping.
I went on a day bus tour decades ago with mostly young people on a work + vacation year in New Zealand. They had all skydived, hang glided and bungee jumped. A few said that they would do two or three of them again, but all of them wanted to parachute again.
I was much older than they were and had never nor will ever do any of the three.
I put in about 120 hours of hang gliding before I quit because I was just getting too old for it. Half the time it scared the hell out of me, and the other half it was most incredible thing I ever did and that includes flying airplanes, sail planes, ultra lights, and about 250,000 Mi on motorcycles . I have never done skydiving Though, But it looks like fun.
You are definitely an adventurer. I think that George HW Bush celebrated his 90th birthday by tandem parachuting. There’s probably still time for you.
🇺🇸😊🇺🇸
I’ve done this in Michigan, former golden knights instructor as ornery as one could expect. Trying to save lives by harshly directing the students on procedures and risks. One lady couldn’t take the verbal abuse, was freaking out, quit and drove away. Probably saved her own life and others. Not cut out for this.
The plane had about 10 students plus the pilot. Having my PP certificate already, the plane looked old, rickety, and a counter argument to the “why would you jump out of a perfectly good plane to skydive?” aphorism. Felt kind of dumb and wonderful at the same time, had steerable chute and radio in the helmet so chief (field mom) could direct you from trees, power lines, etc. Never needed to go again.
I’ll take the Cessna 150 (or better) any day over 1960’s unpainted jump plane.
forgot key moment - you side at open door with feet dangling, then with signal, step out holding onto the wing strut, feet fluttering behind. You count then slide hands off strut and slip backward downward. After 3 seconds or so and tether pull, look up. Should see a billowing chute opening. If not, just look down and wait for alternate landing. (actually we had a safety backup chute where you land, roll and twist to not break your legs and back like in ww2. If it works, fella who packed it gets a “save”. 3000 saves or so for the mean jump master at the time with one fatality in many years, always “multiple, flagrant, violations of procedures and attention.”
My son skydives. Been doing it for several years.
In the evening!
probably safer then driving at times.
Proud of him for doing it again, mastering fear more every time.
I made a few sport jumps in the 70s, only worked my way up to 10 seconds of free fall. It was fun, but I got into other stuff. I doubt that any parachute center would let a 70-year-old who hadn’t jumped since 1979 do a solo jump, and I won’t do tandem, so I’ll probably never jump again.
Got my wings at Fort Benning in November 1976. Great experience, glad I did it. Walking off the drop zone after my 5th and final jump was a seminal moment in my life.
Aircraft was a Cessna 208B, first out in 85.
P&W PT6 turboprop engine. Those things are reliable as an american-made anvil when maintained properly. Engine trouble or bad fuel? I’d go with bad fuel but that’s just me.
I have given it a lot of thought to do a tandem jump, but I weigh 250 lb so I’m probably too heavy for it....... At least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! Plus I have mobility issues after having a stroke a few years ago.
“Why jump out of a perfectly good aircraft?................”
My thoughts exactly!
I did get into rock-climbing and caving a bit a couple or three decades ago. I had boys and no girls, and a former boy scout husband, so I had to get with the program if I wanted to join in the adventuring. But, all of us agreed no sky-diving or hang-gliding.
Why jump out of a perfectly good aircraft?................
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May not be “perfectly good”....
Used to work with a guy that jumped with “The Flying Elvi” in Vegas. Going up from Boulder City one afternoon and the engine started sputtering, had 12 or 14 jumpers on-board. Took them less than 10 seconds to vacate the plane.
Everybody landed safely, even the pilot. He got that empty plane back to the airport.
The guy was a first-class Nut - Good Fun.
Probably 35 years ago now.
Bad fuel - antifreeze contamination.
A buddy of mine about your weight did a tandem jump a few years ago. He had done solos in the distant past, but lost his rating? The tandem jump had some issues. After the parachute deployed they spun around a bunch of times before the person operating the parachute got it under control..
“Any skydivers at FR?“
Yep. Was crippled for three or four months. Hit a patch of shear well above the trees. Was t enough air resistance in the wing to bless myself with or flare. WHAM!
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