Gerardo Flores, just filed the lawsuit in Monterey County Superior Court.

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/man-sues-marina-s-skydive-monterey-bay-over-skydiving-crash/article_c2f5feee-a89e-11e3-9225-001a4bcf6878.html

One of the finest things that America stands for in the world is the equality in the justice system. Even a left-of-the-bell-curve genetic-throwback assbag twatwaffle like this can file a lawsuit and get his day in court.

I sincerely hope that SDMB files a countersuit and takes everything that shitlord owns.

Can someone give me the back story on this?

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As with the camera, Flores wasn't cleared to perform those sorts of maneuvers. Rolls are another much more advanced technique reserved for seasoned professionals.
Skydive Monterey Bay CEO and chief safety officer Jackie Behrick has completed more than 8,000 jumps.
She says Flores fibbed when asked about what he would attempt during pre-jump safety checks, saying he'd execute some down-facing steering moves called "tracking" and later try some "canopy work" guiding the rig with the chute deployed.
"He was only cleared to belly fly," Behrick says. "When he declared his maneuvers for the flight, it was tracking and canopy work, so I told him to pull his chute high [to allow more canopy training]. When the chute came out, I thought, 'I said high, not that high.'

How is a guy who according to the news, has been training for two years and has 30 jumps only cleared to belly fly? Was he that bad of a student?

most student gear isn't freefly friendly which is why they told him he's only cleared for belly. now i believe he shouldn't have had a premature opening the instant he went on his back. he also didn't perform any canopy control checks and he only released one toggle which put him into a spin but instead just wanted to talk into his camera

This explains it. Keep in mind he had a camera hidden in his glove.

/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4442054;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

Is there a link to the second half of the report? Every thing coming out of the reporter seems to be gibberish. All I see is a dildo that can hardly fly and a preme that didn't look particularly violent. He was still talking at his camera. And then what? He just decides to not fly his canopy? Lines tied in knots? Do they mean the toggles on the steering lines?

And since when do the FAA bother to show up for non fatal incidents? Never seen that. And, when he got HIS gear back? Was that his rig or a rental/student rig?

Lee

Trafficdiver

This explains it. Keep in mind he had a camera hidden in his glove.

/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4442054;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

According to that old thread it wasnt "hidden" as it seems on his old Youtube channel he posted multiple videos of himself and either an instructor or coach from the DZ jumping with him.
Seems some people were looking the other way or are blind as bats in doing gear checks.

Doug_Davis

***This explains it. Keep in mind he had a camera hidden in his glove.

/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4442054;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

According to that old thread it wasnt "hidden" as it seems on his old Youtube channel he posted multiple videos of himself and either an instructor or coach from the DZ jumping with him.
Seems some people were looking the other way or are blind as bats in doing gear checks.

He had it in his glove and cut a hole in the palm for the lens to stick through. Pretty sure it was also his right hand.

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One of the finest things that America stands for in the world is the equality in the justice system. Even a left-of-the-bell-curve genetic-throwback assbag twatwaffle like this can file a lawsuit and get his day in court.

I sincerely hope that SDMB files a countersuit and takes everything that shitlord owns.

+10

I'd like to jump from 18K one of these days, but I only have 95 jumps logged. I need a few more, in fact a lot more. This clown has 30 jumps and thought he was experinced enough to go up that high.

So the main opens at 13k while this dufus is on his back, with a GoPro recording it all. So it appears that he went hypoxic with the slow descent. Hypoxic, judgement impaired etc etc thus the probable reasons why he didn't cutaway.

So the independent rigger inspecting the rig after incident finds wear and tear that Flores was trained to look for...I know I was trained not too long ago to look for that stuff.

Mr. Flores is in need of some serious remedial training and perhaps having his license pulled. If I'm a DZO and see him coming in the future, I'd tell him to turn around and go back from whence he came...he's not jumping at my DZ.

Think it took Flores this long to find a bottom feeder attorney that knows nothing of the sport and would actually take the case?

And to this day, I still don't understand why he would proclaim "You never open above six thousand feet" Does anyone know if that is a sandbox rule?

Opening at 13,000 is normal on CRW dives. 18,000 is a little high but I've jumped from that high with out oxygen. I've even done CRW from that high. So there really is no reason that a premature opening at 13,000 feet should lead to hypoxia or unconsciousness.

The canopy seemed to be flying reasonable well. It looks like it should have been controllable. I don't see why he would have had to cut it away I think it could have been flown to the ground.

I'm still trying to get my head around the idea that some one would tie lines back to gather. I wonder what the trim actually was? If the "repair" was below the cascade it might have less effect as it appears to have been more or less stable. Could this have been a rig that was in the process of being repaired which was mistakenly returned to service before the lines had been replaced?

Lee

Boomerdog

I'd like to jump from 18K one of these days, but I only have 95 jumps logged. I need a few more, in fact a lot more. This clown has 30 jumps and thought he was experinced enough to go up that high.

I did my first 18K jump at about 45 jumps. What additional experience/qualifications you think are required to go to 18?

SMB (which is a very tandem-oriented dropzone) does 18K jumps regularly - they use it as a market differentiator.

All noted.
I'll defer to you with respect to how the lines were tied back together and whether that is an acceptable fix. I don't get the sense that it is. That said, Flores breaking the rules only compounds the problem and doesn't help his case.

Pure speculation here but he opens with a malfunction at 13K and has 30 jumps in his log. Scrared? Hyperventilating? I don't know. I know on jump#50, my main opened hard, the right brake line had snapped off, I was at 3,400'. Got my bell rung pretty hard and now I'm looking at a malfunction that for a few seconds, scrared the $#!t out of me. But if you're gonna live, get a grip and get one fast. This one will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Just to be perfectly clear. It is not an acceptable repair. I can't imagine any one thinking that it would be on a square canopy.

Lee

Boomerdog

That said, Flores breaking the rules only compounds the problem and doesn't help his case.

Just curious what rule do you think he broke?

Taking a camera? Thats a recommendation by the USPA not a BSR (ie rule). And according to other videos he posted from jumps #16, 18 and others it could be argued the staff knew he had the camera. At least some other old timers have argued in the original thread it seemed that way.

Flying on to his back? A failed attempt at a barrel roll is not back flying or free flying. Its a badly executed barrel roll. And shouldnt have pushed the rig beyond its operational abilities since it was a student rig.

The biggest problem I saw was that in light of broken suspension lines, and what appear to be tension knots in his left hand brake lines preventing the slider from fully lowering, he did not immediately do a controllability check to see if he needed to cut away.

I never understood why a rig that is not "free fly friendly" is okay for students, when they have the potential for prolonged tumbling and unintentional back flying.

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According to that old thread it wasnt "hidden" as it seems on his old Youtube channel he posted multiple videos of himself and either an instructor or coach from the DZ jumping with him.
Seems some people were looking the other way or are blind as bats in doing gear checks.

From the DZ statement.

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He was told several times – not only should he wait until at least 200 jumps before taking responsibility of another piece of gear onto the skydive, but that cameras are not allowed with any rental equipment.

It was when the emergency team said they needed to “keep the camera” that I knew he tried to do something he was specifically told he was not yet qualified nor cleared for. It’s obvious by viewing his GoPro footage (contained inside a cut-out of a glove he created as a concealed apparatus to deceive his flight crew and jump masters)

---

When you do a gear check do you look inside helmets and gloves? He had been caught doing it before.

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Just curious what rule do you think he broke?

Taking a camera? Thats a recommendation by the USPA not a BSR (ie rule). And according to other videos he posted from jumps #16, 18 and others it could be argued the staff knew he had the camera.

It is called “acceptable industry standards”. The same term the FAA used in their report. See Sec. 6-2 page 124 and Sec. 6-8 page 140 of the SIM. These are considered “acceptable industry standards”.
For a person with such limited experience you are quick to make judgments.

Sparky

Dz's can also make their own rules with terms such as "must have" and "not allowed", they no longer become recommendations. When you buy a ticket or rent gear you are agreeing to those terms.
He is guilty of negligence since he caused this accident to happen. The proof is in his camera footage, no controllability check, toggle flopping in the wind, not noticing the tension knots or the slider configuration, and why didn't he noticed that he had worn out Velcro in his pre-jump check. That is assuming he did one. And why no ep's, he was too busy talking to his camera. Most of the people here would look at the canopy realize it was spinning towards the left even though he was pulling down on the right toggle and realize,I need to fix this or I'm in trouble. For all we know he could have passed out because of the slow spin at that high of an altitude, which if it was than he is fully responsible for not fixing the spin.
Imagine a different scenario, he opens at the correct altitude, he looks up and has a stuck slider, now the only video we have is of him saying "it won't open, it won't open. I'm afraid to cut away" . We all know how that ends. He is lucky to be alive and should take responsibility for his actions and lack of action.
Now for a laugh from someone who probably knows him.
http://youtu.be/a645Wx_ymsA

OK...I'll cede your point on rules. Requirements, rules, recommendations. They mean different things. I'll stand firm on carelessness and common sense or more specifically the lack thereof. Not every skydiver is me and I'm not every skydiver. Different people, different limits, different skill levels. I don't think he was exercising good judgement in taking on an altitude that high with the number of jumps he had logged and the pre-flight check of his rig has been called into question.

The difference between 45 and 30 jumps is 15 jumps. I'll assume when you took that altitude on, you had developed skills, confidence, and judgement that ensured a great and enjoyable jump at that altitude. What's becoming apparent, however, is that Mr. Flores may not have a proven pattern of exercising good judgement.

mjosparky

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According to that old thread it wasnt "hidden" as it seems on his old Youtube channel he posted multiple videos of himself and either an instructor or coach from the DZ jumping with him.
Seems some people were looking the other way or are blind as bats in doing gear checks.

From the DZ statement.

---

He was told several times – not only should he wait until at least 200 jumps before taking responsibility of another piece of gear onto the skydive, but that cameras are not allowed with any rental equipment.

It was when the emergency team said they needed to “keep the camera” that I knew he tried to do something he was specifically told he was not yet qualified nor cleared for. It’s obvious by viewing his GoPro footage (contained inside a cut-out of a glove he created as a concealed apparatus to deceive his flight crew and jump masters)

---

When you do a gear check do you look inside helmets and gloves? He had been caught doing it before.

***Just curious what rule do you think he broke?

Taking a camera? Thats a recommendation by the USPA not a BSR (ie rule). And according to other videos he posted from jumps #16, 18 and others it could be argued the staff knew he had the camera.

It is called “acceptable industry standards”. The same term the FAA used in their report. See Sec. 6-2 page 124 and Sec. 6-8 page 140 of the SIM. These are considered “acceptable industry standards”.
For a person with such limited experience you are quick to make judgments.

Sparky

My experience has nothing to do with the fact its not a rule, and from what other multiple more experienced jumpers on the forum said they saw when viewing his older videos it appeared the staff was well aware he was using the camera.

Its just my perception that a lot of posters on this forum always protect the DZO or any business involved in an incident and always throw the jumper under the bus no matter the situation. I like looking at a situation fairly from both sides, especially since Im a newer jumper and still rent rigs.

And Im not blaming the DZO either. Seems there is lots of blame to go around on both sides.

Edjglass920

He is lucky to be alive and should take responsibility for his actions and lack of action.
Now for a laugh from someone who probably knows him.

^ This is what I mean. What about the DZO's responsibility to give the student a serviceable rig with a rigger packed and sealed reserve? What about the AAD requirement for students? Rumor was he didnt have one, according to old thread. What about the broken suspension lines? They didnt happen on that opening.
Responsibility is a two way street, especially when you are operating a student instruction facility.

By the way bro that video is hilarious!! http://youtu.be/a645Wx_ymsA

You clearly don't have enough experience to know that defending Gerardo Flores is the quickest way to make everyone on this forum hate you.

I hope you have a backup handle in mind.

Bluhdow

You clearly don't have enough experience to know that defending Gerardo Flores is the quickest way to make everyone on this forum hate you.

I hope you have a backup handle in mind.

Im not defending him. In fact I said he should have ignored the damn camera and concentrated on his malfunctions, a steerability check and his EP's.
But what I am doing is pointing out, as have Nigel and many other experienced people in the old thread, that there does seem to be some very questionable or concerning things involving the actions of the DZO or staff and the state of that rig.
You do know it didnt have a reserve seal and thread on it when found right? Did it pop off on landing? Did an EMT miraculously cut it off?
If my pointing that out and looking at a situation from both sides rather than simply throwing the jumper under the bus immediately, causes people to dislike me? Thats amusing, but so be it. Im a grown man, I didnt come here for a high school popularity contest. Which is why I use my real name and real home DZ, and not a "handle".

If I pulled up to said drop zone and they handed me gear my job is to check out whether the gear is safe and that I feel comfortable jumping that gear, if not walk away. I rented gear recently and as I turned on the aad, after the countdown it flashed 7-14, I had read about the aad I was jumping and knew it was a service date. I still brought it to the riggers attention. Why didn't Gerardo bring up the missing seal? Maybe like someone said that gear was do for a repack and he grabbed it not knowing. Without a proper gear check he wouldn't have caught the seal.
I am not siding with the dz, if it was a bad rig than they are in the wrong. What if his crash did cause the riggers seal to be torn off and scuff the Velcro. If the main flap was Velcro and it malfunctioned he would have had a horseshoe. Clearly the first thing out was the pilot chute.
My point of my first post was he was clearly distracted from taking action cause he wanted to talk into the camera! Which whether or not the rig was bad could have cost him his life. My point was are you going to sit there and cry into a camera or take the action necessary to save your ass! Speculate all you want on the gear, tell us in the same situation what would you have done