A kind of weird thing I have been wondering about, would parachutes have worked for the people who jumped

[Slacker]

Like the chutes that the base jumpers use, it would have been better than nothing

 

[jaybittle]

Slacker,

This has been reposted a number of times, but the general feeling is no, parachutes would not have helped.. there wouldnt' have been enough time for the chutes to open, plus you'd have people jumping unintentionally on to other people's chutes, et cetera..

--jb

 

[BlueApple]

1) Repost
2) I doubt it would have worked

 

[Slacker]

Sorry, I didnt search

Base jumpers jump from buildings holding the balled up mini chute in their hand and it opens immediately.

 

[BlueApple]

Heh.. Sorry, I was a little harsh. The only problem is that they will probably get tangled in each others chutes or they might get blown back into the building or caught in power lines on the way down. I think it?s just not with the risk.

 

[Ciber]

there are no power lines in NYC , and i will take my chances jumping because i know that jumping with a parachute i at least a CHANCE to live, staying in that damn building i have NO chance.

 

[Looney]

there are no power lines in NYC , and i will take my chances jumping because i know that jumping with a parachute i at least a CHANCE to live, staying in that damn building i have NO chance

But you wouldn't have known the building was collasping.

Besides, i already argued why i don't think they were jumping, and they were more falling.

 

[StageLeft]

Chutes would not have worked. To use a parachute you need at least a small amount of training. You can't simply tell a person to jump and pull the cord.

People would have bumped the buildings, landed on each other, forgot to pull the cords (its very scary jumping from a height and when I went skydiving I know that myself and my friends were scared s*itless!), etc.

 

[Nexx]

It definetly would have been better than nothing, so if you would just have ran real fast from a high floor you'd likely get out of the way of debris falling down. I don't know about normal parachutes but the military has parachutes for as low as 50m, since they want to fly low to evade radar. Really expensive though.

 

[Jfur]

Not to mention, the people that jumped were likely on fire or thrown from their original places and in great shock. Unless they were very clear-headed and already wearing the chute, it would have been pointless. Then think about all the other somments posted above...

 

[Dood]

Bullcrap. Tell these people who jumped 100 stories that a chute would not have aided them. Bullcrap.

Having a parachute would beat the heck out of the alternative.

 

[fragarific]

Dood, it sounds like you're trying to make a case to have the next generation buildings have parachutes.

 

[OSUdrunk]

There is a chance parachutes could have helped, but it is a very slim chance. Then again, better than falling 100 stories without one I guess...

 

[Dood]

<< Dood, it sounds like you're trying to make a case to have the next generation buildings have parachutes. >>



I'm on the 6th floor of an 8 story building in nowhereville, and I'm thinking about getting a parachute now!!

 

[Mangos]

Dood,
That would just be silly.

 

[damac]

im not going to tell anybody that they don't know what they are talking about when it comes to this but I have seen numerous things on tv about freebase jumpers, those guys that jump off all sorts of crap with their chute in hand and throw it out after they jump rather than pulling on something.

And although you do fall pretty fast their have been people that lived that had accidents from a few hundred feet where the chute is out but people still going pretty fast.

My take is it sure as hell could have helped for those up on the floors where the plane hit. Once they get speed and the chute is out its gong to hit the air and force it up and start to slow somebody down period and it may be enough so they can make it down.

of course then their is the problem of wind and getting clear of the building but jesus if people actually jumped surely a shoot would have been a nice option. something simple thats kept in somebodies desk

 

[GigaCluster]

<< there are no power lines in NYC >>



Is that really true, or should I put more weight on your smiley?

 

[A5]

Giga:
Underground utilities.

 

[Nevo]

BASE jumpers pack their 'chutes to open more quickly than jumpers at altitude do.

IMHO (and I have done some skydiving), there would be plenty of time for a chute to open, particularly if it were packed for a fast opening, when falling from the top floors of the world trade center. As an example, one BASE jumper has video of his jump from the Empire State Building observation deck. His chute opened with AMPLE time to spare.

However, the falling debris would likely have ripped the 'chute apart, or caught the 'chute on fire, and as others hypothesized, multiple jumpers would likely have become entangled.

This is, of course, a purely academic debate.

 

[Ciber]

the people saying the chutes would have been useless are just plain stupid. EVERYONE from the spot that the planes hit and up were going to die PERIOD. there is no way anyone was gonna stop that fire even if the towers did not collapse, so a parachute would of most definately worked, all they had to do was go to the side where the wind is blowing away from the building and jump. so there is a chance you might bump into someone or get tangled or you just freak and dont open your chute or it doesnt open, so what it's better losing those people that werent as lucky than losing everyone just because some would have bad luck.

 

[HowardStern]

If you kept the chute closed and landed on it, then it might have helped. Maybe a matress would have been better?