{"id":60210,"date":"2025-08-20T19:24:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=60210"},"modified":"2025-08-22T17:53:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T17:53:00","slug":"high-altitude-skydiving-high-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/high-altitude-skydiving-high-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"High Altitude, High Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have largely delayed writing this article since the 28th of November 2017, a day that haunts me as the day I nearly lost my life to brain injuries sustained during high-altitude operations. The details I share here, though heavily redacted for security reasons, aim to educate my fellow skydiving brothers and sisters who are considering high-altitude jumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start, we should agree on terms. When we talk about high altitude in the civilian setting, I believe we are referring to jumps made at or above 18,000 ft MSL. My specific incident occurred at approximately 25,000 ft, but the points below should encourage anyone considering such jumps to question the risks. I also highly recommend reading TB-263 \u2013 PIA High Altitude Best Practices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The allure of high altitude jumps is undeniable: high above the DZ on a perfect, if frigid, day, gazing at the curvature of the Earth. This \u201cforbidden fruit\u201d of skydiving tempts as a beautiful but unforgiving mistress, accessible to those with the resources to pursue it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Early Journey<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My own path began at 17, walking into the Armed Forces Careers Office after being expelled from school and \u201crelieved of duties\u201d at McDonald\u2019s (apparently it wasn\u2019t acceptable to hit a manager with a mop). With brushes with the police and a string of failures behind me, it felt like the aptitude test at Gloucester AFCO might be the first step in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 18 years later, I would find myself sitting on a military aircraft, having just dispatched groups of test parachutists, only to immediately start succumbing to altitude-induced Decompression Sickness (DCS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Author Neil Wilcox <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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November 28, 2017: The Incident<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Until that day, I considered myself \u201cexperienced\u201d\u2014whatever that means. I had served on multiple operational tours, logged around 9,000 jumps, and thought I understood risk. Yet it wasn\u2019t enemy fire or a roadside IED that nearly killed me, but tiny nitrogen bubbles invading my brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All protocols were followed: drills, pre-breathing, sortie planning. I was acting as high-altitude dispatcher at 25,000 ft, rotating through this role as part of a test team. Everything was routine until the last parachutist exited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Onset of DCS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Immediately afterward, I felt like I\u2019d been shot through the hip, then branded across the hamstring. I staggered to a seat with perhaps 30 seconds to raise the alarm, but I failed. Cognitively aware but physically paralyzed, I endured excruciating pain as nitrogen infiltrated my muscles, joints, and brain, shutting down my ability to communicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ordeal only escalated: flown to a hypobaric chamber, pressed to negative 60 ft, hallucinations, a dilated eye, and the sense that I had less than an hour to live. Though my life was saved, the recovery was long and brutal: traumatic brain injury treatment, speech and occupational therapy, and MRIs. I cried uncontrollably, stuttered through ordering coffee, and often wished I hadn\u2019t survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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High altitude, higher risk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Reality of Civilian High-Altitude Jumps<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My experience highlights why high-altitude jumping in the civilian context is, frankly, crazy to me. I had the best team, military-grade oxygen systems, and millions spent on aftercare, yet I barely survived. So before you spend your savings on a \u201cfun jump,\u201d ask the right questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Considerations<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n