Three members of the Army Special Operations Command parachute team, part of Sunday’s prerace show for the Subway 400 Winston Cup race at North Carolina Speedway, were injured in their landing attempts. High winds, with gusts upwards of 40 mph, made it difficult for the eight jumpers to make their way to their planned landing spot on the infield grass on the frontstretch. Three jumpers appeared to land cleanly inside the track. One landed on the track on the frontstretch; three landed in or near the Winston Cup garage area; and one landed outside Turn 1 of the track. One jumper, who landed in the garage, was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte for evaluation. Two others were taken by ambulance to Womack Army Hospital in Fayetteville for treatment of minor injuries. The remaining five were seen and released from the track’s infield care center. The Army public affairs office declined to release the names of those injured.( Thatsracin.com )(2-23-2003) UPDATE: Three Army skydivers were injured Sunday when strong wind knocked them to the ground before a NASCAR race. A group of eight jumpers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command parachute team from Fort Bragg came sailing into the track area, trailing red smoke as part of the pre-race activities for the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway. With wind up to 40 mph, one jumper was carried away from his targeted landing on the track and into the infield, where he appeared to bounce off the top of a tractor-trailer before landing on the ground, his chute caught on the antenna of a van. He was flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he was in good condition Sunday night, a nursing administrator said. The hospital did not provide the soldier’s name. Another jumper sailed into the garage area and bounced off the top of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hauler. He landed between race team trucks and a fence. That jumper, as well as a third who landed hard on the asphalt of the track, were taken to Womack Army Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. At least two jumpers nailed their landings on the front stretch of the race track. Another skydiver never made it to the track, landing outside the Turn 1 grandstands. Maj. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said a jump team goes through a safety checklist before a jump. Weather conditions are included in that checklist. The jumpers make the final decision whether to make a jump, he said. He said there is a limit on wind speed for jumps, but he wasn’t sure what the limit is. “These guys have had probably in the neighborhood of several hundred freefall jumps,” he said. “They’re very well experienced and know what they’re capable of.” Kolb said one of the men has a broken leg and the others are bruised.( Fayetteville Observer )(2-24-2003) UPDATE 2: Three military skydivers injured during an exhibition before a weekend Winston Cup race were released from hospitals Monday. One is still hospitalized. Col. Leonard H. Kiser, a senior Army National Guard adviser for the Army’s Special Operations Command, remained in good condition at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, hospital spokesman Scott White said. Sgt. 1st Class Stuart J. Goodall, Maj. Anthony C. Dill, and Air Force Capt. Jesse L. Peterson were released Monday from Fort Bragg’s Womack Army Medical Center and FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.( Daytona Beach News Journal )(2-25-2003)
