Man jumps from plane with no parachute, dies

[Lone_Star_Dem]

29-year-old follows team out of aircraft with just a camera

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.

<snip>

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.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25024995/

[graywarrior]

1. Well, duh!

[Gman]

2. Darwin award candidate?

[NewJeffCT]

3. weird?

did the guy just forget? was he insane? high?

[NV Whino]

12. Well, he was certainly high...

then he was not.

[TexasObserver]

35. the Ground - the ultimate buzz kill

[rhiannon55]

4. Sounds like a Darwin Award winner

[rucky]

16. More like a suicide to me.

A little more interesting than swallowing a handful of pills, dontcha think?

[Liberal Veteran]

5. How shocking. Who would have thought falling from a great height would be dangerous?

:eyes:

[NNN0LHI]

6. Wonder how many times he bounced?

:bounce:

[madaboutharry]

7. What a bizarre story.

Maybe he committed suicide.

I don't think we should joke about a man's death, really.

[Liberal Veteran]

9. Perhaps. I think if I ever wanted to do that, I'd choose a nice pharmaceutical.

Somehow, I just can't see my last few moments of life being "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!"

[undeterred]

18. Actually this wouldn't be a bad way to go.

The last few minutes would be thrilling. Unless, of course, he changed his mind.

[blondeatlast]

11. I was thinking suicide as well--nothing else comes close to making sense. nt

[Crunchy Frog]

22. I'm wondering if he was just following along, doing "what everyone else" was doing,

just not noticing that "everyone else" had a parachute. :shrug:

[bean fidhleir]

32. That's my guess - he was so involved in picture-taking that he forgot where he was

It's not unheard of, though it usually doesn't result in death. I've read of photographers stepping out into the street in front of buses to get a particular angle, falling down stairs that they didn't notice were there, and similar accidents.

[Lasher]

8. Well at least he didn't forget to take his camera.

Wonder if he got a few good shots on the way down. Prolly forgot to take the lens cap off.

[Deja Q]

20. *sigh* I'm sure there's a kodak moment in there somewhere...

Notice how we're all being incredibly mean-spirited, but we're only human...

[Canuckistanian]

10. Wow. What a terrible day for all involved

The pilot must be in shock.

And the other skydivers must have watched him come down as well. They probably couldn't do anything to save him.

Was the guy high or mentally deranged?

The article doesn't say much.

[backscatter712]

13. Suicide?

Probably one of the better ways to do a suicide - you get a spectacular view on the way down, then the sudden stop at the bottom ends it all real quick!

[DS1]

21. my first thought, and apparently he filmed himself

might be a few words on the tape

[sarge43]

14. Have to wonder when it dawned on him that

he had forgotten something.

When he shot past the other jumpers?

When he reached for the reserve rip cord that wasn't there?

When he noticed the ground was coming up awfully fast?

[Crunchy Frog]

15. There will be a Darwin Prize nomination out of this for sure.

[petronius]

17. If he was a trained skydiver, I would bet that this was a horrible brain fart

If he wasn't a sky diver, then suicide seems obvious. Either way, I feel bad for im and his family/friends...

[Deja Q]

19. So did he damage the roof with his body, or was he framed?

[lonestarnot]

23. Depends.

Was it a wood house?

[CK_John]

24. I think he just got carried away with the moment. n/t

[jobycom]

25. Strange. I swear I heard a similar story twenty years ago.

Some guy was filming a jump, and got so distracted by the camera that he forgot his chute.

[AlCzervik]

26. in 2002 a woman jumped out of a plane, it looks like it was suicide. Might be the case here.

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2000-12-16/article/2683?headline=Unknown-if-woman-fell-or-jumped-from-plane

[NNN0LHI]

27. In an old readers digest they asked some instructor if he worried someone would fall from the plane?

He said that wasn't the problem. The biggest problem he said was getting them to let go of the plane and jump.

Don

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

28. Is it wrong to post my favorite Super Dave Osborne skit of all time here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvP-7PnN3PQ&NR=1

What the hell.

[Carnea]

29. That was so Wrong

And yet it felt so right....

:spray:

here let me try

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i18nSZBgOfs

[dysfunctional press]

34. super dave trivia time- super dave is the brother of albert einstein.

also known as albert brooks.

http://www.bobeinstein.com/biography.htm

[lame54]

30. Where's the footage?

[NutmegYankee]

31. Horrible, Yes. But did he get the picture of a lifetime? n/t

[opihimoimoi]

33. I suspect the footage would be very interesting