Sky Diving

Nick-H

I don't know anything about skydiving. I just find it hard to believe that the attitudes towards safety that I see around me are going to end at an airfield perimeter. I could be totally wrong, but I wouldn't risk it.
Have done, will do again, sometimes what I read in the newspapers makes me think that might not be such a good decision... ...it has its risks. Ever hear of the brickdust in the chile powder scam? I know people who will not touch any chile powder that is not home-made... Offered me in an unlabelled bottle at a villagy gathering? too right I wouldn't. Very real risk.

There are lots of things with "worldwide standards". Whether those standards are applied and inspected worldwide is another matter

I have no doubt that the Indian forces are among the best trained and professional people in the country. Hats off to them. No problem with that. We're talking about private enterprise

(and the president of India was in a potential life threatening situation, along with the passengers and crew of the flight was already moving on the runway upon which she landed; this happened a couple of weeks ago)

From me? What's bigoted about my photo? Do check out where I live, by the way .

We get used to health risks like we get used to the smell of piss on street corners --- but if I turn on my inbred brit H&S sensitivity, it'd beep at almost every step.

Did I mention the department stores with no fire escapes, no sprinkler systems, solid walls that the firemen can't get to? Err, yes, I did, the last time I tried to persuade Merchant that India Inc does not work to international safety standards.

Gametotravel

So you mean to say Nick that with the UK's highest standards of safety one could take the jump?

Kingstonian

Hm. A casual google search (skydiving india) came up with a November 2006 report on "India's first skydiving zone" - that the Sports Authority of Gujurat was "making efforts to set up dropping zone in Gujarat. If the proposed zone takes place it will be in the first in the country." (here)

Nothing much else though, unless you count youtube's "first woman from south india to skydive" - which seems to have been filmed in California (big surprise there)


It's a high investment for anyone planning to run such a business - I'd have thought cost/economic considerations were just as relevant, if not more so, than the safety factors. If the folk running any particular skydiving enterprise are jumping out of the plane themselves, on a daily basis, personally I'd be happy to jump out with them.

vinayverma

Nick did I say you're in the Engilish Premire game mood today.
it's better that we get back to skydiving mode for sake of helping someone.
cheers
PS: no I'm not supporting or defending the views of anyone.

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If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

Merchant

So, Nick, you know nothing about skydiving, have no experience of it in India or elsewhere, can list all manner of unsafe public-safety practices you have observed in India or read in a newspaper -- observations that must be valid because you live there -- and now feel it your responsibility to declare India Unsafe For All High-risk Activities.

Nick-H

Something like that, yes.

You live in New York, read mnc reports and think you know better?

Now... If I go on with this, frankly, I'll just be trolling, not to mention repeating myself.

So that's it from me.

Gametotravel

Tata!

Nick-H

Not...

Tata Indica?




Goodnight, all

Boston123

I think Nick has a point, although the burden of proof is on the folks offering sky diving sessions.

Flying commerical airlines from India : Remember Air India, Jet air etc... require ongoing testing and conformance to internationally agreed upon standards. There have been instances of airlines that were not allowed to land into the US, or were informally kept off of the list of recommended airlines..Lots of US based businesses stopped flying Korean air,a few years ago, when they had a spate of crashes and accidents, until they proved they had put in place acceptable safety systems.

Safety as a habit( where even 1 injury is 1 too many) is not ingrained in industry in India.. In the absence of this, it would be prudent to ask the sky diving school to show what they do to ensure safety ( not their past record).

Dacoit Chief

I'll be the first to admit that a safety culture is not exactly engrained in India, and the comments about questionable airline safety etc. are partially justified, especially given the national carriers reputation.

The tragedy is that any private enterprise that desperately tries to show a brave new face just ends up struggling to shrug off unfortunate national stereotypes. My main point is simply that everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves on their own merit. And as you so nicely put it Boston123, merit is achieved not just by past records but primarily by safe working practice.

Sorry Nick, I didn't mean to single you out specifically. I apologise and take back the ‘bigotry’ comment. I am just a bit sensitive to this issue, since I hear far too many people (both foreign and Indian) who say the most derogatory things about Indian industry, and the Indian private sector in general. I just keep wondering what makes these same people confidently drink a bottle of Kingfisher or Mcdowell's No.1 without a fear of going blind!

Imagine what it feels like for a budding entrepreneur in India who wants to offer more to the tourism sector by opening up a Scuba diving school, white-water rafting trips or indeed skydiving. The point is that just as in Scuba where you have worldwide associations like PADI that enforce stringent minimum standards, I am sure there exists a similar international accreditation programme for other adventure sports like skydiving. All I am saying, is let's just give them a chance before we prematurely chastise them. We just cannot simply write off any private enterprise startup in India on the single grounds that their staff are mainly Indian, and therefore are automatically incapable of doing anything safely!!! Some people even go as far as thinking that having some foreign instructors or stakeholders automatically makes the business safer.

Since we are using the airline analogy, there is a case going on at the moment where the US Federal aviation authority is trying to categorise ALL Indian carriers flying to the US as a risky category 2 rather than the current safe category 1. This enforces stringent checks whilst the aircraft is on the ground in the US (which is probably a good thing) but also seriously hampers any future plans of the airlines in expanding their business base in the USA or changing schedules etc. Whilst carriers like Air India seriously deserve this, I feel it is unfair to the up-and-coming international carriers like Jet Airways, who if anyone will have the power to show that India can mean business and can do so safely! Then again, it could cause them to pull up their socks a bit more too! After all it might have more to do with competition against US carriers than just ‘safety’!

Incidentally… I think I share the same views on the Tata Indicar as Nick… it is one lousy car! …. but not just because it is Indian

tacita

(emphasis supplied)

not necessarily, merchant. that's only one variation of the sport. static lines are still used, and very much an assume-the-risk alone endeavor. (even for so-called "tandem" jumps, you're not "tethered" to an instructor, but you're point's the same, i guess.)

i've jumped out of a fair number of perfectly good and properly functioning airplanes and, no, i wouldn't jump in india, or anywhere else the sport wasn't yet relatively popular and long-standing enough to have a safety record.

be that as it may, assuming the OP is still interested in jumping, he/she might want to have a look here.

edit:
there are two referenced at the link embedded above.

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Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ~Helen Keller

Dacoit Chief

Thanks. They look rather professional. I would guess therefore that the International Parachuting Commission and Federation Aeronautique Internationle conduct regular audits on such parachuting activities in India?

Fair comment though on you personally not wanting to jump in India due to it being a largely unestablished sport so far. However as you say that could equally apply to other countries (even including more 'developed' countries). I suppose the choice is always ultimately up to the individual envolved.

It's just important that an indivividual who wants to pursue such a sport in India is able to make a responsible informed decicion, (thanks to threads like this and the links you have given) and not just base a decision on what are often common misconceptions of India.

tacita

You'd guess wrong. They develop uniform standards. Whether a drop-zone follows them is another matter.

Don't read too much (or little) into my post about my views, Dacoit. I tend to agree with Nick on the India safety issue, but was trying to avoid being contentious. At the end of the day, regulation stands or falls (no pun intended) on enforcement.

Dacoit Chief

OK. Point taken! Thanks for the input though!

For the record, I'm not exactly praising India's safety culture either! I honestly think that the issues being discussed in this thread are precisely the issues that will be the nail in the coffin for any serious development in the adventure sports sector in India. After all, there is more than good reason why adrenalin junkies flock to places like New Zealand, even though India (and other LDC's) potentially have the natural resources to put on a great show! However, if someone knows what they are doing, potentially it could be a huge untapped market!

I actually know someone who was in the business of setting up some adventure related activities in India and faced an uphill struggle from day 1. All his equipment and safety standards were top notch and in the end he has actually succeeded.

Pauley

I have found this link http://www.parachuting.in/skydiving.html# to the Indian Skydiving Federation, not a real lot of information on the site but there is a contact email address.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has jumped in India as i would be keen to bring my gear over in June/July.