[Faline]

A 16-year-old girl from Texas has survived a fall of more than 3,000ft in a skydiving accident in Oklahoma.

Makenzie Wethington is in good condition, despite multiple injuries, including to her liver, pelvis lumbar spine in her lower back, shoulder blade and several ribs, trauma surgeon Jeffrey Bender said.

"I don't know the particulars of the accident, as I wasn't there. But if she truly fell 3,000 feet, I have no idea how she survived," the surgeon from Oklahoma said.

Makenzie is expected to leave the intensive care unit soon, he said.



The teenager's parents had allowed her to take the jump but father Joe has now said the skydiving company should not have allowed it.

The company involved has defended its decision, saying the father went up with his daughter and was the first to jump.

Robert Swainson, instructor and owner of the company involved, said Makenzie's parachute had opened as it should have done but she began to spiral downward when the chute went up but not out.

He said skydivers were given instruction during a six-to-seven-hour training session on how to deal with such problems.

The instructor also said Makenzie had a radio hookup in her helmet through which someone gave her instructions.

"It was correctable, but corrective action didn't appear to have been taken," he said.



Mr Swainson said he did not jump out to help Makenzie because there was no way he could have reached her.

Also, he explained, another jumper had become scared and refused to make the jump so it was protocol for him to remain with the frightened person because instructors do not know what that person will do.

"The most I could have done is screamed," he said.

Nancy Koreen, director of sport promotion at the US Parachute Association, said its safety requirements allow someone who is 16 to make a dive with parental consent, though some places set the age higher.

[invertigo]

Amazing story for the girl, but her dad is a douche bag. Is he trying to claim that the sky diving company didn't fully explain the risk when he paid for the chance to let his teenage daughter jump out of an airplane?

[Sharon]

That's miraculous

[ices]

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

SPLAT


/glasses
*deal with it*

[Kelseecat65]

Originally Posted by invertigo ↗

Amazing story for the girl, but her dad is a douche bag. Is he trying to claim that the sky diving company didn't fully explain the risk when he paid for the chance to let his teenage daughter jump out of an airplane?

EXACTLY!
They drove to a different state so she could legally jump by herself.

The sky diving company provided a class for her to take, and in that class she was taught how to fix the chute if the chords became tangled and she began to spin. She failed to do as she was taught.

So, they clearly covered all bases, but the stupid family is trying to find someone to blame, other than themselves. Responsible parents would have made her jump tandem with an instructor - parental fail!

[freeflykat]

according the the "prayer" page on that fb social site, they do not have health insurance on the girl, and are in the process of obtaining Medicaid for her.

I am a licensed skydiver since 2003 and with what little bits and pieces I can find it seems she did a static line jump, one of her toggles (brakes) came undone which caused her to spin (under a perfectly inflated canopy) there are some who say it was not all the way inflated, regardless she failed to perform any emergency procedures, her fault. USPA allows drop zones to allow 16 year olds to jump with parental consent. Tandem manufactures do not, they require 18+ so the only options they had was to do either AFF or static Line. They searched all over for a drop zone that would allow this, and drove 4 hours out of their way to make this jump. Seems to me they are suing to pay for medical bills, that they have no way of paying. I doubt they will win any thing, but this is hurting a sport I love because of people who have no clue what they are talking about are doing news interviews and fb posts and ugh it is annoying! So any ways, all I can say is I hope the DZO sues them for slander and the packer as well, since now the sister is screaming it is the packer's fault. However, I doubt they will ever get anything from them seeing that they are trying to get medicaid they don't have anything, unless they can sue for the proceeds of their pink t-shirt sells...IDK

[DiamondSmiles]

Link for video here. Cannot get it to post.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014...-accident?lite

By Kendra Lyn
NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

January 31, 2014

The Johnson County teen who nearly died in a sky diving accident in Oklahoma less than a week ago is heading back to North Texas Friday.

Though it'll be awhile before she returns to school, her classmates at Joshua High School are supporting her every step of the way. Friday, students held a bake sale to raise money to help with her medical expenses.

Her family is thanking everyone for rallying behind her. The staff and students at her high school have been sending cards, sending prayers, and raising money by selling 1,000 T-shirts that truly represent Makenzie’s strength.

“The back says, ‘Makenzie Strong.’ We made them pink, her favorite color, and put a bow on top of the ‘I’ because you never see Makenzie without a bow,” said friend, Allison Gillmore.

“I believe in you that you can get well soon. I’m happy that you're walking. I miss you. I love you more than words can explain,” said friend, Mia Ybarra.

Texas teenager, Mackenzie Wethington, went skydiving as a 16th birthday gift and plunged hundreds of feet to the ground after her parachute failed to open. Though she suffered multiple injuries, she survived.

Friends will talk about Makenzie’s recovery during a pep rally Friday afternoon at the high school. It's their support that’s helping Makenzie push through her pain.

“All faith in God. She's just a walking miracle,” said sophomore Danielle Erinakes, Makenzie’s friend.

Friends can’t believe Makenzie is walking less than a week after plunging from a plane.

“She’s just so strong. God has kept his hand on her the whole way through. Yesterday, she walked to the bathroom. It's just amazing how fast this recovery is going,” said Laura Pritchard.

Wednesday, Makenzie got to her feet for the first time. She’s in so much pain and in a brace with a fractured vertebrae.

On the eve of Makenzie's release from the hospital, her mom, Holly Wethington spoke with NBC 5 reporter Ben Russell who traveled to Oklahoma City.

“She’s ready to get up, get up and walk. She wants that brace off even though we've had to break the news to her that's not coming off for a long time,” Wethington said.

Makenzie will now spend at least two to three weeks at a local rehab facility. She’ll learn to walk again. She's struggling to talk with broken teeth from the fall.

“It may be a week. It may be six. It may be six months. But you know, she's got to recover before we let her do anything. And I know everybody has been asking to talk to her, but it's not happening yet,” said Wethington.

Makenzie Wethington, 16, checked out of the University of Oklahoma Medical Center Friday afternoon and, with a long recovery ahead of her, headed to a Dallas-Fort Worth rehab facility.

[DiamondSmiles]

The father is suing, even though he probably signed a Release.

She should not have been allowed to jump until she was 18, in my humble opinion.

[BBKF]

I don't see how he can sue when he went to the trouble to find a place that would allow her to jump solo and also signed a waiver. FFS they took a class together.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by BBKF ↗

I don't see how he can sue when he went to the trouble to find a place that would allow her to jump solo and also signed a waiver. FFS they took a class together.

All they need is a lawyer like Jose Baez or Zimmerman's lawyer.

If they can get people off for murder, hey, why not this