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I wonder what their jump altitude was....

If they had their jump run along the gorge, rather than across it, they would minimize their spotting errors.

They didn't say if the jumper hit the leading or trailing part of the bridge. If he were in a "track", he didn't have room to flare out before opening.

I opened my canopy in a track ONCE. The opening shock had me seeing stars and I bloodied a lip from crashing my face into the center link of my harness. It's something you don't want to do. So lets assume that the jumper was in stable position when he hit; unless he knew he was in trouble.....then, why didn't he pull?

This incident just doesn't make sense unless the jumper lost his cool.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't the new flying suits these guys are using slow the descent rate and therefore increase the "glide" ratio?

I don't know what a normal skydiver gets in a head down track, I imagine it's less than 1 to 1. With these suits they are supposedly getting better than 1 to 1.

I have a feeling this guy got a target fixation ("gee, don't hit that") and he flew right to where he was looking. I've done that in a 13 to 1 hangglider, I have no idea if that happens in freefall.

Thoughts?

The thing is, how responsive is a human body in flight ? This was the first time (that I am aware of) where jumpers intentionally tracked towards a man made object. Think about it... ordinarily, one would be tracking away from such a structure...

Flying an F-16 under the bridge is one thing... willing your body to do what the mind wants it to do, in your very best track configuration is literally quite another...

What previous references, speaking specifically to manuvering head on into a gorge, intending to go under or over a bridge in a full blown track, did either of these jumpers have ?

Speaking from experience, the jumpers needed some data in relation to their capabilities, tracking to and fro, "around" objects. Sport jumping, or base jumping, doesn't provide the necessary feedback, to correlate to this first time event.

Imagine a couple of jumpers in freefall, seperated a known distance, each towing a piece of fabric, say 100' in length, simulating "targets". Another jumper delays their exit or exits from another a/c with the express purpose of manuvering around these targets, in an effort to determine their tracking and manuvering capabilities, while wearing the winged suits and maintaining their respective tracking positions...

They had to be: simultaneously, aligned properly within the center of the gorge, the proper distance from the bridge, and they had to be at the proper altitude above or below the bridge...

A missed exit point, unexpected freefall drift, human nature/ego wanting to accomplish said stunt, poor judgement, etc., would be additional factors in play...
I used to intentionally track towards people in freefall, as they would track towards me... served with the USAPT GK's... it was one of the most exhilirating experiences I have ever participated in... akin to a bird of prey diving after it's next meal... it ain't pretty when bad things happen to good people... a couple of times the "diamond" trackers got too close and collided with each other... needless to say, fatalities resulted... closing speed (impact) of 360 mph... ouch !

During winter training in Yuma, Az., (1984) some of us (USAPT GK's) discovered that we had unintentionally stretched (from circular to oblong) our largest D ring/s, which were the rings attached to the harness and part of the Booth 3-ring circus cutaway system, during excessively hard openings following the diamond track manuvers. The manufactured lot of D rings were condemned and we were grounded until they sent a quick fix solution.

A replacement D ring with an attachable connecter link, similar to the more conventional connecter links located at the riser/suspension line connection point, were afixed with threaded screws and "Loctite" adhesive for good measure. The deformed oblong D ring had the potential to restrict the middle ring of the 3-ring circus, from passing through itself in the event of a cutaway.