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All 13 on New Zealand skydiving plane leap out before crash

18 Comments
By NICK PERRY

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18 Comments
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There is more to this story, can see 12 jumping but the pilot? Losing the engine does not mean the aircraft is out of control. Second it took time for all of them to jump. So why??

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I was wondering about that too YuriOtani. But landing a plane with a dead engine is no walk in the park. It can be deadly. Of course the pilot bailing out over a populated area would have been unforgivable, but this place seems to have been extremely rural. As such, he might have been too far from any airport or even a straight road to try and land on. All factors considered, including the pilot's own experience and abilities, jumping may have been the best option for him.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

...more recent information indicates the pilot may made it to shore before landing.

I seriously doubt that. Think about it....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So a bunch of skydivers jump out of a plane with parachutes, no big deal !

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

There is more to this story, can see 12 jumping but the pilot? Losing the engine does not mean the aircraft is out of control. Second it took time for all of them to jump. So why??

I've done this very skydive and short of trying to beach it into the lake what was the pilot supposed to do? Better to just bail out rather than take a chance.Either way the plane is lost.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

what was the pilot supposed to do?

Glide. This plane has a capacity of at least 13 people, and with them all gone I am sure the plane could have glided quite a distance, especially considering that all 6 pairs got out safely while gliding. Not saying that gliding it in for a landing was the best course of action. Just saying it was a possibility.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Lucky they were skydivers and had parachutes.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Glide

But why take the chance? like you said everyone was out, there was nothing to save.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

there was nothing to save.

The plane? Cargo? Lives on the ground? And jumping out of a plane with a dead engine and no pilot is not exactly 100 percent safe either.

like you said

I said there were factors to consider and I don't know what they all were. But err on the side of the pilot making the best decision as he was more aware of the variables.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

The plane?

Well having flown with them i know their planes are very old and worth little.

Cargo?

There is none. the inside of the planes are empty shells, they're only for skydiving.

Lives on the ground?

Yes, this was a risk but the lake is large and and i guess he had the skill to ditch it correctly because it landed plumb in the lake.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I drove through here over Christmas and there are no straight roads in the area, there's the town of Taupo at one end of the lake and a smaller village at the other. It is also very mountainous. Crashing into the lake was the safest option as although it's summer there would be very little risk to people on the lake (it would have been incredibly unlucky to have hit a fisherman).

Surprising that so many who don't know the area are critical of the actions of the pilot.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

They got more adventure than they initially signed up for.

Next in the news: "All members of a scuba diving trip make it ashore after ship sinks"

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Surprising that so many who don't know the area are critical of the actions of the pilot.

Nobody is being critical. We are just wondering about the pilot's decisions and why he made them.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Well, if a plane is gonna crash, might as well one where everyone already wears a parachute and ready to jump.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Pilot must've buddy jumped with one of the parachutists.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Certainly a quick way to learn how to skydive!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How about requiring all ailine passengers to wear parachutes?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A crash course in skydiving?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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