What is more dangerous: skydiving or cave diving ?

[chimie007]

Before you read down.... how many people do you think die each year from parachuting accidents in the US ? Just think of a number...
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I was just reading about a parachute accident that left two dead. The last part of the article mentioned.....

"According to the United States Parachute Association, there were 30 skydiving fatalities last year. No figures were available for this year. The most fatalities occurred in 1998, when 44 people died. The fewest in recent years was in 2007, with 18, according to the association."

I subsequently found a nice reference with statistics that agrees with that statement http://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/

I have no idea about the number of cave divers vs parachuters or the number of cave dives versus jumps. I find it interesting that 20 to 44 parachuting deaths a year doesn't seem to create as much news as the few cave diving deaths we see every year. Perhaps we all are paying more attention to the cave diving death. Most of them are limited to Florida and a few other states. Notheless there is probably about 4 times more skydiving deaths than caving diving deaths every year.

Just a thought.

[icestac]

I always tell people that I know darn well sure that I can't fly. I can however hold my breath for an amount of time and swim. I will never go sky diving so long as I have something to live for -- I do however think sky diving would be a hell of a way to go...

Cheers,
Jeff

[MengTze]

People ask me WTF I am doing diving caves. "The most dangerous sport on earth"..........

I tell them that skydiving is far more dangerous. In cave diving you have ways out and you can basically figure -or should be able to- any issue out, devise an exit plan and go for that.

In sky diving, the moment you jump, you ARE committed. You have a backup shute, but that is it. Regardless of anything you are going down to earth at tremendous speed. There is no backing out, no recalculation.

[battles2a5]

I suppose they are similar in a way. With either sport, if you run out of air you are screwed!!

[Ed Jackson]

Skydiving is alot of fun, but it is dangerous. I have over 1600 jumps and have seen my share of fatalities and life changing injuries. The USPA does not include skydiving plane crashes in the data which is misleading. Skydiving plane crashes are very common. The planes are junk!

My skydiving friends think I am crazy for cave diving. It's all about perceived risk.

The best way to evaluate risk is deaths per 100,000 participants. Skydiving is high but not at the top even if you include the plane crashes. BASE jumping, aerobatic flying and mountaineering are at the top.
http://www.cavediver.net/forum/galle...imageuser=1230

[fghray1]

It should be sky falling. There ain't no going back up. Just slowing the fall down.

[Marchand]

I suppose they are similar in a way. With either sport, if you run out of air you are screwed!!

yeah, but when you are skydiving you can't get more air from your buddy...

[FW]

Another interesting question....are there more cave diving accidents, or open water accidents per year?

[DA Aquamaster]

Skydiving is alot of fun, but it is dangerous. I have over 1600 jumps and have seen my share of fatalities and life changing injuries. The USPA does not include skydiving plane crashes in the data which is misleading. Skydiving plane crashes are very common. The planes are junk!

Absolutely. A beat up old C182 jump plane qualifies as the rattiest, most worn out and ill used airplane I ever flew. Plus the average jump plane is either constanly climbing or rapidly descending to get the next load and not all jump plane pilots are kind to a piston engine(s) with regard to taking care to watch the cylinder head temps on the way up or keep the engine warm on the way down, so engine reliability is worse than in most other aviation pursuits - except maybe aerobatics.

On top of that jumpers are not exactly the safest cargo you can carry. They can do some really stupid things in an aircraft, leaving an aircraft, or during an emergency. If the engine even coughs its not uncommon to be sitting there by yourself in a really short period of time, leaving you dealing with a serious out of trim condition due to the rapid CG change in addition to what ever is wrong with the engine.

[JDR]

I always wanted to get air dropped into a system, then traverse to another opening, preferrably one by a river, and hop on the awaiting pontoon boot and have a keg party.

It sounds like fun.